MULA SPORT AND BETWAY: A NEW ADDICTION PANDEMIC FOR OUR HOPELESS YOUTH
A new sports gambling epidemic is holding eSwatini youth and adults alike by the scruff of the neck and it is not a pretty sight.
Faced with rising unemployment and and deepening level of poverty, eSwatini youth are opting for sports gambling as a temporary reprieve to the scourge of poverty. However, lurking behind the lure of easy cash is the problem of addiction and depression caused by excessive gambling.
Like the urban myth of a pot filled with pleasantly tepid water and gradually heated, the frog remains in the water until it boils to death. This is true of gambling addiction too; it attacks slowly until you are deep in the abyss of shame and self-destruction.
Gambling is legal and controlled in the country. The Bookmakers’ and Taxation Act of 1970 makes land-based wagering lawful and is regulated. A license is available for land-based betting establishments. In 2021 the first of its kind online game betting company was launched trading as MulaSport Company. The company was launched as eSwatini’s first-ever premier online sports betting platform and was licensed by the Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs.
MulaSport betting license was issued in terms of section 3 of the Licensing of Bookmakers and Taxation Act (1970). The company's offices are located in Manzini and they started operating by selling themselves as offering Swazis above the age of 18 a platform to bet from as little as E10 in order to stand a chance to win up to E5 000.
Two years later, the company is making a killing as more Swazis have taken gambling as an easy escape out of poverty. The average age for a sports betting gambler in eSwatini is 27 years. Speaking to the Sports Desk of News on Africa Eswatini Edition, Desiree Scott, MulaSports Social Media and Marketing Manager, said the company is impressed with the number of people participating on this platform.
“We are currently on 4 166 users and hoping for 10 000 by the end of the first quarter which is in April,” Scott was quoted saying. She added that more and more people were learning about MulaSport and the company might be able to increase the jackpot.
Mula Sports poster on social media
MulaSports allows customers to bet on soccer matches for most international leagues and cup matches including English Premier League, Spanish LaLiga, Italy Seria A. Ayanda Dlamini, a resident of Sicelwini in Manzin, says he does not gamble on Mula sport but uses Betway. Dlamini regularly flaunts his wins on social media, something that has proven to be a trap for financial pifflers quick on instant cash.
“I know of addiction, but I think I can still manage my gambling,” Dlamini says of his relationship with online sports betting. Dlamini is a student at the University of eSwatini and says he regularly plays Betway to augment the meagre allowance he gets from the government.
“What can we do my brother? We are poor and we have no way of making money,” Dlamini says of his “addiction" to sports gambling. According to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), sports betting in Nigeria, the largest economy in Africa, was expected to generate a revenue of $2 billion by 2020. Other African countries experiencing significant growth in the betting industry include Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, and South Africa.
There are a few factors contributing to the growth of the Betting Industry in eSwatini and by extension Africa:
1. Mobile technology: The majority of Swazis have access to mobile phones, which has made it easier for them to access betting sites and mobile applications.
2. Youthful population: Over 60% of Africa’s population is below 25 years old, and this demographic is attracted to the excitement and thrills associated with betting. This is true of eSwatini too.
3. High unemployment rates: With job opportunities being scarce, many Swazis have turned to betting to make a living. However, betting has its downsides, with addiction and the possibility of losing investments being significant risks.
A sports betting Centre in one of the African countries.
Oftentimes people addicted to gambling suffer in silence, at times not even realizing they have crossed the normal threshold. It is not unusual to find young people on Twitter routinely sharing their personal gambling experiences. Many of these young people bet continually on football games abroad.
They talk openly about this, to the point of sharing screenshots of winnings. What has been distinctly amiss, however, are the converse narratives. What about everyone else who is gambling online but losing? Addiction, and gambling addiction in particular, is still a phenomenon that one can argue suffers a sort of biased perception, depending on the addiction.
In 2020, author and media personality Khaya Dlanga took to Instagram and opened up about his younger brother’s suicide. He talked about his struggle with online gambling and how it led to a “spiral of an addiction he could not get himself out [of]”
People tend to be a lot more accepting of substance or alcohol addictions, but not those to do with food or sex. Those are taboo. While gambling addictions are now being recognised for what they legitimately are — addictions — it can still be difficult for people to accept that an individual would spend most, if not all, of their income on something that is purely dependent on chance.
Keitumetse Disemelo, a clinical psychologist based in Pretoria, describes addiction as a condition with many moving parts to it. “It impacts one’s daily functioning, and there is a lack of control in staying away from the specific behaviour,” she says.
“Individuals become dependent on this behaviour and make spontaneous decisions despite negative consequences that they themselves are aware of. Denialism is also key to addiction.” A gambling disorder, which the American Psychiatric Association defines as repeated problem-gambling behaviour, is also linked with depression, anxiety, and suicide.
In fact, suicidality among those who gamble at problematic levels is higher than among the general population.