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Kenyan Man Takes Gambling Operator to Court for Refusing to Close His Account

A lawyer, who was also a problem gambler, has taken a betting company to court for refusing to close his account after he had lost thousands of shillings on its services.

Mark Ndumia Ndung’u filed a petition at the Kenyan High Court claiming that he was willing to stop gambling but he was addicted to the practice, and blamed Shop and Deliver Limited that is currently trading as Betika for rejecting his request to close his betting account. Mr. Ndung’u explained that since July 2020, he had felt that he had been spending too much time and money betting because of gambling addiction, so he had asked the betting operator to close his account – a request that had been declined by Betika.

The man also claims that he is currently experiencing trouble dealing with gambling disorder because of the fact he had started gambling too frequently and had staked too much money, which makes it hard for him to stop betting at a time when his account with the firm is still operating.

Mr. Ndung’u further claimed to have been chasing losses, as he would take a new bet to cover up a previous loss – a practice that has made his problem gambling really dangerous, as it has risen to something that is no longer a form of entertainment.

Now, the plaintiff asks the court to officially declare that the gambling operator has violated his rights by rejecting his request to have his account closed. He also seeks compensation for the amount he has deposited in his account with Betika.

Plaintiff Blames Betika for Taking Advantage of His Gambling Addiction

In his petition to the High Court, the lawyer stated that he addressed the company asking it to close his account in his bid to stop his gambling habit, but Betika refused to act on the issue, which forced him to look for other ways to make the operator close his account.

According to Mr. Ndung’u, having his betting account closed was the only way for him to stop gambling as he had previously tried taking breaks several times but each of his attempts was unsuccessful so far. He explained that his request to close his account with Betika was declined by the gambling firm on July 17th, so he made a follow-up call to the company that explained that his account would automatically close in case he restrains himself from gambling for a long time. This, however, is not an option for Mr. Ndung’u as he says he cannot stay away from gambling if his account is active because he is easily tempted to place a bet anytime he is offered high stakes.

The lawyer further explained that after him persisting that the gambling operator closes his account with immediate effect, he was requested to send his personal details for action on the firm’s part. Unfortunately, he found his account being active in August. This made him approach the Betting and License Control Board to make the firm close his account and then, in September, he got an email from Betika informing him that the account had been shut.

Mr. Ndung’u claims this had not been the truth, since he found that he was still able to enter his account and place bets. As he explained, the lack of action on the gambling company’s part led to him losing KES110,362 in the first week of August. The lawyer claims that this would not have happened if the company had acted on his initial request to close the account.

The problem gambler confirmed that he fully understood the risks associated with gambling but he still blames the operator for taking advantage of his addictive behavior and of other vulnerable Kenyan residents who find it hard to control their gambling habits. According to Mr. Ndung’u, Betika is constantly taking advantage of individuals facing gambling disorders by literally doing nothing to close their accounts and prevent them from gambling and at the same time unveiling new incentives to lure gamblers into placing more money on gambling.



 Author: Harrison Young

Harrison Young is an experienced writer, who started his career almost 8 years ago. Prior to joining our team at CasinoGamesPro, he worked as an editor for a small magazine.
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