SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Kenya has reduced its excise duty on bets from 15% to 5% as part of the National Parliament’s 2025 Finance Bill, despite concerns over a gambling surge.
At the same time, punters will now be taxed when the money is moved from a mobile wallet to a betting account, instead of when a bet is made.
Incentivising betting?
The changes come just months after the government raised the excise duty from 12.5% to 15%. The bill also covers both lotteries and prize competitions. With it being cheaper to bet in the country, this will encourage people to place higher bets than before, equalling larger sums being paid out.
Whilst the reduction might help betting companies or encourage more players in the short term, the drop may encourage further participation in gambling which could lead to issues in the future such as increases in addiction and greater losses.
MP Kimani Kuria, Finance Committee Chairman, explained what will now happen under the new regime: “When you are placing a bet, the current taxation regime is that when you have money in your mobile money account and then you transfer that money to the wallet of a betting company, the time of charging excise duty is when you place a bet.
“We are changing to make it for excise duty to be payable when you transfer money from your mobile wallet to the betting company wallet. There are so many entities operating virtually, some outside the country from which we are not able to get this excise duty from them.
“This now means that every time a Kenyan transfers money from their mobile wallet to the wallet of the betting company, then that’s the time the excise duty is paid.”
The new regulations have been designed to improve tax enforcement, particularly against foreign or virtual betting operators that have been difficult to monitor under the old system.
Meanwhile, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) now requires betting companies to do two things: Withhold 20% of any winnings from bettors as tax and pay a 15% tax on their gross gaming revenue – which is the total amount they collect from bets, minus what they pay out in winnings. This means both the bettors and the companies are taxed under the new rules.
Bad timing for Kenya?
The shift comes during calls for stringent regulation in the country, and according to Geopoll’s 2025 survey, Kenya ranks as the third most active betting market in Sub-Saharan Africa, falling just behind South Africa and Uganda.
The sector is expanding rapidly, with the total amount being wagered having risen 17.04% to KSh 75.18bn (£434.9m) in the nine months leading up to March 2025.
While the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) oversees the sector, enforcement remains less strict compared to other jurisdictions and several illegal betting sites still operate whilst age verification is also weak.
The Ministry of Health and NGOs have therefore raised several alarms in recent years, citing gambling addiction as levels similar to alcohol or drug abuse. The country has also been concerned that 70% of its bettors are aged 18–35, with many university and high school students actively gambling.
The tax rate decrease may only add to these concerns. For example with more people partaking in gambling and possibly losing money, issues like financial hardship and mental health problems could now increase.
Furthermore, with the government collecting less tax money, there is less funding for public services like education, healthcare or addiction support programs.
