Online gambling in Kenya: regulation, licence and market guide

Is online gambling legal in Kenya?

Online bookmaking, online casino and online lottery are named licence classes under the Gambling Control Act 2025 (No. 14 of 2025), which repealed the 1966 Betting, Lotteries and Gaming Act and created the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Kenya (GRA). Licensees must be Kenyan companies with at least 30% Kenyan ownership running a GRA-approved gambling control system with real-time monitoring. Regulations were gazetted on 30 June 2026 and licensing reopened in July 2026, but the new fees and the KES 100 million capital rule for online licences were suspended by the High Court pending a judgment due in October 2026. Tax is layered: 15% of gross gaming revenue, 5% excise on deposits and 5% withholding on player withdrawals.

Regulated: Private operators can hold a local licence for online casino and/or betting.

Who regulates gambling in Kenya?

• Gambling Regulatory Authority of Kenya (GRA) — Statutory regulator since August 2025: licensing including online, vetting, real-time monitoring, advertising approval, self-exclusion register and enforcement; successor to the BCLB
• Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) — Collects betting and gaming tax, excise on deposits and withholding tax on withdrawals and winnings through real-time integration with operators

Kenya gambling licence: how it works

Section 67 of the Act provides for online bookmaker's, online lottery and online casino licences issued by the GRA; the 2026 Licensing Regulations require separate licences for online betting and online casino. Applicants submit a gambling control system for approval, proof of gambling capital, a bond or bank guarantee, tax and beneficial ownership declarations, and details of servers, payment systems and links to at least two mobile operators. Only a body corporate with at least 30% Kenyan citizen shareholding and a Kenyan bank account can be licensed, and a foreign-based operator must be registered in Kenya with a physical address and audited accounts. Suppliers, testing agents, key employees and significant shareholders are licensed separately, and every online game needs laboratory certification.

What an applicant needs

• Kenyan company with at least 30% of shares held by Kenyan citizens and a Kenyan bank account
• GRA-approved gambling control system with real-time monitoring access, payment, age and data protection controls
• Proof of gambling capital and a bond or bank guarantee (KES 100 million for online gambling under the Act's schedule)
• Server details, a telecommunications licence and links to at least two mobile network operators
• Certified games, licensed platform and software suppliers, and a customer care center in Kenya

Gambling taxes in Kenya

• Operators: 15% of gross gaming revenue (betting, gaming and lottery tax collected by KRA, carried into the 2025 framework), plus 5% excise duty on amounts deposited for betting or gambling since 1 July 2025, 15% excise on gambling advertising fees and 30% corporate income tax.
• Players: 5% withholding tax on every withdrawal from a betting or gaming account since 1 July 2025, and 20% withholding tax on lottery and prize competition winnings reinstated from 1 July 2026.
• Also: The Finance Act 2025 replaced 15% excise on stakes with 5% excise on wallet deposits; the Finance Act 2026 widened the base to any money made available for betting or gambling, including operator-funded credits, and removed the horse racing exclusion. Excise is computed daily and remitted to KRA the next morning.

Advertising, player protection, KYC and payments

Advertising

Section 87 requires GRA approval for every gambling advertisement, bans celebrities and lifestyle advertising, prohibits television and radio adverts between 6 am and 10 pm except during live sport, keeps billboards away from schools and requires 20% of aired advertising to promote responsible gambling, with fines up to KES 20 million. The BCLB suspended all gambling advertising for 30 days from 29 April 2025 and then required BCLB approval plus Kenya Film Classification Board classification, with influencer and testimonial marketing prohibited; the Advertising Regulations 2026 codify these rules.

Responsible gaming

Minimum age 18 with proof of age at registration and before payout; a statutory self-exclusion register that licensees must honor within seven days, including account closure and removal from marketing lists; a KES 20 minimum online stake; and no credit or credit cards for betting.

Identity and age verification

Players must hold a registered account with proof of age of majority before registration and before any prize is paid. Licensees are reporting institutions under the anti-money-laundering law, supervised by the GRA and the Financial Reporting Centre, with fit-and-proper vetting of directors, shareholders and key employees.

Payments

Deposits may be taken by debit card, electronic funds transfer, mobile money and cash; credit cards and operator credit are prohibited. Winnings must be credited within two days, player balances must always be covered, and payouts go to bank or mobile money accounts. M-Pesa and Airtel Money carry most flows, with 5% excise deducted on deposit and 5% withheld on withdrawal.

Notable restrictions

• Minimum 30% Kenyan citizen shareholding and a Kenyan bank account for every licensee
• No credit cards, operator credit or third-party funding of bets
• No celebrity or influencer advertising; broadcast adverts only between 10 pm and 6 am outside live sport
• Separate licences for online betting and online casino; every game and supplier licensed or certified
• Unlicensed foreign-based operators face fines up to KES 50 million

Kenya iGaming market: size, players and payments

KRA data reported by Business Daily in August 2026 show KES 330.5 billion staked in the year to June 2026 and KES 16.5 billion in excise collected, up from KES 13.2 billion in excise and KES 5.7 billion in betting tax in FY2024/25.

A GeoPoll survey reported in 2026 found 64% of Kenyan respondents had bet on football in the previous 12 months.

Betting in Kenya is a mobile money product: deposits and payouts run through M-Pesa and Airtel Money wallets, and KRA collects excise at the mobile money layer.

KRA had 143 betting and gaming companies integrated with its systems by June 2026; domestic brands such as SportPesa, Betika and Odibets lead, and counsel quoted by iGB expect the capital rule, if upheld, to cut licensee numbers sharply.

Timeline: how Kenya got here

1. 1966Betting, Lotteries and Gaming Act creates the Betting Control and Licensing Board
2. 2019-07Tax dispute and licence non-renewals push several large operators out; 20% excise on stakes enacted
3. 2025-04BCLB suspends all gambling advertising for 30 days and issues approval guidelines on 30 May
4. 2025-06Finance Act 2025 introduces 5% excise on deposits and 5% withholding on withdrawals from 1 July
5. 2025-08Gambling Control Act 2025 assented on 7 August and in force on 26 August; GRA replaces the BCLB
6. 2025-10Transitional notice suspends processing of licence applications during the handover
7. 2026-06Six Gambling Control regulations gazetted on 30 June; Finance Act 2026 widens the excise base and reinstates 20% withholding on lottery winnings
8. 2026-07First GRA licensing cycle opens on 3 July; High Court stays the Licensing Regulations
9. 2026-08Stay partially lifted on 7 August; licensing resumes while increased fees and capital rules remain suspended

Outlook

The High Court's judgment on the Licensing Regulations 2026 is scheduled for 2 October 2026 and will decide whether the KES 50 million licence fee and KES 100 million capital requirement for online licences stand. Expect the GRA to complete its first licensing cycle, connect licensees to the central monitoring system and enforce the 2026 advertising and foreign-based operator regulations, while the Treasury keeps adjusting excise and withholding rules in each Finance Act.

Launching in Kenya with GameBridge

Turnkey (your licence, our platform). Kenyan licences go only to Kenyan companies with at least 30% local ownership, so the operator holds the GRA licence and runs on GameBridge technology; GameBridge holds no Kenyan licence and does not guarantee approval.

A Kenyan brand on GameBridge runs in English with Swahili content options, a KES wallet and geo-controls that admit only Kenyan residents who pass age and identity checks. M-Pesa and Airtel Money rails are connected on request through the operator's own payment agreements, with the 5% deposit excise and 5% withdrawal withholding modeled in the wallet so daily KRA remittances reconcile. Responsible gambling settings follow the Act: self-exclusion synced with the GRA register, a KES 20 minimum stake, no credit funding and payouts inside the two-day rule. The catalog is curated to games with recognized certification, GameBridge Studios and Originals titles carry the certification package a laboratory needs, and supplier licensing under the 2026 regulations is planned with the operator's counsel before launch.

• KES wallet with M-Pesa and Airtel Money rails on request
• Deposit excise and withdrawal withholding calculated in-wallet for KRA reconciliation
• Geo lists and age gates limited to Kenyan residents; GRA self-exclusion sync
• Separate configuration for online betting and online casino licences
• Reporting feeds designed for the GRA central monitoring system
• Certification package with every GameBridge Studios and Originals release

Football betting, jackpot pools and crash games dominate Kenyan lobbies; the aggregated catalog of {providersAvailable} game providers brings the games Kenyan players already know, and GameBridge Studios builds exclusive football- and jackpot-themed slots to the operator's brief.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and review

Reviewed against the sources below on 11 September 2026. Regulation changes; confirm the current position with local counsel before launch.

• Gambling Control Act, No. 14 of 2025 — Kenya Law, accessed 2026-09-11
• Gambling Regulatory Authority of Kenya — Gambling Regulatory Authority of Kenya, accessed 2026-09-11
• Kenya Gazettes the Gambling Control (Licensing) Regulations, 2026 — CM Advocates LLP, accessed 2026-09-11
• Kenya gambling licensing set to proceed following High Court ruling — E-PLAY Africa (citing iGB), accessed 2026-09-11
• Analysis of the Tax Changes Introduced by the Finance Act 2026 — Afriwise, accessed 2026-09-11
• Kenya – Corporate – Other taxes — PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, accessed 2026-09-11
• BCLB press release: gambling advertisement guidelines, 30 May 2025 — Betting Control and Licensing Board via KFCB, accessed 2026-09-11
• Gamblers beat NSE with Sh330bn stakes in one year — Business Daily Africa, accessed 2026-09-11

Regulatory summaries are provided for orientation only and are not legal advice. Licensing requirements change; we validate them with you during scoping.