It is Bazaar week at Makerere University. That one week a year when the campus transforms into a market. Stalls stretched along the paths outside Nkrumah Hall, vendors called out over music and chatter, and thousands of students moved through the crowd shopping for clothes, snacks, and everything in between. In the middle of all that noise, something quieter but just as important was happening.

The National Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board (NLGRB), together with XfmUG, set up outside the hall for a public interview and an open conversation with representatives from XFM about gaming, the risks that come with the game and initiatives in place to protect students from gaming harm.

Speaking to the crowd, Ms. Jackline Kamakune, Senior Communications Officer at the NLGRB, offered a piece of advice so simple that it stopped student mid step. “Gaming is addictive and can be psychologically harmful.” It sounds almost too simple to matter. But behind that line sits the heart of what the Board wants every Ugandan student to understand. Gaming is a legal activity. A bet is not a plan, not a job, and not a way out of financial hardship. Speaking live on XFM, the Senior Communications Officer said, gaming is entertainment where one should use disposable income. However, she emphasized that students are not expected to be betting because they do not have disposable income, their minds are not fully developed to make informed decisions.

NLGRB was established to regulate lotteries and gaming across the country, but regulation is only half the job. The other half is arguably the most urgent and important; to ensure the public, including students, are protected.

The minors sit at a crossroads of vulnerability. Many are still building financial independence, with no disposable income to absorb a loss. At the same time, the decision-making centre’s of the human brain continue developing well into a person’s twenties, which can make it harder to resist the pull of “one more bet” after a win, or “just this once” after a loss. Put those two things together, limited money and a still-maturing ability to weigh long term consequences and it becomes clear why young Ugandans are a priority for the Board’s outreach. That is exactly why events like the one at Makerere matter. Meeting students where they already are in this case, in the middle of a bustling bazaar rather than a formal lecture hall turns a regulatory mandate into a real conversation.