Few months ago it looked likely that two of Kenya’s leading bookmakers, SportPesa (visit here for more information) and Betin, were making a possible return to action in their home country after a halt to operations for almost a year.
Drifting debates over the course of the last twelve months focused around 2019’s 20% tax bill on betting wagers. The issue was thrown back into national discourse surrounding gambling and taxation which continues to hold sway over online betting in Kenya.
Several betting companies in Kenya have made significant inroads during the period in question when two of the nation’s largest betting firms have been out of action. It remains to be seen when, or even if, these two former titans of Kenya’s betting landscape will make a return.
International betting sites such as Betway were already actively present on the Kenyan market, successfully structuring their betting packages towards Kenyan players. It is currently unclear just how much of a share of the Kenyan betting market Betway holds sway over, but the departure of SportPesa in particular has aided their consolidation of a significant portion of the current market.
Although a return seemed likely this summer, a significant u-turn by the government halted SportPesa’s return to operations in Kenya. MPs in the National Assembly struck a vote to repeal the tax bill late in June.
President Kenyatta backed Kenya’s politicians in the National Assembly by signing an amendment to continue the line of repealing the initial betting tax from last year.
The introduction of the bill has been the central issue preventing the return of major Kenyan bookmakers as they dig their heels in over the taxation issue.
As this Betway review suggests, the strength of one of Kenya’s new leaders in the betting market presents a further uphill battle for the likes of SportPesa. It encouraged further international operators to soundboard Kenya as a viable market, with companies such as 22Bet, Betwinner and 1XBet following Betway’s lead in seeking to offer attractive features to Kenyan players.
It appears that SportPesa can bide their time, with the betting company still actively operating in markets across Africa such as Nigeria, Tanzania and South Africa, and licences secured in major European markets such as the United Kingdom and Italy.
Akin to some of the aforementioned new betting sites in Kenya which have set up shop over recent months, SportPesa’s international profile and wide ranging betting features can compete with most. If the taxation issue resolves itself, it is likely the betting giants will mount likely competition for recent interlopers. How far brand loyalty among players will count in making a return to SportPesa remains to be seen.
For another former prominent Kenyan betting site Betin, the situation could fare much worse. Betin’s URL has since disappeared from Kenyan search engines and social media accounts such as Twitter remain inactive since November 2019.
The Kenyan National Assembly, although currently seated, has not raised the issue of betting taxation since, likely leaving the betting companies themselves to make the first move if they are to be restored to active operations.
