Nyamira traders have appealed to the county government to ban gambling kiosks in the region saying they are promoting juvenile delinquency and poverty.
The traders who were represented by chairmen of trading centres from over 60 markets said gambling had become a threat to security in many parts of the county where betting kiosks have been set up.
They said a majority of youth spend most of their time gambling in the kiosks instead of engaging in meaning work that can earn them genuine income.
They asked the county government to revoke all the licences of the people running the gaming kiosks and abolish such trading activity.
“The gambling machines are all over the place and we are worried that we are not going to have our youth doing something that can earn them genuine cash because all the time they are at the casinos and where they get the money to bet with is a matter of concern,” said Simon Bogonko, chairman of the County’s Mwanyagetinge Traders Association.
They said many cases of young people stealing to get money for betting are on the rise in market centres, something they said would likely lead to more crimes.