EXPERTS KENYA Kenyan gambling struggles expected to hit M-Pesa revenue 3 years ago Samuel Post Views: 650 The Kenyan government’s struggles with the country’s betting and gaming industry will hit mobile network operator Safaricom’s revenue, with the contribution from its M-Pesa mobile payments solution set to decline, according to analysts for investment bank Genghis Capital. Analyst Patrick Mumu expects M-Pesa’s betting and gaming revenue to fall 35.5% year-on-year to KES1.6bn (£12.6m/€14.0m/$15.4m), or 4% of total revenue. M-Pesa is well established as the most popular payment solution for Kenya’s bettors and accounted for 7% of M-Pesa revenue for the fiscal year ended 31 March 2019. However, the first half of Safaricom’s fiscal year to 30 September has seen a great deal of upheaval in the country’s gambling market. On 1 July, the Kenyan Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) refused to renew the licences of 27 operators, claiming they had failed to pay taxes. This was followed by the regulator ordering Safaricom to stop providing the M-Pesa solution to these companies, a move that prompted criticism from the country’s largest operator SportPesa. This, Genghis Capital believes, will lead to a reduction in the betting industry’s contribution to M-Pesa revenue. Mumu noted that additional factors, such as growth in gambling advertising spend stalling in the 2018-19 fiscal year, had also impacted revenue. This had been exacerbated by the decision not to renew licences in July, while a proposed 35.0% tax on betting advertising spend was likely to limit marketing further going forward, he said. As a result, the industry’s contribution to M-Pesa’s full year revenue for the 12 months to 31 March 2020 is expected to fall 19.8% to KES4.2bn, or 5.0% of total revenue. The betting and gaming contribution would recover from Safaricom’s 2020-21 fiscal year, with revenue from the sector rising to KES5.7bn, and continuing to grow thereafter, reaching KES9.7bn by 2023-24. M-Pesa is still expected to report year-on-year growth for the six months to 30 September, albeit at a slower rate than previously predicted. Genghis Capital expects M-Pesa to report growth of 13.3% for H1 2019-20, down from its original estimate of 18.2%. Safaricom, meanwhile, should see H1 revenue grow 6.3% to KES125.5bn. Mumu warned that future growth would be slowed by tighter regulation and increased control of the industry by the government, as well as operators pulling out of the market. Two of the country’s leading operators have already exited the market, with SportPesa withdrawing earlier this month, followed by Betin. Source: igamingbusiness.com About Post Author Samuel I am a journalist specializing in gambling in Africa and around the world. I am particularly interested in stories about games and casinos. See author's posts SamuelI am a journalist specializing in gambling in Africa and around the world. I am particularly interested in stories about games and casinos. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Print Tags: Kenya, mobile money, MPESA Continue Reading Previous Kenyans should support Government in the fight against gamblingNext Uganda’s authorities move to tighten AML measures More Stories BETTING KENYA Gambling operators ignore orders to close during the election 1 day ago Iwo Bulski EXPERTS SOUTH AFRICA BMM South Africa gets licensed to provide compliance testing services in Tanzania 2 days ago Iwo Bulski EXPERTS WORLD NEWS WhatsApp allows people to sneak out of group chats 2 days ago Samuel BETTING KENYA Kenyans spend over KSh 300b on bets, cigarettes and liquor yearly 2 days ago Szarlot EXPERTS SOUTH AFRICA GLI Africa expands service offering 2 days ago Samuel EXPERTS KENYA Poor tax policy erodes Kenya’s investor attractiveness – survey 3 days ago Szarlot BETTING KENYA Kenyan government orders all operators to close for election day 3 days ago Iwo Bulski EXPERTS WORLD NEWS Answers to the iGaming industry’s most pressing questions 4 days ago Samuel EXPERTS SOUTH AFRICA Illegal slots seized, destroyed in raids 4 days ago Iwo Bulski BETTING KENYA The government should work with the betting industry 2 weeks ago Iwo Bulski KENYA ONLINE The influencers paid to push hashtags 2 weeks ago Iwo Bulski EXPERTS NIGERIA SBWA + 2022 Summit this week in Nigeria 2 weeks ago Iwo Bulski 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.