Kenya has some of the most stringent tax laws in sub-Saharan Africa, but are these laws doing more harm than good to the country’s gambling industry?

Gambling comes in different variations- lottery, sports betting and casinos- but here in Kenya, majority of gamblers are into sports betting.

Hence, through the course of this article, we will use the terms gambling and sports betting alternatively.

Sports betting has come a long way in Kenya. From its humble beginnings in betting shops in Mombasa and Nairobi, it has developed into this massive online network that involves millions of Kenyans.

With the gambling rates in Kenya sky-rocketing, especially amongst the younger population, the government felt the need to put its foot down and impose some very harsh regulations on the industry.

President Uhuru Kenyatta once famously called for a total ban on sports betting, but that didn’t quite materialize.

Instead, Kenyan authorities launched a tax war against betting operators in the country, notably leading to the 2019 exit of SportPesa and Betin, the biggest players in the country at the time.

The atmosphere is a lot calmer these days, but stakeholders are having to live through some of the toughest regulations in the region.

Not only do betting companies have to pay huge money to obtain their license from the Betting Control and Licensing Board, they also have to pay large sums as tax to the Kenya Revenue Authority.

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And they are not the only ones feeling the effects of the tax laws. That also extends to the players.

Government regulations mandate a 7.5% tax on all wagers, and a 20% tax on all winnings.

The best betting sites in Kenya have all of these taxes clearly stated on their betslips so that customers know exactly what they are getting into.

Part of the government’s arguments for imposing taxes on stakes and winnings is to reduce the gambling rates in the country, but that has not exactly been the case.

Soon after the exits of SportPesa and Betin, sports betting numbers went down as Kenyan bettors observed the situation, wanting to know which betting sites were active or not, but once that initial phase of uncertainty was crossed, the numbers began to pick up again.

Now, sports betting numbers in Kenya are at a record high; and the relentless growth doesn’t look like stopping anytime soon. 

The government may not be winning the fight to curb the rate of online gambling, but they are certainly winning on the financial side.

Unlike some other African countries, which lose out on millions of betting revenue as a result of loose tax laws, Kenya has that area relatively under control. The KRA has been raking in some serious money from Kenya’s booming online betting industry.

In the end, we can conclude that the laws have not exactly harmed the industry. People have not turned away from betting despite having to pay taxes on their stakes and winnings.

More betting operators are still looking to enter the Kenyan market, just as hundreds of Kenyans are turning into betting on a daily basis.

And in all of these, the government’s betting revenue purse continues to swell.