Abstract:
Background: Gambling activities and associated mental health problems have become a topic of increased concern
globally. Many individuals with a severe gambling disorder have gambling-related suicidality. However, no study has
explored gambling-related suicide in East African Community (EAC) countries. The present study investigated the
press media reporting of gambling-related suicide cases from EAC countries.
Methods: As there is no established suicide database in that region, media reports were utilized to collect gamblingrelated suicide data. Gambling-related suicide case reports were searched for in EAC countries’ press media websites
using Google. After removing duplicates, a total of 18 suicides were found.
Results: The victims were all males aged 16 to 40 years. The most prevalent reason for the death was university students who had used their university tuition fees for gambling and losing the money (n =4/17). All the suicide deaths
were in Kenya (10/18), Uganda (7/18), and Tanzania (1/18). Betting on soccer was the most common type of gambling
reported (n =11/15), and hanging was the most used mode of suicide (n =10/16).
Conclusions: Based on the press media reports, 18 males were identifed as having carried out gambling-related
suicides. The countries with the most widespread opportunities to gamble had more gambling-related suicides,
although the number of suicides was very small.
Keywords: Gambling, Betting, Uganda, Kenya, East Africa, Suicide, Media reporting suicide, Gambling-related suicide,
East African community, Gambling laws
