Kenyan betting firms earned Sh88.5 billion from online bets in the full year to June 2023, highlighting Kenyans’ reliance on betting as the only hope to make a living.

With these numbers, it means Kenyans placed Sh242 million daily on bets, Sh10.1 million hourly, Sh168,333 every minute, or 2,806 shillings every second.

This shows how gambling has become lucrative despite the punitive taxes and strict business environment.  It also shows how gambling has become a full-time economic activity fuelled by the increase in the number of betting sites.

There are about 20 betting legal sites in Kenya offering different types of football jackpots. Most of these sites have mobile applications that help users place their bets easily.

The largest betting firms, like SportPesa, have set the minimum stake at 10 shillings for normal bets and 99 shillings for jackpots, while Betika has set their minimum stake to as low as one shilling and at least 15 shillings for their Jackpots.

KRA to Collect Sh 24 Billion From Betting Firms in FY22/23

Revenue collection in the betting and gaming sector has recently registered significant growth after the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) collected over Sh15.100 Billion from Excise on Betting and Withholding Tax on Winnings.

Withholding tax means tax remitted by the source to the commissioner on behalf of the recipient. KRA’s withholding tax on winnings is calculated at 20 percent, while Excise Tax on stakes is calculated at 7.5 percent.

In the 2022/23 financial year, the sector earned KRA Sh6.640 billion against a target of Sh 5.715 billion.

A total of Sh925 million was collected in surplus representing a performance rate of 116.2 percent, meaning a growth of 30 percent as it was in the 2021-22 financial year.

According to the Kenya FinAccess Household Survey of 2021, the share of adults who gambled increased from 1.9 percent in 2019 to 13.9 percent in 2021.

Males in urban areas aged between 18 and 36 years have the highest gambling prevalence, while youths aged 18 to 25 are the most inclined to place bets than persons in any other age group.

The survey further found that the majority of gamblers had a level of education beyond secondary school. One in 10 Kenyans, or 11.2 percent of adults, engaged in the activity named betting as a reliable source of income, a decline from 22.7 percent in 2019.