These betting sites have a small, almost invisible warning at the bottom of their sites, telling people to bet responsibly.
What they mean is that you can stake your life for all we care. If they did care, they’d reject your betting slips if they deemed it irresponsibly on your part.
The other day, university student was intending to commit suicide (hope he didn’t) after gambling away his own school fees, his friends, and his rent.
For many of us, we are not yet at that level of addiction. But then there are minor things that make us want to quit betting altogether.
1. Analyzing and then failing to win
You spend a lot of energy going through a team’s form, predictions on other sites and then pick what you think is the winning slip. The bet goes south on the first game, or even in the first half. You look at your wasted efforts and think of quitting.
2. Betting over 2.5 goals
After careful analysis, you determine that a game will have more than 2.5 goals. Indeed, the game looks promising when one of the team scores in the ninth minute. As if nature is teaching you a lesson on hard work, the game ends like that.
3. When a team concedes late goals
It is the last game on your betting slip. Everything looks good. The team you have bet on is well poised to take the three points, leading by two goals. You’ve now called a conference of your close friends in order to double or triple the proverbial ‘kukaza haga.’ And then the unthinkable happens. There’s a goal in the 87th minute. Your heartbeat increases, as well as ‘kukaza.’ Then the devil strikes again, deep into injury time, a penalty is conceded.
4. When a team with really low odds loses
The thinking behind many gamblers is that the lower the odds, the higher the chances of that team winning. However, sometimes thats not the case. A team with odds of 1.4 can get walloped and you wonder what God has in store for you. Then you go about saying: 'team moja tu iliniangusha.'
As an afterthought, bookies want you to bet responsibly, if we can have the brains to see how destructive it can be.