SportPesa plans return but have Kenyans already turned elsewhere?

Since suspending their online sportsbook over a year ago due to a dispute with the Kenyan government over the taxing of players’ bets, SportPesa looks to be making tentative steps towards a potential return to the Kenyan market.

The unplanned and abrupt exit of Kenya’s once leading online betting firm left a considerable gap in the market, with many Kenyan players forced to take their business elsewhere, it led other operators with the task of plugging that gap.

A changing landscape

As one of the largest regulated markets for sports betting in Africa, Kenya garners a lot of attention. With the absence of the most successful online bookmaker, other operators naturally saw the potential to make their move toward expansion and growth

Today BookiesBonuses.com current list of betting sites in Kenya now shows five key betting sites that have made a successful push onto the Kenyan market during SportPesa’s absence.

Familiar brand names such as Bet365 and Betway have considerable gains in the Kenyan market over the past months that build on an already established global platform.

Emerging betting sites such as 22Bet, 1XBet and Betwinner have also been making strides in Kenya, earning many loyal players in the process.

Common threads of success

There is no mistaking that the prevailing difference between all of the aforementioned sites now operating in Kenya is that they are all global players in online gambling.

The reasoning behind their subsequent rise in Kenya has largely been twofold. By offering tried and tested, wide ranging sportsbooks Kenyan players now have access to top quality odds and betting features equal to their counterparts in Europe.

The big difference is that certain betting companies in Kenya have been able to tailor their services to the specific needs of Kenya’s market, which is proving a big hit with Kenyan bettors.

As you can see from this 22Bet review and complete guide, this global operator is one of only two betting sites that currently offer Kenyan players the option to fund their betting accounts via Airtel and M-Pesa. Understanding and appreciating the localised needs of the average Kenyan player could prove the defining factor that serves to keep SportPesa from regaining its crown.

An uphill task for SportPesa

While SportPesa enjoyed a dominant share of the Kenyan online betting market beforehand, with such fresh and aggressive competition there is certainly no warm welcome planned for their impending return.

SportPesa have recently reopened their website in Kenya, but with the crux of their dispute still unresolved in official circles, they are currently unable to accept deposits or bets from within Kenya.

It leaves the home grown Kenyan bookmaker with many questions and challenges ahead. When it finally makes its highly anticipated return to the Kenyan betting scene, competition with global operators is just one major factor to contend with.