How Developed is Gambling Industry in Kenya?

Gambling in Kenya is a popular legal kind of entertainment in Kenya. Additionally, online casino 2024 there is not only legal, but also not regulated enough. Work of internet resources is legal if they get a local license. In Kenya, there are no local licensed online casinos, but there are a lot of operators without licenses.

Gambling games have been legal in Kenya since 1966 according to Betting, Lotteries and Gaming Act, Chapter 131, Laws of Kenya (the BLGA). This in mind, only local licensed operators can provide services to residents of the country. Over 10.000 citizens of the country work in the sphere.

History

In 2011, online gambling got under control of Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) which provided Amaya Gaming Group (a corporate parent of the online poker platform PokerStars) with the rights to hold gambling events on the internet. The company created the first online casino betkenya.com but the site was further closed.

Since then Kenyans continued to play using foreign sites. Even though gambling on international platforms is illegal according to Kenyan legislation, no real restrictions or blocks were implemented by the government.

According to the report made by PWC in 2017, Kenya was one of the top three gaming markets in Africa, and the gaming industry in Kenya is turning into a multimillion business fast.

In 2018, the tax on the gaming business was increased to 35%, but consequently reduced to 15%.

In 2019-2020 the huge impact on the local gaming business was made by COVID-19 when in March 2020 due to the quarantine all the local brick-and-mortar casinos got closed down. After it, thousands of workers of the sphere lost their jobs, so the Kenyan trade union petitioned the government of the country with a request to resume working.

In 2020, the sphere of online betting started to flourish in Kenya. It’s estimated that this branch must reach revenue of 50,000,000 dollars till the end of the year. Also, the price of a license for three years went up a lot too – to 100 million shillings (900 thousand USD). This year has given a start to the first national lottery in Kenya.

According to the Betting Law accepted in 2020, in 2021 there will be an additional tax of 35% to gambling advertisement. Jackpot tax has not been changed, it reaches 20%.

Where and What do Kenyans Bet on?

Some of the most popular directions in Kanya are football bets, Premier Leagues in Kenya and other African and international competitions in particular. Races held by the Kenyan jockey club at the horse track in Ngong are becoming more and more popular too. Especially it attracts youngsters.

There are also such kinds of sports like basketball (NBA and other leagues), track-and-field, American kinds of sports like American football and baseball.

Brick-and-mortar casinos are popular among Kenyans and tourists. There are 28 casinos, 11 bingo halls, three bookmakers, and one horse track in Kenya. There is also National lottery, gamers can buy tickets at retail outlets or via the Internet. In the period of quarantine, it will be a good idea to make a bet in Kenya here.

The most popular platforms are Casino Flamingo, Mayfair Casino, and Captain's Club in Nairobi, Golden Key Casino and Senator Casino in Mombasa. The most popular games are blackjack, poker, roulette, and slots (account for over 1300).