Women turn to sports betting to ease economic hardships

By Kelvin Kutinyo

Desperate to escape the suffocating grip of poverty, a growing number of women are turning to sports betting as a means of survival, sparking concerns over the exploitation of vulnerable individuals.

An activity once known to bring men together, betting for fun and killing time has also become a glimmer of hope to women hoping to strike luck and escape the shackles of poverty in a country where economic instability reigns.

Women are frequent visitors to sports gambling shops, often stopping by twice a day to try their luck with the popular ‘two, three numbers’ betting option. By correctly guessing the numbers during tea time or lunch time draws, individuals walk away with a substantial income.

Sports analyst Praise Dumi Dhlakama revealed that gambling is driven by pressing personal issues and added that it poses to be a serious threat if left uncontrolled.

“The situation in the country is tough. People are doing it out of desperation and not from pleasure. The challenge is that sports betting is very addictive, mental health issues can rise due to stress, and you find that’s why the number is escalating even though at the end of the day, only a few win.”

“People want to be that one person so they tend to continue visiting the betting shop. They need to know that gambling and match fixing are two common words that are interwoven in sports, going forward something needs to be done to address the issue of uncontrolled gambling,” said Mr Dhlakama.

Women have formed support groups to collectively try their luck at predicting numbers daily. Some members rely on their dreams to guide their number choices, adding a touch of superstition to their betting strategies.

Ms Amanda Dube highlighted that most women apply different strategies to counter the numbers.

“We are a group of six women, whatever we win we share so we sit down and then analyze the numbers that have been regularly popping up and then select them, mix them with today’s date. All of us get to choose different numbers and then we place our tickets, it can be a bad day in the office orbit can be a good but we always salvage something.”

“I am a vendor by profession, betting to me is a side hustle that I don’t rely on because sometimes you lose and sometimes you win. I was introduced to this by my neighbor, it’s like a round ladies club we all walk away happy at the end of the week,” she said.

The country’s skyrocketing unemployment rate has driven individuals to explore every available opportunity, often disregarding potential risks. Many families have turned to informal trading as a means of survival, to make ends meet.

One of the regular gamblers who preferred to be called ‘MaNdlo’ added that sports bet is like a business opportunity that can cover expenses sometimes.

“I sell scones and cupcakes around town mostly at the terminus and to me betting is something that I practice atleast four times a week, I see it as a business opportunity. The money that I sometimes win covers my expenses.”

“Last week I played 3 numbers and won 550 rands, the money helped me to buy ingredients for my business like flour, sugar and some milk but this week luck is not on my side. Per week i usually spend something like 80 rands for betting but the returns are good if you win within those two weeks,” she said.