Sports betting is big business in Kenya as people place bets hoping to win life-transforming money. This has spawned a supporting industry of tipsters, people who advise on which bets to place, but questions arise as to their real intentions.
Betting tips have become such a huge business that tipsters are advertising their services on mainstream media, such as FM radio stations. They are more active on social media as punters (people who place bets) look for any information that will result in a win. Many tipsters ask that a fee be paid through mobile money before sharing their betting tips. There’s also a group of tipsters who provide betting tips for free and have thus gained a huge following on social media.
Survey firm Geopoll found in January that 83 per cent of Kenyans admitted to participating in betting. This was the highest percentage in Africa, proof that government attempts to control betting are yet to bear fruit.
Nigeria had 78 per cent of respondents saying they regularly place bets, while South Africa had 74 per cent. Furthermore, Kenya had the highest percentage of respondents — 34 per cent — who said they place bets more than once a day.
Safaricom’s mobile money disclosure report, released in 2021, stated that Kenyans spent Sh83.2 billion placing bets between March and September that year. This was an increase from Sh49.2 billion recorded over the same period in 2020. The numbers are for punters who used the company's M-Pesa platform, but this is not the only way Kenyans transact with betting companies. The actual value of betting in Kenya could be much higher.
Lots of people fantasise about betting as a side hustle. Why not? There's potentially lots of money to be made with very little effort. In reality, the chances of becoming a millionaire punter are small, but that does not discourage people from trying. As tipsters market themselves as having insider knowledge on the outcome of the games, it is only natural that punters seek their help.
As tipsters mostly operate online, their actual identity remains a secret. Even those advertising in mainstream media hide behind mobile money paybill numbers. This is where matters get murky.
A BBC investigation discovered in 2016 that a large number of betting tipsters make money when their clients lose. According to the report, half of the online tipsters are affiliated with a betting company. When the punter loses, the betting company keeps the money and shares it with the tipster.
A regular marketing tactic used by betting tipsters is to claim that the outcome of football matches is predetermined (fixed matches) and that they know who is going to win. Tipsters prefer giving tips on what the final score would be at the end of the match (correct score betting). That type of bet can provide a huge win and, therefore, attracts punters looking to double their money.
Several popular tipsters in Kenya have betting company logos on their social media profiles. This is proof of their affiliation, which puts into question the value of advice they are providing.