Youth Gambling in Sub-Saharan Africa SSA: A Critical Research Agenda (Glozah et al., 2023)

[accordion start]

Full citation

Glozah, F., Bunn, C., Sichali, J. M., Yendork, J. S., Mtema, O., Udedi, M., Reith, G., & McGee, D. (2023). Young people and gambling in sub-Saharan Africa: towards a critical research agenda. Journal of the British Academy, 11(s3), 153–172. https://doi.org/10.5871/jba/011s3.153

[accordion end]

‍

Region & Target Population

• ‍Primary region: Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)‍
• Comparative reference: Global North (Europe, North America, Australia)‍
• Target population: African youth and young people, including emerging adults (approximately 18–35 years)

Study Design

• Narrative, cross-regional critical review
• Synthesizes empirical studies, policy reports, and regulatory analyses related to youth gambling in SSA
• Explicitly contrasts African contexts with gambling research and regulation in the Global North

Source Characteristics (with coverage period)

• ‍Type of evidence reviewed:‍
  
  • Quantitative surveys
  • Qualitative studies
  • Policy and regulatory documents‍
• Geographic coverage: Multiple SSA countries, with frequent reference to:
  
  • Kenya
  • Ghana
  • Nigeria
  • South Africa‍
• Timeframe of literature:‍
  
  • Primarily 2010s–early 2020s (reflecting recent expansion of gambling markets in SSA)

Cross-Regional Comparison Framework

• Sub-Saharan Africa vs Global North comparisons focused on:
  
  • Gambling participation rates among youth
    
  • Dominant gambling products
  • Regulatory maturity and enforcement
  • Socioeconomic drivers of gambling behavior
  • Emphasis on structural and contextual factors, rather than individual pathology alone

Key Gambling Contexts and Drivers Reviewed

• ‍Dominant gambling forms: Sports betting as the primary youth gambling activity‍
• Technological enablers:‍
  
  • Widespread mobile-phone access
  • Integration of gambling platforms with mobile-money systems
• Structural risk factors:‍
  
  • Youth unemployment
  • Economic precarity
  • Informal labor markets
  • Weak or uneven regulatory enforcement‍
• Cultural and social factors: Gambling framed as opportunity, aspiration, and income generation rather than leisure

Research Questions

1. How do gambling patterns among African youth and emerging adults differ from those observed in the Global North?
2. What structural, technological, and economic factors drive gambling engagement among young people in Sub-Saharan Africa?
3. How do regulatory gaps and enforcement challenges shape youth gambling risk in SSA?
4. What research gaps limit current understanding of gambling-related harm among African emerging adults?

Key Findings

• ‍High youth engagement in sports betting: Sports betting is highly prevalent among 18–30-year-olds across many SSA countries.‍
• Mobile money as a growth accelerator: Countries with established mobile-money infrastructures (e.g., Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria) show rapid growth in youth gambling participation.‍
• Distinct product profile: Gambling participation among African youth often exceeds European levels for sports betting but remains lower for lotteries and casino gambling.
• Regulatory inconsistency: Gambling regulation across SSA is fragmented, with wide variation in legal frameworks, enforcement capacity, and consumer protection.‍
• Comparative disadvantage: Youth gambling in SSA occurs within contexts of greater economic insecurity and fewer harm-reduction resources than in the Global North.

Study Conclusion

The authors conclude that youth gambling in sub-Saharan Africa should be approached as a structural and political-economic issue, not primarily an individual pathology. They argue that rapid commercial expansion especially sports betting linked to mobile technologies and mobile money interacts with youth unemployment, precarity, and aspiration in ways that make gambling meaningful as an income strategy rather than only entertainment. They emphasize that importing Global North models and measures without adaptation risks misrepresenting both prevalence and harm.

The paper’s central conclusion is a call for a critical research agenda that foregrounds regulation, enforcement, corporate practices, labor conditions, and youth futures, and that reframes gambling harms as socially produced and unevenly distributed.