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As sports betting grows in Africa, many see a real scourge

A man leaves the building of a sports betting shop in the Soweto township of Johannesburg, South Africa Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022. Although sports betting is a global phenomenon and a legitimate business in many countries, the stakes are high on the continent of 1.3 billion people because of lax or non-existent regulation, poverty and widespread unemployment. (AP Photo/Denis Farrell)

A man plays a world cup betting game at a sports betting shop in Lagos, Nigeria, Monday, Dec. 5, 2022. Although sports betting is a global phenomenon and a legitimate business in many countries, the stakes are high on the continent of 1.3 billion people because of lax or non-existent regulation, poverty and widespread unemployment. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Customers place their bets and watch screens inside a sports betting shop in the Soweto township of Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022. Although sports betting is a global phenomenon and a legitimate business in many countries, the stakes are high on the continent of 1.3 billion people because of lax or non-existent regulation, poverty and widespread unemployment. (AP Photo/Denis Farrell)

Gideon Matua looks at his betting slip at the Fortebet sports betting centre in Ntinda, Kampala. at the Fortebet sports betting shop in the Ntinda area of the capital Kampala, Uganda, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022. Although sports betting is a global phenomenon and a legitimate business in many countries, the stakes are high on the continent of 1.3 billion people because of lax or non-existent regulation, poverty and widespread unemployment. (AP Photo/Hajarah Nalwadda)

A man looks out of a sports betting shop in the low-income Kibera neighborhood of the capital Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, Dec. 5, 2022. Although sports betting is a global phenomenon and a legitimate business in many countries, the stakes are high on the continent of 1.3 billion people because of lax or non-existent regulation, poverty and widespread unemployment. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Moses Ssali, center, looks at his phone after placing bets at the Fortebet sports betting shop in the Ntinda area of the capital Kampala, Uganda, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022. In Uganda, an East African country where annual income per capita was $840 in 2020, many see sports betting as a path to survival and perhaps even prosperity. (AP Photo/Hajarah Nalwadda)

A man plays a World Cup betting game at a sports betting shop in Lagos, Nigeria, Monday, Dec. 5, 2022. Although sports betting is a global phenomenon and a legitimate business in many countries, the stakes are high on the continent of 1.3 billion people because of lax or non-existent regulation, poverty and widespread unemployment. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Shop manager David Mugisa, center, helps a customer at the Fortebet sports betting shop in the Ntinda area of the capital Kampala, Uganda, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022. In Uganda, an East African country where annual income per capita was $840 in 2020, many see sports betting as a path to survival and perhaps even prosperity. (AP Photo/Hajarah Nalwadda)

Customers watch screens in a sports betting shop in the low-income Kibera neighborhood of the capital Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, Dec. 5, 2022. Although sports betting is a global phenomenon and a legitimate business in many countries, the stakes are high on the continent of 1.3 billion people because of lax or non-existent regulation, poverty and widespread unemployment. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Customers queue outside a sports betting shop in the low-income Kibera neighborhood of the capital Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, Dec. 5, 2022. Although sports betting is a global phenomenon and a legitimate business in many countries, the stakes are high on the continent of 1.3 billion people because of lax or non-existent regulation, poverty and widespread unemployment. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Customers watch screens in a sports betting shop in the low-income Kibera neighborhood of the capital Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, Dec. 5, 2022. Although sports betting is a global phenomenon and a legitimate business in many countries, the stakes are high on the continent of 1.3 billion people because of lax or non-existent regulation, poverty and widespread unemployment. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Customers place their bets outside a sports betting shop in the Soweto township of Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022. Although sports betting is a global phenomenon and a legitimate business in many countries, the stakes are high on the continent of 1.3 billion people because of lax or non-existent regulation, poverty and widespread unemployment. (AP Photo/Denis Farrell)

People walk past sports betting shops on a street in Lagos, Nigeria, Monday, Dec. 5, 2022. Although sports betting is a global phenomenon and a legitimate business in many countries, the stakes are high on the continent of 1.3 billion people because of lax or non-existent regulation, poverty and widespread unemployment. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

As sports betting grows in Africa, many see a real scourge