AFRICA Online Focus
Players have also been hit by new taxes. Kenya’s Finance Act 2025 imposes a five per cent tax on all betting and gaming withdrawals, replacing the previous 20 per cent tax on
winnings. Te tax applies even to non-winnings, meaning players are charged for withdrawing their own deposits
whether it represents actual profit or just a player’s original stake. Previously, bettors were subject to a 20 per cent withholding tax on winnings.
KENYA Kenya is currently seeing a major overhaul of its gambling rules after Kenya’s Gambling Control Bill 2023 was finally passed by President William Ruto in August 2025. Efforts to draft a new gambling bill first began in 2019. Te primary focus of the proposed legislation is safeguarding gamblers, implementing strict measures to combat illegal gambling and underage gambling. Te Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) is preparing to
take over full oversight from the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB). Te authority is currently in the process of formulating specific regulations. Because the transition period is lengthy, the BCLB has
suspended all annual licence applications and renewals. In the meantime, current licence holders will continue under their existing terms and conditions until their licences expire. Te newly enacted law includes making betting online more
expensive raising the minimum amount an individual can bet on an online site to Ksh20 from just Ksh1 as lawmakers argue that the low stakes exposed minors to increased risk. Online gambling firms will be required to deposit Sh200 million to be licenced to operate meaning that smaller firms will likely be pushed out of the market. However lawmakers argue that higher licence costs will bring in larger operators
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with a good track record. Currently there are around 100 licensed online operators but there have been cases when they have been unable to pay out winnings. In addition the industry has over the years been rocked by a number of scandals involving accusations against operators for their failure to pay taxes or register with the board. Players have also been hit by new taxes. Kenya’s Finance
Act 2025 imposes a five per cent tax on all betting and gaming withdrawals, replacing the previous 20 per cent tax on winnings. Te tax applies even to non-winnings, meaning players are
charged for withdrawing their own deposits whether it represents actual profit or just a player’s original stake. Previously, bettors were subject to a 20 per cent withholding tax on winnings. According to the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO), the
new approach could nearly double government revenue from $35m to about $74m in the 2025/26 fiscal year. In the meantime President Ruto announced that Kenya will
strengthen gambling laws to tighten regulations, as part of a broader policy shift in the fight against drugs, illegal alcohol, and gambling. “We are also working on gambling laws. Tere will be regulation. It cannot be allowed to spread everywhere. As a country, we cannot continue this way,” he said.
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