Two men dressed in black suits stand at the Sunrise Casino entrance along Kenyatta Avenue. Next to them is a police officer holding tight to his rifle watching revellers pass by, as they head upstairs to a club situated adjacent to the casino.
The club is noisy and dimly lit with one side lending the view of the city to the clients who are seated at the table next to the window whiling their time away as they observe the traffic build up on the street below.
On the right side of the room directly opposite to them, is an open door guarded by other two men ushering clients to the red carpeted casino floor.
Dealers
It is 4pm and there seems to be less activity around the gaming room except for the three men at the card table. On the right side of the floor, there is another group of clients chatting away. Dealers stand at their positions waiting for clients.
This is the world of gambling where neither losing nor winning is ever guaranteed. There are only two sides to it; going back home a millionaire or a pauper.
Whereas there those who visit casinos to make business deals, socialise and gamble for the fun of it, there is another group of people who come in to play, but end up addicted sometimes to the ruin of their relationships.
?Gambling addiction is like alcoholism. One takes one bottle then the second until they are fully hooked on it,? says James Mbugua, a Counselling Psychologist and assistant dean of students at Nazarene University.
?This addictions starts with the first win. One is tempted to raise the bet in the hope of getting more.? According to Mbugua, one win for an addict in a week, means whatever has been lost is forgotten.
Casino owners somewhat agree that there are clients who get addicted. But their advice to anyone who tries their hand at gambling is always the same; ?As soon as you win or spend what you intended to spend for that one day, go home. Do not stay in the gaming room because you will be tempted to try again and that?s how the addiction starts.?
Although, Mbugua says there are those addicts who will notice they have a problem and seek help on their own, many never realise they have a problem until someone points it out. In such cases, he calls for family support and personal responsibility on the party of the gamblers.
?It is not the casinos that get people addicted. I have a friend who spends more than what she earns on clothing, she is addicted to shopping.
"Surely nobody should blame boutiques for purposely trying to make clients addicted to shopping. In my opinion, any addiction is related to a wrong behaviour of the individual that needs attention,? says one of the senior managers of Mayfair Group, who declined to give their name.
?As with everything else in life, there is need for personal responsibility. Casinos don?t put a gun on one?s head to go and gamble just like alcohol does not pop up from the table into someone?s mouth. As you take that first bottle, know that it is addictive. Same with gambling,? he says.
?We see people from different walks here, some very prominent personalities in society. Most of them come here to have fun but we also know of some who come to play and get addicted to the extent that their families are reduced to near destitution because of their habit.
??We are running a business and cannot be expected to chase away irresponsible gamblers. It?s their families who should came to their rescue because even if we turned them away, they would simply go to the next venue where sometimes they are not known.
??In such cases, they may fall into some sort of harm which cannot happen where they are known. Our duty is to protect our clients,? added another casino employee.
Profitable
The gaming industry is one of the most profitable businesses in the world but also the riskiest. Owners on the international market have suffered in the last three years with the exception of those operating in Macau.
According to Ernst &Young, this small Asian country?s revenue quadrupled that of Las Vegas in the US and continues to grow. But Africa is increasingly seeing interest from international players who are keen to invest in the region.
Kenya has attracted such investors bringing the total number of casinos to over 30 from only about four a couple of years ago.
But not everyone is happy with the increasing numbers. Some owners are decrying the reduced number of clients to their establishments.
?The clientele is not increasing; on the contrary, it is decreasing. This is due to the opening of several new casinos in Nairobi in the recent past which all cater to the same clients,? said a senior manager at Mayfair Group.
However, a spokesperson from the management of Finix casino who also spoke on condition that we did not name them refutes the claim saying the casinos serve different clientele based on their location.
?Our customer base is not only varied in nationality, but also in social status. They come from different walks of life. The business client is one of the many clients that fit the casino clientele. We have tourists, businessmen and women walk through our doors daily, too. It?s a mixture of Africans and Europeans,? says Daniela Cellini, Marketing and events manager at Casino Malindi Group.
?Our local market is also strong, with local Kenyans and other Africans enjoying a visit to the casino. On the weekends and holidays, the Nairobi crowd pays us a visit as well,? she adds.
The main clients at Finix are Chinese expatriates while the Mayfair and Intercontinental casinos attract mainly business travellers.
Among the big players running the show in Kenya are the Casino Malindi group, a family business which specialises in the entertainment industry with a total of six casinos ? five in Kenya and one in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and The Mayfair group, owners of Mayfair casino in Westlands and RKL Mayfair, commonly referred to Intercontinental Casino.
The new entrants such as Sunrise Casino, are believed to have a Russian affiliation ? they have Cameo casino in the city centre, Captains on Mombasa road and another at Junction Mall on Ngong road apart from Finix which opened its doors in 2005.
?The market with the most potential is the Chinese one because more and more of them are coming to Kenya and they love to gamble. We expect to see this market growing in the future,? says Daniela.
The casino business is a tricky investment that requires one to partner with seasoned players if they want to make any headway.
?It is a very difficult and highly specialised venture that requires know-how that is not easy to find. Therefore investors are usually keen to partner with expert casino managements only,? said the Mayfair management.
The gaming industry in Kenya is controlled and licensed by the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) which is under the Office of the Vice President and Ministry of Home Affairs.
Some of the activities it oversees are lotteries, casinos and pool tables among others. The government runs the biggest share in public lotteries through the Kenya Charity Sweepstake.
Recently, sports lottery has also been introduced. Our efforts to find out more about the operations of these casinos and even the licencing process did not yield answers as those we spoke to were unwilling to talk.
However, casinos like any other businesses have a bad day too. Already Finix Casino has seen a low turnout from locals and a changing Chinese clientele as expatriates end their contracts and others come in.
They also say they lose their money through stealing by both clients and employees.
?Many people never want to talk about it but we lose quite a bit of money in the gaming floor. A client may steal a chip and walk to the cashier to cash it,? says the Finix Management.
Winners, of huge sums are another lot that leave the owners with mixed reactions.
?The highest amount someone has ever won in one of our casinos was over Sh100m,? says Daniela. ?We are in the gambling business. Sometimes the customer wins other times we win.?
?The common misconception is that casinos ?steal? money and that they are related to bad activities, this is totally false. Activities in the casinos are perfectly legal, closely controlled by the authorities, where safety of the premises and exclusivity of the clientele is highly considered. We contribute a lot of revenue for the country, giving jobs to thousands of employees,? says a representative from the Mayfair Group.
Common games in the casino are roulettes, pontoon, blackjack, cards, pokers, Punto banco, slot machines, Texas poker tournaments and card tables.
Depending on the game, the minimum at the tables is Sh25 and at the slots Sh2 according to Mayfair but this varies from one casino to another. Slots are often programmed to pay out 96 per cent of what is put in and retain the rest for the Casino.
Business Daily Africa
Source: http://www.mwakilishi.com/content/articles/2012/10/12/big-time-gambling-comes-to-kenya.html
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