This archive report was first published on 16 July 2019.
On July 10, 2019, the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) suspended the licenses of 27 betting firms, citing tax evasion concerns.
As part of the ongoing crackdown, the government has issued deportation orders against 17 foreign directors of these firms, including SportPesa and Betin.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i has signed the deportation orders, which require the directors to leave the country immediately.
The move comes after a multi-agency team discovered that the affected firms failed to prove tax compliance, leading to the cancellation of their licenses.
The firms whose licenses have been canceled include SportPesa, Betin, Betway, and several others.
On Monday, the Central Bank of Kenya wrote to local banks and financial institutions, asking them to monitor the accounts of the 27 betting firms.
The government has also directed mobile money service providers to withdraw the pay bill numbers and SMS codes of the affected firms.
