Kenya seeks greater government control of betting, gambling industry

The Betting, Lotteries and Gaming (Amendment) Bill by Gem Member of Parliament Jakoyo Midiwo seeks to repeal 80 per cent of the Betting Act and give the government more say in a largely unregulated sector controlled by private firms, some of them foreign.

“Unless we take a bold step and take away the online betting platform from mobile phone providers and ensure there is a structure in place for the government to collect tax from the industry, we risk collapsing the economy,” Mr Midiwo, also the deputy minority leader in the National Assembly, said.

He was presenting his views to Parliament’s Labour and Social Welfare Committee, which is tasked with oversight of the gaming industry.

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The industry has been operating under an obsolete law formulated before the advent of online betting, which has become a social craze and rakes in billions of shillings for private gambling firms

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Kenya Revenue Authority, Minister for Interior Joseph Nkaissery and the Treasury, among others, are expected to appear before the Matungu MP David Were-chaired committee as it seeks to establish what structures were being used to tax the industry and if it was being used as a conduit for money laundering.

Mr Were said the committee will also launch a social audit on the effects of gambling.

There are proposals to invite addicts of gambling and families that have lost their relatives through suicides resulting from the frustration of losing money by placing huge bets while chasing furtive winnings.

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Betting firms have particularly tapped into the popularity of European football leagues beamed lived on pay television

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Though it is assumed that they make good returns, a Sh6 billion sponsorship of an English team by one of the betting firms brought to light the lucrativeness of the industry and the need to regulate it.

Kipipiri MP Samuel Gichigi said the betting craze has a devastating effect on the youth, adding: “We cannot allow our children to continue betting.”

Proposals include an age limit on gambling to protect the youth from becoming addicted to it and locking out foreigners from owning betting firms.

This follows concerns that the Chinese were running some betting firms even in urban residential estates, where they “collected taxes” in the largely unregulated enterprise.