KENYA LOTTERIES Kenya goverment urged to replace private betting with state lottery 4 years ago Iwo Bulski Post Views: 1,021 Kenya’s sports betting operators could find themselves out of business if the government listens to the recommendations contained in a new report. This week, Kenya’s government unveiled a report from the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), which last year was tasked with seeking public opinion on nine thematic areas identified by President Uhuru Kenyatta. These areas included corruption, safety and security, rights and responsibilities and the ‘lack of national ethos.’ Among the BBI’s observations is that “the private betting industry is leading to hopelessness and greater poverty.” The BBI recommends that betting operators “be replaced with a government-run national lottery whose proceeds, as is the case in other countries, are used for activities that uplift the youth, sports, culture and other social activities beneficial to citizens.” The BBI’s recommendations aren’t binding, although disrupting Kenya’s betting sector would seem to be perfectly aligned with the government’s current stance. The country’s two biggest bookmakers – SportPesa and Betin – both recently closed their Kenyan operations after their licenses were suspended amid a fight over how to apply the government’s new 20% tax on betting winnings. A tax court recently sided with the operators that the tax applied only to actual betting winnings, not to the original betting stake. But the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) quickly announced it would challenge this ruling, injecting still more uncertainty into the situation. Last Friday, the KRA doubled down on its tax interpretation by ordering all active betting operators to apply the 20% tax to betting stakes and to list the tax on customers’ betting slips. The KRA warned that non-compliance with this order “will attract tax recovery measures as provided for in the Tax Procedures Act.” The KRA launched its war against bookmakers earlier this year by announcing that the sector was in arrears to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. Operators disputed this assessment, leading to the suspension of 27 operators’ licenses and payment processing channels. President Kenyatta has yet to reveal to what extent he intends to implement the BBI’s recommendations, although the public will reportedly be given a say via a referendum vote. However, Kenyatta said in August that he was willing to sign a blanket ban on all gambling products if legislators were to present him with such a document, so the wrecking ball’s in your court, parliament. Source: calvinayre.com 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: Kenya, national lotteries Continue Reading Previous Kenya constitutional report: abolish private betting sectorNext Life after departure of top betting sites More Stories EXPERTS KENYA Digital wallets as an enabler for financial services in Africa 2 days ago Szarlot BETTING KENYA Betting firms tax remittance hit Ksh 15B in FY2022/23 2 days ago Szarlot EXPERTS KENYA Unlocking the power of mobile trading: A financial revolution in Kenya 3 days ago Samuel KENYA ONLINE Xprizo partners with African payments provider M-Pesa 5 days ago Samuel EXPERTS KENYA Flutterwave wants to invest $50 million in Kenya 6 days ago Samuel BETTING KENYA Exploring OdiBets: A Game-Changer In Kenyan Sports Betting 6 days ago Samuel EXPERTS HOT NEWS KENYA GamStop and Responsible Gambling in Africa 6 days ago Szarlot BETTING KENYA Expand the war on betting addiction 1 week ago Samuel EXPERTS KENYA National Treasury Drafts Strategy to Catch Tax Evaders 1 week ago Samuel BETTING KENYA Why Cofek wants speed dial feature used by betting companies banned 2 weeks ago Samuel EXPERTS KENYA How new technologies are driving financial inclusion in Kenya 2 weeks ago Iwo Bulski EXPERTS KENYA BCLB Proposes New Taxes on Betting to Help Fight Gambling Addiction 2 weeks ago Samuel 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.