Kenya had a thriving sports betting market that was initially subjected to a 10 percent wagering tax. The Kenyan government started cracking down on betting operators in 2019 claiming that they were not paying their taxes correctly and betting operators opposed the government’s take on the matter.
The Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) hit back at operators and sent a strong message by asking Kenya’s Revenue Authority (KRA) to suspend the betting licenses of two of the biggest operators in the state.
BETIN and SportPesa were forced to stop operating after their licenses were revoked and a number of their overseas employees were arrested in Kenya.
The Kenyan government and betting operators in the country went to court as the government alleged that the betting operators owed them millions of dollars in back dated betting taxes. This lawsuit is yet to be settled.
Betting operators were initially paying a 10 percent betting tax in Kenya. However, the ruling government proposed in 2020 to hike the betting tax to 20 percent. The State House finance committee submitted an injunction in 2020 and put this 20 percent betting tax proposal on hold claiming that it was illegal to suddenly double the tax rate overnight.
The 20 percent tax proposal budget will once again be reviewed during the National Budget which takes place on 10 June. Kenya is one of the many countries that have been financially impacted by the COVID-19 virus and the government is looking at new revenue streams to bring in more taxes. The 20 percent tax rate will once again be under consideration and thing time it might get more support due to the COVID impact.
Betting operators are keeping their fingers crossed, hoping that the government will stick with the 10 percent betting tax.
SportPesa launched multiple lawsuits in the High Court but lost all of those lawsuits. The company changed ownership and decided to relaunch in Kenya under a new name Milestone Games. However, in a matter of few days the BCLB cracked down on the company and ordered them to shut down operations, claiming that while the company had a new name, its board remained the same as that of SportPesa.
The BCLB has allowed new operators to enter Kenya since then and one of the most notable names is Betsafe Kenya which belongs to Betsson AB.
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