Uganda, March 24 -- Nearly one hour into my interview with Denis Ngabirano, a certified international data and tax analyst and the chief executive officer of National Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board (NLGRB), I hear myself apologise.

We have taken on the myth of manipulation of the system, the plague of substandard machines, the exit of big betting companies, addiction control and the risks of gambling. I completely forgot to ask him a light question.

But that is because the fervour with which gamblers display themselves in gaming parlours occasionally, if not always, leads them to make poor choices that utterly ruin their lives.

It has been reported that approximately one thousand students at Makerere University are having diffic...