State plans new gambling regulations as 30-day media adverts ban nears end
The Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) has formed a multi-agency team to review operational guidelines of betting and gaming companies.
On Friday, the board chairperson, Dr Jane Makau, raised concern about the vice that has taken a toll on the country’s youth, saying that the guidelines will touch on controlling betting, limiting the time of control and preventing underage betting.
“We all understand that betting is addictive. We must unite and sanitise this country by reviewing the guidelines. The team we have already put in place will review what is being consumed by the public and ensure that all the operators adhere to them,” Dr Makau said during a sensitisation and food donation exercise in South B, Nairobi.
Read: Taming the gambling frenzy: House report due next week
The team consists of representatives from the Ministry of Interior and National Administration, the Office of the Attorney-General, Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the Kenya Film Classification Board, the Media Council of Kenya (MCK), and the Financial Reporting Centre.
The guidelines will focus on restricting gambling near schools and exposure to children. It will also introduce regulations on the times of betting as well as a threshold that individuals need to meet before they engage in gambling.
Sasa Krneta, the chairperson of the Association of Gambling Operators of Kenya (AGOK), said the gaming operators in the country welcome any stricter regulations that will promote responsible gambling.
“We promote responsible gambling and all we want is to ensure that Kenyans only bet on that which they can afford to lose. As operators, we are willing to do everything to ensure that there is compliance and that livelihoods of communities are not destroyed by gambling,” Mr Krneta said.
Read: Bill wants online gambling firms to pay Sh200m licence fee
Dr Makau called for responsible gambling.
“We need to sensitise the communities on the effects of betting and make them understand that you only stake that which you can afford to lose. It is a sporting activity just like any other sport. We have seen a trend where people are staking money that they have earned for a living, people are getting into more debts and some are getting depressed,” she said.
The board recently issued orders suspending gambling advertisements in all media platforms.
Dr Makau said the suspension will last a month and is meant to streamline the sector. The order will be in effect until the new guidelines are in place.
This comes even as MPs raise concern over the possibility of betting and gaming companies defrauding the government of billions of shillings in taxes by manipulating their systems.
Read: ‘I can’t get out’: Inside Kenya’s gambling addiction crisis
During a parliamentary committee last week, MPs said a section of the companies are involved in moderating the outcome of a bet to deny winners their prizes and, in the process, denying the government taxes from the wins.
This is after they analysed tax documents from KRA.
“Based on the documents you have presented to this committee, I have observed an interesting scenario. While there is growth in excise duty on betting and gaming activities for the last two financial years, the withholding tax on wins continues to reduce. How is this possible?” Molo MP Kimani Kuria asked.
Data from the KRA presented to parliament showed that the government collected Sh19.6 billion in excise duty and income taxes from the betting and gaming activities for the current financial year – 2024/25 – which is a Sh2.53 billion increase compared to the 2023/24 fiscal period.
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