Sports betting faces scrutiny in Ethiopia

Sports betting, a recently introduced phenomena sweeping the country’s vast youth population, has recently come under criticism, which has forced the Ministry of Women, Children and Youth to announce the termination of such licenses.

In a press conference held on Thursday March 5, 2020, betting firms said the government needs to reconsider before taking a decision and lamented “betting is not gambling.”

“We are receiving a lot of negative comments from the community about sports betting. But that is not true. We are legally licensed by the National Lottery and we are also obeying our social responsibility,” Vegas Sport Betting Executive Director, Yonas G. Alemu told The Reporter.

According to Yonas, the opening of these betting shops across the country, have created job opportunities for 1800 people and firms are paying millions of birr in tax.

However, many argue that betting is becoming a bad habit and addictive, that could cause psychological harm. Many individuals also oppose the sport betting shops since they are violating age restrictions.

Read more at: The Reporter