SportPesa Protests Government’s Gagging

Giant Kenyan betting company SportPesa has protested the latest move by the government that has paralyzed its operations.

In a statement, SportPesa said the government's directive for withdrawal of its pay bill numbers was illegal, malicious and prejudicial.

The company accused the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) of going against a court order.

“SportPesa is highly disappointed by the recent BCLB’s illegal action to block our shortcodes for deposit and withdrawal despite the High Court order,” SportPesa said.

The company insisted that it has complied with all tax and legal requirements contrary to the government's claims.

SportPesa said the sanctions against it could have far-reaching consequences on the social and economic agenda of the country.

On Thursday, BCLB directed Safaricom, Airtel and Telkom Kenya to withdraw pay bill numbers and SMS codes of 27 betting companies among them SportPesa, Betin and Betway.

BCLB gave millions of Kenyan gamblers 48 hours to withdraw funds deposited in their betting companies' wallets or lose them.

The telecommunications companies have since suspended pay bill numbers assigned to the betting companies affected.

Other betting companies affected include Betin, Lucky 2 U, Asian Betting and Gaming Ltd, Kick Off Sports Bar Ltd, Mozzarbet Kenya Ltd, Atari Gaming Ltd, Millionaire Sports Bet Ltd, Premier Betting Ltd, Advanced Innovation Ltd, Sekunde Technologies among others.

The companies allegedly failed to prove that they were tax compliant as required by BCLB.

It was established that the companies made a cumulative amount of Sh204 billion in 2018 but paid only Sh4 billion in taxes.