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"id": 1402145,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1402145/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Cherarkey",
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"id": 13217,
"legal_name": "Cherarkey K Samson",
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"content": "Clause 6, which is my closing, is on online gambling. We need to check on it because sometimes they force you to see an advertisement. I know there is an agreement with YouTube on advertisement, but it should be optional. When you open YouTube, social media or a page, they want you to watch it for five seconds, which I always find unfair because you do not want to watch. Maybe you wanted to watch Senate live proceedings, for example, but they just insist on you watching an advertisement. It must be either they are paying taxes to Government to do that or they give you an option. I have been questioning the role of consumer protection and the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK), which is just across Technical University of Kenya (TUK). What engagements are they doing about competition authority and consumer protection? We need protection. I agree on online bookmarkers, lottery and casino licenses, so that it becomes easy. I agree with Sen. Cheruiyot that we need to enhance fines. I have told you that the people who gamble are very wealthy people. I remember when we wanted to do amendments on winnings, it was hard for both the National Assembly and the Senate to move the amendments because of the interest that the gambling sector has in terms of the laws that we have. I agree on the licensing so that we are protected. I remember when the President pushed on the earnings on online, that you can earn online, but we should have licenses, so that we can track earnings and ensure that there is taxation. Mr. Speaker, Sir, there is one thing I wanted to mention about these people who run social media; Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, WhatsApp and TikTok . Most of these companies are operated abroad. There is a systematic discrimination from some of these organizations. When people who are in Africa complain against, for example, X Corporation, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook or Instagram, they do not respond to the complaints, yet most of those accounts are verified and you pay for them. However, people like X Corporation and YouTube, for example, do not respond to you, and yet those accounts that Kenyans or Africans own, are verified and they are paid for. However, when somebody who is in the United States of America (USA) and Europe complains to those organisations and corporations, they take it seriously. I hope as we do this licensing, we are not doing Public Relations (PR). When the Government wants to issue licenses, because they own the domains of those applications, they should not take advantage, but avoid discrimination. In conclusion, Clause 71 (2) says-, “A gambling advertisement shall indicate the addictive nature of gambling.” We want them to be just like cigarettes. There used to be a cigarette called Sportsman. When they say “Sportsman”, they put there that, “smoking is hazardous to your health”. So, when you want to do “ Betika ”---, Mr. Speaker, Sir, I am told they that the other day, a team like Arsenal, Aston Villa and others, started on top of the table, but they are now under the table. People have betted that Arsenal or Manchester United, for example, will be on the table, but it ends up under the table. I know that some of us, like you and the the Senate Majority Leader, are football lovers. We are addicted to football. You can imagine people who bet and do not The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
}