Which Country is Truly Passionate About Mobile Gambling, is It Kenya

Mobile Casino

Kenya, best know for wild life and safaris, is also one of the leading countries which not only approves of the mobile gambling industry due to higher tax revenues but also as a means to improve the lives of its citizens

I’ve recently read a message in a mobile casino chat – “I only play blackjack when dealer must stand on soft 17, everything else is just stupid.” Over the next few days I meditated upon that phrase and its absurdity. The truth is that humans in general love to gamble whether on stocks, sports or turtle races. Gambling is a part of us just like the love of music and art and just like art and music have changed over time, so have locations, from traditional casinos to online gambling websites and now to mobile casinos. Mobile gambling is the future whether some politician with an oily face and an overfed grin agrees with it or not.

I decided to look for a country that wholeheartedly supports mobile casino games and embraces it not only as a way to generate tax revenues, but because of acceptance that human desire to place a bet is a normal and healthy activity. It’s not Australia, where socialist politicians plan on practically putting a remote controlled collar on gamblers ‘for their own good’ to control a ‘bad habit’. It’s not liberal Sweden, where an unhappy childhood is a valid excuse for murder, yet mobile gamblers are treated worse than heroin addicts. It’s Kenya. Yep. Elephants, lions, and safaris. That Kenya.

Kenya decided to jump into that pool of water without even sticking the big toe in. While EU argues about the finer points of constitutional law, morality and hypothetical 11 year old gambling addicts, Kenya quietly decided to license all forms of online gambling. In Kenya, with rampant illiteracy and unstable neighbors, mobile gambling doesn’t involve complex concepts as ‘soft 17′. Mobile lotteries, on the other hand, are so popular that SMS lotteries run by unscrupulous individuals started appearing almost the same day as the first mobile phone sold in the country. Almost 100% of the population owns a mobile phone, and smartphones with slick Android casinos or stylish iPhone casinos are a dream that few can afford.

Amaya Gaming Group of Monteal, Quebec has been contracted by the government of Kenya to operate mobile phone lotteries within the country. Kenya’s Betting Control and Licenses Board’s spokesperson, Lucas Maitha, stated in a press release that “Amaya was granted the license to operate a full-scale mobile lottery and mobile casinos after its credibility was established through research and background referrals. We have full confidence in Amaya and are assured of its competence as well as its commitment to the utmost adherence to Kenyan law and regulatory standards.” President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya ordered government ministries to expedite the process to ensure citizens will not be deprived of what they enjoy and to infuse the country with much needed revenue for sport and cultural activities. EU and USA can learn a lesson here.