The total amount of money spent on betting in Kenya has jumped to Ksh 83 billion for just 6 months despite the tax measures put in place to reduce the rate of gambling in the country. This was the amount transacted through MPESA alone.
The report further revealed that KRA collected a total of Ksh 6.2 billion in taxes through MPESA.Safaricom and betting firms were also other beneficiaries,they earned profits in excess of Ksh 30 billion.
Out of the ksh83 billion spent on betting, gamblers were the main losers because only less than 10% of them earned profits.
The KRA takes 7.5 percent of the value of bets placed besides 20 percent of winnings and corporate taxes on betting firms. Most of the taxes on bets was introduced in 2019 when Interior CS Fred Matiangi closed paybill numbers of most betting sites.
The number of gamblers in Kenya stands at 18 million. This number is expected to rise to more than 20 million over the next one year as money in circulation go up.
Among the most popular betting sites which take a lion’s share include;
- Sportpesa
- Odibets
- Betika
- 22Bet
- Betlion
- Betway
- SportyBet
Majority of punters bet on football matches and jackpots.
