This archive report was first published on 11 July 2019.
The Kenyan government has ordered telecoms firm Safaricom to stop processing payments for sports betting companies, potentially shutting down a lucrative source of revenue for the company.
According to a letter seen by Reuters on July 11, 2019, the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) has not renewed the licences of 27 betting firms, pending an ongoing inquiry into their suitability to operate in the country.
As a result, the BCLB has requested Safaricom to suspend the pay-bills and short codes of these firms until further notice.
However, Safaricom has expressed concerns that abrupt implementation of this order would result in shutting millions of users out of funds already deposited in the gaming wallets of the various betting firms.
With over 12 million customers affected, Safaricom has requested time to carry out the order, citing the potential impact on its users.
Two of the gaming companies have also obtained court orders allowing them to continue their operations without a renewed licence, further complicating the situation.
Online sports betting companies such as SportPesa have grown rapidly in the East African nation in recent years, riding a wave of enthusiasm for sports to achieve combined revenue of 204 billion shillings ($2 billion) last year.
