Betting firms in Kenya can now freeze accounts of gamblers who are in financial distress under new proposals that also allow families to request the gaming regulator to bar their kin from gambling.
The powers are contained in the Gambling Control (Conduct of Gambling Operations) Regulations, 2026, which were gazetted on June 30, opening the way for third-party-initiated closure of betting accounts.
The regulations have opened the way for betting firms to suspend accounts of punters whose gambling shows signs of financial distress or harmful gambling habits that pose a threat to public security or integrity of betting in Kenya.
Family members have also been cleared to apply to the Gaming Regulatory Authority of Kenya (GRAK) to bar someone from betting on grounds that the gambling poses a financial threat to the family or the well-being of the gambler.
Previously, the Kenyan law only allowed gamblers to apply for self-exclusion from betting for a defined period. All betting firms are currently required to have this provision on their websites. Kenya now joins a few countries, including Belgium, Singapore and New Zealand, that allow for third-party intervention for gamblers, empowering relatives or gambling providers to make such interventions.
“A licensed operator may initiate exclusion where it reasonably believes that a gambler exhibits signs of compulsive or harmful gambling, is gambling beyond their apparent financial means,” Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi says in the regulations.
Financial distress
“A family member or other interested party may apply to the Authority for the exclusion of a person where; the person’s gambling has caused or is likely to cause serious financial hardship, the person poses a risk to dependants or family welfare.”
It remains unclear how the betting firms will identify a gambler who has slumped into financial distress due to betting. The government is currently battling a betting craze mainly driven by the pull of potentially getting quick cash to foot bills amid a high unemployment rate in Kenya.
Under the changes, betting firms have 24 hours to inform GRAK of their decision to suspend a gambler and cite the risks facing the punter. The regulator will then review the decision and notify the affected person.
Families will for the first time apply to have GRAK bar breadwinners or their kin from betting on grounds of financial risks such as debts or inability to foot bills. GRAK will then allow the gambler to oppose this application, after which the authority will approve or decline the family’s request.
In case GRAK approves the family’s request, the regulator will determine the period that the punter will be barred from gambling and inform all betting firms in the industry about the exclusion. The stringent rules are part of Kenya’s efforts to tighten checks in the betting market and mirror developed economies like the United Kingdom, Malta, Austria, Belgium, Singapore and Germany.
Kenya is currently home to the highest number of youthful gamblers in Africa, ahead of bigger economies like Nigeria and South Africa, underscoring the extent of the betting craze in the East African country.
Betting revenues
A survey by research firm GeoPoll found that 64 percent of Kenyans interviewed placed a bet in the past 12 months, ahead of 60 percent of respondents in Ghana and 58 percent in South Africa. The government has over the years raised the alarm over the betting craze, saying it was pushing gamblers into debt all in the quest to fund the habit, besides jeopardising the financial health of their dependants.
A Central Bank of Kenya survey in 2024 revealed that Kenyans spent an average of Sh1,825 a month on betting. However, only a few punters win, giving the betting firms a windfall in betting revenues.
The government has stepped up efforts to discourage gambling by increasing the taxation and regulatory burden on operators in the industry.
Betting firms pay a 15 percent tax on their gross gaming revenue, a corporate tax of 30 percent on their profits and income tax at the rate of 16 percent. There are also proposals for the firms to pay license fees for their key staff, which will add to their operating expenses.
Gamblers, on the other hand, pay an excise tax of 12.5 percent on every betting stake and a further 20 percent for every winning bet. The taxes are meant to thin the winnings and discourage gamblers.
But difficulties in securing employment continue to push more people into gambling, in the hope of making quick money to meet daily expenses. High internet penetration and access to smartphones have been critical in driving the betting craze.
