The Betting and Gaming Sector in Kenya paid KSh 6.64 billion in Excise Duty to Kenya Revenue Authority(KRA) at the close of the 2022/23 financial year ended on 30th June this year. This is compared to a target of KSh 5.715 billion, reflecting a surplus collection of KSh 925 million. This increase in excise duty on betting is a growth of 30% compared to the same period in the 2021/22 financial year.
Propelled by this performance, KRA has now embarked on an integration plan that will see 87 more betting firms roped into the real-time collection platform of excise & withholding taxes. This will add to the 36 betting firms already integrated.
In a statement, KRA attributes the performance to the integration of these firms into its tax system. The Authority has already commenced integration of the remaining 87 such firms and this is expected to boost its collections.
Betting firms that are already linked to KRA are 36
The integration began in October 2022, targeting a daily collection of 7.5% excise duty on stakes and 20% withholding tax on winnings from these firms. The Authority has scaled up its collections in the betting and gaming sector with daily visibility of the firms providing trends that inform compliance measures.
KRA has readily available data from these firms’ daily transactions, which facilities verification of daily remittances by taxpayers. The integration is part of the Authority’s Tax-a-Source initiative, a global trend that allows the collection of tax information and revenue directly at the source of income on a real-time basis.
The Authority is implementing reforms to move towards seamless taxation by ensuring that its systems, taxpayers, and businesses are integrated.
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