University graduates turn to betting for survival

SHAKESPEARE MUNAKANDAFA

Amidst the high rate of unemployment and economic quagmire bedeviling the Zimbabw, Gweru youths including university graduates have joined the bandwagon of gambling as a means for survival.

In separate interviews with various youths who marred the Africa bet hall and some feja-feja corners, zwnews.com established that the causative element for gambling is unemployment and economic hardship.

I graduated with flying colours at the University of Zimbabwe in 2014, but i am yet to fulfill my dream of being a political scientist or getting a job in a related area as employment opportunities remain elusive, sport betting has become one of my ignoble Job said Tinashe Mutsonga from Mkoba.

“Betting costs me almost nothing and I can win a lot, I once won $700 after placing one of my bet and that helped me pay school fees for my two brothers and buy a TV set so I can watch some of the matches i would  have bet for  at home,” Mutsonga said.

Supporters of sports betting in Gweru claim it’s a business that offers employment to thousands of young people and provides quick money for ordinary people.They may be right, but betting still has its critics in town.

Another young gambler Winston Kamchichi said he was making a living from sports betting,”Betting provides me with an opportunity to earn an income, with bets as little as a $1, I can win up to $100.

It’s this possibility of higher returns that lures thousands of men in Gweru, including the poor, unemployed and even those who are financially stable so as to ‘invest’ in sports betting.

Given this potential for profit, it’s no surprise how sports’ betting has become a source of income for hundreds of Gweru youths.

European football leagues especially the English, Spanish, French and Italian leagues attract lots of sports betting fans. But there’s also a lot of betting that goes on for tennis, basketball, hockey, boxing, car and motorcycle racing, horse races and several other sports.

People bet on the outcome of games, number of goals, points, which players would score and other actions which may occur during the game.

With Zimbabwe having network leading providers of Econet and Netone along fastest growing markets for mobile phones, the widespread use of mobile phones has been a positive game changer for the sports betting business.

zwnews.com