This archive report was first published on 21 July 2019.
Kenya's Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) recently revoked licenses of over 20 gaming companies, including SportPesa, citing failure to meet tax obligations.
However, a new report by Finance Uncovered has revealed that SportPesa made a staggering $1 billion in 2018, a figure the company disputes.
According to the report, SportPesa's revenue in Kenya alone was over $1 billion in 2018, but the company does not publicly disclose its revenues or profits in Africa or the UK.
When contacted by The Guardian, a SportPesa spokesperson described the figure as 'a very significant overstatement,' adding that the company had made a commercial decision not to publish its revenues to protect its competitiveness.
Despite the company's claims, Kenya's BCLB reported that the bookmakers made a cumulative amount of Sh204 billion in 2018 but paid only Sh4 billion in taxes.
However, SportPesa countered that it made Sh20 billion in 2018 and remitted Sh6 billion in taxes to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).
