Father must have money and can provide for his family. He Wouldn't act that way if they don't have enough. Or maybe the father is really a disciplinarian and wanted the boy to stop gambling as well.
That one hell of a disciplinarian the father must be. 38,000,000 naira is like 51,000 dollars if we convert that. Now that's a good some to start something good for almost anyone who hangs around betshops looking gor luck to escape the poor living condition in Nigeria and get some test of the good life as an average or middle class citizen.
I wonder who is this young man. Am sure betting is 18+which very much designates him for an adult and ought not to be living with the family. If he ain't sure if he should have been living with the family, this was a good sign to start living out and being his own person. I think that would be the case in the end.