Kenya’s Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) has found that the majority of applicants for new or renewed licences have not been approved by all of the necessary authorities, and therefore cannot receive licences.
In May, Interior Secretary Fred Matiang’i directed the BCLB to ensure that any betting operators applying for new or renewed licences had all received clearance from the Kenya Revenue Authority, Financial Reporting Centre, Inter-Agency Security Team and the country’s Communications Authority.
As a result, the BCLB produced a report on the compliance status of betting, lottery and gaming licensees.
“The report reveals that the majority of these firms have not complied with the stated requirements,” it said. “Consequently, their applications were not successful.”
The BCLB added that it told all of the operators in question that their applications may be reconsidered if resubmitted after all of the requirements are met.
Alongside the review into licence applications, Matiang’i’s May statement also called for a crackdown on unlicensed gambling, requesting that the BCLB draw up a list of unlicensed sites for the Communications Authority to block.
