Gambia bans all kinds of gambling

The Gambian government has banned all forms of gambling and related activities in the country "with immediate effect."

Lotteries and casino companies have been ordered to stop operations immediately or face dire consequences.

Even private betting between individuals has been ordered to cease.

A Monday statement from the government argued that the decision was "to safeguard and promote the public welfare of our citizens''.

Their families

"The Gambian society was built on positive social values like integrity rather than negative ones like greed and avarice," it said.

The ban, it further explained, was necessitated by the "alarming rate" of gambling across the country and increasingly among students.

Family heads were also in the habit, the statement continued, of indulging in gambling and "leaving no food on the table for their families and thereby exacerbating hunger."

In recent times, the country has been witnessing an increase in the registration of betting operators, among them the West African Lotto Company.

There is also a lot of betting revolving around English Premier League football matches.