The case
illustrates the challenges which many families are now having to deal with in
this country as many people plunge into the dark spaces of gambling.
The industry
lures its clients by promising huge returns but, for many of the players, it
usually ends up in tears.
The industry
generates millions of dollars every month and betting on football matches has
now overtaken what is spent in betting on horses in this country.
Cathy Munaki
dragged her son Tawanda to the Harare Civil Court where she said his obsession
with gambling had left her being harassed by a number of people who lent him
money to finance his gambling obsession.
Munaki said: “He
sells my property, he gets involved in debts using my name and I am the one who
gets harassed when people come demanding their money.
“I now live in
fear as creditors keep knocking on my door demanding to be paid back their
money which I know nothing about.”
She said
Tawanda’s behaviour has destroyed her relationship with her family and friends
as she usually finds herself in the middle of his financial mess.
Tawanda did not
deny the allegations.He told the court that he was struggling to make ends meet
after his contract at his former workplace expired.
“I was just
trying to get money because I am not working,” he said.
Presiding
Magistrate Meenal Naratam ordered Tawanda to get a job and stop tormenting his
mother. The sports betting industry in this country has exploded in the past
few years.
This has seen
tens of thousands of Zimbabweans gambling and hoping to strike a fortune.
A number of
sports betting agencies have emerged across the country in recent years,
fighting for their cake in a market which is dominated by MWOS and AfricaBet.
The advent of
online betting has also dramatically changed the landscape because this means
that gamblers can bet even in the comfort of their homes.
The English
Premiership, the Spanish La Liga, the Germany Bundesliga, the French Lig 1 and
the Italian Seri A are attractive markets for the local gamblers.
Last year it
was revealed that 539 betting houses have been licenced in this country.
The sports
betting whirlwind has not only hit Zimbabwe but it has also hit South Africa
where the market is bigger and the returns are higher.
While local
annual figures of how much was spent on gambling last year are not easy to come
by, in South Africa it was reported that a staggering US$58,7 billion
(R1,1-trillion) was spent on legal bets for the financial year ending March 31
2024.
The figure was
40% more than the previous financial year.
Two thirds of
that money went to horse and sports betting activities. The biggest mover of
this huge amount, which the industry generated, was sports betting. H Metro
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