BETTING KENYA How betting ban left Sh1.9bn hole in Safaricom profits 4 years ago Iwo Bulski Post Views: 549 Safaricom’s net profit for the full year that ended in March jumped 19.54 percent to Sh74.7 billion on strong M-Pesa and mobile data revenue growth, but the telco also lost Sh1.9 billion in revenues after the government banned sports betting last year. The stringent rules imposed last year on betting activities hurt Safaricom’s revenue with the loss of betting, which represented a negative 32.8 percent change when compared to the previous year. The company’s earnings growth was driven by higher sales, reduced costs and one-off gains from the acquisition of M-Pesa, its mobile money service brand, which is also its second-largest revenue stream. Apart from losing to the betting revenue, the company will also see the lose more money foregoing about Sh5.5 billion in revenue from M-Pesa after it removed charges on small transfers, to facilitate cashless transactions and help slow the spread of the coronavirus. Waiver of sending charges The company made Sh84 billion from M-Pesa in the 2019/20 financial year. This is against another Sh600 million revenue loss due to waiver of sending charges on transaction amounts of less than Sh1,000. In 2019, after six months of push-and-pull between the Kenyan government and betting firms, the State struck at the heart of the firms’ operations, ordering telcos to shut down their pay bill numbers and shortcodes of 27 companies, some whose licences are yet to be renewed. Some of the big names in sports betting in Kenya include SportPesa, Betin and Betway. Others are Betpawa, Premierbet, Lucky 2 U, 1XBet, Mozzartbet, Dafabet, World Sport Bet, Atari Gaming, Palmsbet and Bet Boss. Others are Betyetu, Elitebet, Bungabet, Cysabet, Nestbet, Easybet, Kick Off, Millionaire Sports Bet, Kenya Sports Bet and Eastleighbet. The betting industry in Kenya depends almost entirely on mobile money transactions by gamblers. To place bets, gamblers load money into virtual wallets run by mobile companies. Those who win also collect their winnings through the same wallets, unless the amount won is so big that the payment has to be made in a cheque. Source: nairobinews.nation.co.ke About Post Author Iwo Bulski Issues related to the gambling business is engaged in more than 30 years. My empirical experience gives me the opportunity to present events and companies from this business with full knowledge and industry knowledge. See author's posts Iwo BulskiIssues related to the gambling business is engaged in more than 30 years. My empirical experience gives me the opportunity to present events and companies from this business with full knowledge and industry knowledge. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Print Tags: betting, M-pesa, Safaricom Continue Reading Previous 3 Survival Ways for Bookmakers in Africa to Pull Through Covid-19 PandemicNext Kenya: illegal betting machines found, deported owners from China More Stories BETTING SOUTH AFRICA Nolimit City Celebrates South Africa Debut 13 hours ago Samuel BETTING GR8 Tech enters long-term partnership with Mojabet 13 hours ago Szarlot BETTING KENYA Odibets unveils Sh5m sponsorship for Kenya Women 3X3 basketball team 3 days ago Szarlot EXPERTS KENYA Tappi expands services across Africa beyond Kenya and Nigeria 3 days ago Samuel KENYA ONLINE iGaming’s Global Growth: From Africa to North America 3 days ago Szarlot KENYA ONLINE Kenya’s Blockchain Association Makes Plea for Detained Binance Executives 3 days ago Samuel BETTING NIGERIA Seun Kuti criticizes Nigerian elites over youths sleeping in betting shops 4 days ago Samuel BETTING KENYA Kayole Matatu Driver Newest Millionaire in Town After Winning KSh 3.4m 7 days ago Samuel BETTING NIGERIA Reps to organise public hearing on age limit for betting 1 week ago Samuel BETTING NIGERIA BetKing Renews Commitment To Ikorodu City FC 1 week ago Szarlot EXPERTS KENYA The impact of Kenya’s Gambling Control Bill 1 week ago Samuel KENYA ONLINE Love For The Screens As African Gamers Hit 186 Million 1 week ago Szarlot Leave a Reply Cancel replyYour email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment * Name * Email * Website Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.