Television actor Robert Kamau Mbaya popularly known as Baha has come out openly to confess that he was fighting a betting addiction.

The 23-year-old disclosed he had for several months been going through a gambling addiction before being rescued by an organisation known as Johnika Responsible Gaming Foundation which is paying for his psychological therapy.

“Society has put much expectation on people like our celebrities. If you start facing challenges; be ready to be shunned. And in order to avoid being abandoned when we go broke as happened to me, you resort to betting with the expectation of getting quick money. But when it backfires you are in more trouble,” said Baha.

According to Sylivia Raywe, a clinical psychologist at Integrative Holistic Psychotherapy, there are three types of gambling – professional, social, and problematic. The first two are practised as either a business or hobby while the last one is for those without a clear formula for managing wealth but want quick riches. 

“People who may be celebrities in society and at one time they fall and get into financial difficulties may want to come out of the situation by joining betting through taking loans or debts right, left and centre; gambling that may turn into problematic betting,” said Raywe.

She said many people have as a result died by suicide or developed bipolar disorders due to problematic betting. 

Baha, who had been on TV for nine years, said that upon completion of his psychological therapy, he intends to achieve three things – get back to the screen, do his acting on YouTube, and advocate against the side effects of gambling.