Young unemployed Liberians are attracted to sports betting

Liberia

Officially the Republic of Liberia, Liberia is a country located on the West African coast. Liberia means "Land of the Free" in Latin. The country shares borders with Sierra Leone to the west, Guinea to the north, and Côte d'Ivoire to the east. Liberia covers an area of 111,369 square kilometers with an estimated population of approximately 5 million citizens. The official language is an English, but many local languages represent the different tribes that makeup 95% of the population.

The Republic of Liberia was founded as a colony by the American Colonization Society (ACS). The country declared its independence in 1847, but the United States did not recognize it until after the American Civil War in 1862. Liberia is Africa's first and oldest republic. The country maintained and retained its independence during the European colonial era. During World War II, Liberia supported the United States war effort against Germany, and in return, the United States invested a large sum in improving Liberia's infrastructure. Liberia was one of the founding member of the United Nations, the League of Nations and the Organization of African Unity.

Liberia's history throughout the 20th century has been characterized by military coups, dictatorships and two civil wars. Since 2005, the country has operated as a unitary presidential republic. Liberia's constitution was enacted in 1986 and it is still in effect today.

All forms of gambling are legal in Liberia. The National Lottery Authority (NLA) oversees and regulates all gambling-related activities in the country. * Currently, two casinos are operating in the country, both in the capital Monrovia. Since 2014, all gambling operators have acquired the appropriate licenses to operate. Since summer 2015, online gambling operators must also have licenses. Players in Liberia will not be prosecuted if they decide to play in an unlicensed online casino and the government does not block foreign gambling sites either.

International sports betting companies

Many international sports betting companies like Betzillion have set up shop in Liberia. Young unemployed people congregate in these betting parlors to bet on things like televised football matches. Some people say it is a good source of income and occupation, but others are not sure.

A betting parlor in Monrovia run by Winner's Incorporated, young men watch football matches on flat-screen televisions. Then they place bets and wait for the results.

The company's chief marketing officer, Randall Kaybee, said sports betting is "transforming life of Liberians" for just a few LDs, or Liberian dollars, per bet.

Lucrative and legal lure Fifty Liberian dollars costs about 33 cents in the United States. Change. This payment he quoted is just above $2,700. He said the earnings could be up to five times higher.

Harris Kokeh, 38, has a college degree but has been unable to find a job. So he started to bet. "I lived through it. It helped me a lot. The last time I won about 800 US dollars. He said; It was a big help to me.

The Winner's Incorporated said the company has been in Monrovia since 2011, but the industry. In 2013, other companies began to settle in the region. However, he insisted that they were not preying on the poor.

"The game of sports betting is a give and take. For example, if everyone has to bet on Barcelona today and Barcelona loses, Winner's Incorporated benefits. If everyone has to bet on Barcelona today and Barcelona win , Winner's Incorporated loses. Customers gain," Kaybee said.

He said they were hiring young people to work in their branches across the country, creating thousands of jobs.

The premier bet in Liberia operations are legal and are regulated by the government.

Deep Concerns

An official from Liberia's Ministry of Youth, Henry Coleman, said, "With the presence of these institutions, we are very excited and on board with their functioning in the country. This will help promote a government poverty reduction strategy.

But not everyone agrees that's a good thing, like Harrison Myers, 36. "This gambling story is bad for the society. Our young people are no longer going to school," he said. "They spend all the day at the play/gaming center."

Some of the people say the expansion of legal sports betting is fueling more illegal street gambling andundermine young people's motivation.

But back at the betting show, 28-year-old unemployed father-of-two Theo Varney said they didn't have a choice. "We don't have a lot of facilities, so what are you waiting for? We don't bet because we want to bet. We bet because we want to make a living."

Winner's Incorporated says more than 7,000 Liberians bet weekly on their sites and 300-400 winners walk away.