Kenya’s government is continuing its crackdown on operators falling short of the country’s compliance regulations, after confirming that its Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) had delayed the renewal of a number of operational licenses.
As confirmed by the BCLB, 13 casinos, six lotteries and eight sports betting firms are awaiting the renewal of their licenses, while the regulator also refused the renewal of 19 betting operators’ licenses pending security vetting of their operations and ownership.
While it has not yet been confirmed which operators are awaiting license renewals, the BCLB issued a statement earlier in the week, emphasising that it “shall not hesitate to debar non-compliant operators in any category.”
In the statement, it was also stressed that the country’s licensees will face a quarterly review into operations in a bid to ensure compliance measures are being adhered to.
Back in May, Kenya proposed a new crackdown on gambling operators which tightened the country’s advertising regulations.
Under the new framework, there would be a complete revamp of Kenya’s regulatory framework for gambling, imposing significantly higher costs on licensed operators while establishing the country’s first national lottery.
A limit to how many adverts can be shown was also introduced via the launch of the Gaming Advertisement Tax. The new tax incurs a 35 per cent charge on all adverts broadcast, although it is yet to be clarified as to whether this tax will be handed to operators or broadcasters.
Last week, Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) deputy commissioner Maurice Oray stated that new regulations were not designed to ‘kill’ the gambling sector, but rather to “ensure that the government gets a fair share of the revenue that’s transacted on these platforms.”
