Religious leaders have added their voice to the growing calls to outlaw betting in the country.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has been under pressure from different players to ban betting as a way of saving thousands of Kenyans who have become gambling addicts.
Nyeri Catholic Archbishop Anthony Muheria observed betting has destroyed many families and asked the Head of State to ban it.
The cleric proposed imposition of a punitive tax regime on betting and gaming companies as a means of discouraging the craze.
Speaking on Saturday during the launch of the Lenten period observed by Catholic faithful, Muheria noted most people have taken up gambling as a method of generating income and, as a result, propagating a ‘get-rich-quickly’ mentality.
“Nearly all billboards in our towns are advertising betting firms. How I wish that proceeds from gambling would be taxed double or 10 times because it appears attractive and is breaking families,” the Archbishop said during the event at Our Lady of Consolata in Nyeri town.
Similar sentiments were recently echoed by former Kiambu Governor William Kabogo who argued that betting companies were the cause of poverty, particularly among the youth, in the country.
He asked President Kenyatta to ban them despite contributing a "small revenue" to the treasury.
Last month Uganda President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni announced no new licence will be issued to betting companies and ordered those in operation to wind up upon expiry of their licences.