Kenya Decline Mobile Payments
Kenya may soon introduce reforms to its 2019 Gambling Bill, adding mobile gambling payments and withdrawing credit cards as an alternative for payment.
Kenya's Gambling Reform Bill And Mobile Payment
After new changes by the Committee on Sport, Culture, and Tourism to Kenya's 2019 Gambling Bill, the country's operators will soon be required to accept mobile payments at the cost of credit cards.
The first version of the Bill, passed in 2019, gave permission to use Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) licensed payment methods such as credit or debit cards and electronic bank transactions but ruled out against mobile payments, a commonly used and favoured banking choice in the region.
The Bill set new licensing rates, for a three-year license, dramatically boosting the previous amount to KES100m (US$9,126 billion). It also created the country's first national lottery.
However, the proposal in the first bill to exempt mobile payments has proven a bit counter-intuitive. Mobile money transfers are highly common in Kenya, as attested by the volume of money exchanged in 2018, or some $25 billion, via this form of payment. That is the reason why it has been controversial to withdraw mobile money transfers as a payment method.
Credit Cards Will Not Be Allowed Longer
Kenya has attempted to introduce an amendment to the bill which allows mobile payments and excludes credit cards from the options list, as Great Britain done it before.
The latest addition to the Bill proposed by the Committee on Sport, Culture and Tourism seeks to correct flaws and bring clarification to them. Now it will introduce new minimum bet sum caps and increase the overall fine for illegal betting.
While the amendments were originally scheduled for consideration on 15 October, the hearing was rescheduled for 3 November when the National Assembly returns from recess.
Several conflicts have been raging between authorities and operators since 2019. The explanation for this was confusion over proposed tax levels that contributed to the removal of the country's two most famous operators.
The biggest player, Sportpesa, withdrew after the BCLB told operators of the Bill's latest understanding at the time.
The biggest explanation was that the company would be expected to pay for billions of dollars in back tax. Another explanation for this was the massive rise in stake levy, from 10% to 20%. That was also the reason why Sportpesa's biggest competitor, Betin, also withdrew.
Although the National Assembly abolished the excise tax in June and courts ruled that the winnings tax does not extend to stakes, Kenya's government is likely to aim to reintroduce the excise tax before the end of the year. This hinders Sportpesa from going back to the region.
