Lottery to Fund Kenyan Sport

While we wait for news on whether the 5th ODI is going to start, I thought that a brief comment on this story in the Standard about President Kibaki proposing a Lottery to fund Kenyan sport. In some ways, this is great news - look at how sport in the UK has benefitted from their National Lottery. At the very bottom line, anything that generates income for sport in Kenya and so help raise the standards of facilities and training is to be encouraged. Cricket Kenya needs to make sure that, should this initiative go ahead, cricket will recieve its fair share.

Lotteries however, are an unpleasant way of making money, and in a country such as Kenya, I wonder whether the wanainchi who end up shelling out for the lotto tickets will actually benefit. Odds of winning money in a lottery are pretty slim - my mate Steve refers to them as a 'tax on stupid people', and yes, I do pay my tax. The difference is that I know the odds, and am prepared to spend the occasional fiver for the thrill of being 'in with a shout'. Last time I was back in Kenya, I was peturbed by the belief expressed to me by several people, that so long as they kept entering a lottery, it would only be a matter of time before they won big. A lottery to fund national sport is great, but it must be made clear to the punters exactly what their chances of winning are, or should I say aren't? Winning the World Cup funded by money from our countrymen who are starving because they spent their earnings on lotto would leave a pretty bitter taste in the mouth.