In a landmark move, Kenya’s National Assembly Sports, Culture and Tourism committee has overturned a provision in the Gaming Bill of 2019 which sought to block gamblers and betting companies from receiving cash or paying through mobile money platforms such as M-PESA, Airtel Money or T-Kash.
“The amendment seeks to discourage gambling and to deter a licensee from allowing illegal gaming,” the committee said in a report. “The amendment seeks to remove the use of credit cards to gamble or bet…and seeks to provide for other modes of payments which a player may use, that is mobile money transfer.”
Here Is What You Need To Know
- The bill which seeks to repeal the Betting, Lotteries and Gaming Act of 1966 was introduced to police the betting industry which has seen massive growth over the last couple of years.
- The biggest winners following this reversal are telcos and betting firms while the biggest losers are banks affected by the removal of the use of credit cards to bet.
Gambling Kenya Gambling Kenya
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- Under Section 60 of the Bill, online gamblers are not to bet anything less than KES 100 on any competition. The initial limit used to be KES 50, a big business opportunity for betting companies.
- This boost is mostly associated with the fact that the lawmakers raised the minimum amount of an online gambling bet to KES 100 ($0.92).
- This proposal would sound familiar to the British as it mirrors a similar decision made by the UK’s Gambling Commission earlier this year.
- According to GeoPoll, 88% of gamblers in Kenya have once used their phone to place bets. Out of the 88%, 55% are gambling on their phone once a week or more. The report also goes ahead to show that 83% bet on football the most.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer