Sports betting is the newest thing taking Kenya by storm following the fall of casinos a practice that has affected a large number of the Kenyan people especially the male youth.
Despite the fact that most of its lovers would prefer to view it as an investment where you place your money with an aim of getting it later with a benefit, the bitter truth is that the practice is actually a legal form of gambling which also brings the lotteries on board.
Here are the reasons distinguishing betting from investing
When one places a bet he has nothing tangible for the reason apart from the confidence he has on the team, unlike in an investment where one considers a number of things including the probability of getting something back, business location, legal procedures like licencing and business partners.
According to Wikipedia, gambling is the wagering of money or something of value also called stakes on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money.
This makes it gambling as the bettor expects to earn without putting in any more effort on working or supervising the entire process.
In an investment, the investor has to do several follow ups to ensure that everything is well or even spend much of their time supervising their investments.
Also, unlike in an investment where one stops to venture into other businesses in an event that the returns are low, sports betting is addictive.
The lust for free money makes one put in more money even after losing, hoping that this time things will go well and the team of choice will win.
In sports betting the bettors only want money to spend at the moment while in investment the investor bases the idea on the future as the investment, if successful can be sold to another person at a higher price or passed down to a heir.
The fact that bettors have nothing to show for the bets as in most cases they are done online makes it a gamble unlike in an investment where one has tangible things like structures, products or even documents.
Some of these sites in Kenya include Sportspesa, Betway, Eazibet, Elitebet, Lotto and Pambazuka National Lottery.