That teenagers play betting and the underage group now have a culture of patronizing betting centres is a common scene that now baffles.
But that Government and local authority do nothing- even as the trend grows beyond parents’ control- makes it more worrisome.
When we play Sportbet- one of the bets in town- “when we forecast and predict games correctly they use to give us money,” some 13-15 years old children (male and Female) who shared their interest in betting told our correspondent in Lagos.
One thing that is common with this children is that they all watch English Premier League, La liga, UEFA Champions League, Bondusliga, Germany’s League, and other international football leagues religiously.
Besides that, they know virtually the names of key players each teams that plays in the leagues and these are children that analysis football fixtures and match outcomes with sweet academics and brilliant acumen.
Maybe the children are however following the message in the slogan- “Put your money where your mouth is” which is prominent in one of the sport betting adverts common on television.
“The parents of these children may not know they play Sportbet” said, an elderly woman(Name Unknown) who over-heard our reporter chatting with the children over the weekend at a spot close to a popular viewing centre at Olateju road- a street on Mushin -a sub-burb part Lagos.
The apparently disturbed woman who perhaps have been observing children trends getting hooked with betting poured it from her mind that said, “They play it everyday. Infact it is common everyday, especially at the weekend. Sometimes especially during the school or lesson period you still see them lurking the betting centres.
“All these teenagers especially in this our area, only God will help them oo” she added,
In her words as our reporter turned to give a hear-say she said, “It baffles that the elderly ones do not caution or control or stop them. It appears as if they see nothing wrong because its like a culture thing now all over.”
GOVT DO SOMETHING
A report from Ilorin-Kwara State- also indicated that underage people are fast getting hooked to betting.
An Ilorin based legal practitioner, Mr Juwon Gbadebo, has however appealed to the Federal and state Governments to urgently address the issue.
Gbadebo, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin said that nowadays betting centres like Bet9ja, NairaBet, Bet360 and Baba Ijebu were being filled daily with teenagers, especially during the school period.
“It is bad for our society to condone such act. Imagine a young boy of less than eighteen years patronising bet house.
“It spells doom for the future of this country.
“It is disheartening seeing these underage at bet houses; instead of stay in their classes studying, they are now playing gambling games during the school hours.
“Something urgent must be done to curb the menace in order to rescue the future of this upcoming generations,’’ he said.
He called on the security agents to ensure proper monitoring of the bet centres and arrest any underage caught engaging in betting.
The legal practitioner also advised the government to show a great commitment to discourage such act by the underage in order to clean the society of bad practices.
The lawyer said it was worrisome that managers of bet centres only care for the money they would make and never mind to question the children and send them out.
He further suggested that any bet centre that harbour the underage should be closed down.
Gbadebo also advised parents and guardians to closely monitor the movement of their children and wards and discourage them from going near the bet houses.
