Operators in Kenya now subject to strict advertising scrutiny

Kenya has used a buffer ban on gambling adverts to enforce a brand new list of directives that will implement multiagency scrutiny of the market.

A 30-day blanket ban was introduced on 29 April by Kenya’s Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB), which suspended all forms of gambling advertisements across media platforms.

This was used as sort of a regulatory ‘reset button’ due to rising rates of underage participation in the African nation’s rapidly growing gambling market.

With the temporary suspension now lifted, the BCLB has introduced new administrative guidelines that would see cross-government collaboration to keep marketing efforts in check.

Some of the new requirements prohibit operators from using ‘call-to-action’ language (ie “bet now”) in advertising materials, together with mandatory responsible gambling messages that take at least 20% of the ad space.

To ensure that all requirements are met, operators must now send marketing communications to the BCLB for approval. 

After that, the materials must then be sent to the Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) – a body that is responsible for determining whether advertisements are fit for public use. If the marketing material fails on any of these two stages, it will be barred from being published.

Advertising practices of operators will also be subjected to regular audits not only by the BCLB and the KFCB, but also by Kenya’s Media Council, Communications Authority, and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.

More regulations on the horizon

As mentioned before, all of the guidelines are being enacted administratively and are limited to advertising controls. Separately, there is a legislative draft bill introduced in 2023 that is much larger in scope and is still pending parliamentary approval.

For example, one of the proposals set out in the bill is to introduce stricter age verification protocols for operators – whereas the 2025 guidelines only touch on ad content restrictions.

Similarly, while the latest guidelines are primarily focused on safer play messaging across advertisements, the draft bill calls for the expansion of consumer protection standards, such as mandatory responsible gambling programmes for operators.

Some of the other proposals carrying significant industry impact that the gambling advertising guidelines do not cover include updated tax regimes, new licensing categories, as well as the establishment of a completely new gambling regulator replacing the BCLB.

Since 2023, voting on the bill has been postponed several times, and there is still no clear indication of when this might happen.