📣 Kenya🇰🇪: following a Supreme Court ruling, the regulator will resume licensing in the gambling sector

📣 Kenya🇰🇪: following a Supreme Court ruling, the regulator will resume licensing in the gambling sector

Background: an attempt was made to improve the licensing system, but the process was suspended. The authorities now plan to return to the previous system that was in place before the amendments.

🔣 Initial suspension: in July, the new licensing system was suspended over alleged constitutional violations related to the requirements imposed on applicant companies. The Court's decision came in response to a lawsuit filed by Kenyan lawyers specializing in the sports betting sector.

🔣 Partial lifting of the suspension: the measure was partially lifted following a request from the Government of Kenya and the new Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA). Most regulatory provisions have come back into force, while the most controversial aspects remain excluded, including the significant increase in licensing fees and the share capital requirement. These issues will be considered on October 2.

🔣 Resumption of the licensing process: the GRA may resume receiving and processing license applications, conduct comprehensive checks on operators, and supervise compliance with anti-money laundering and consumer protectionmeasures.

🔣 What about the fees❓ — The Court has not yet specified which licensing fees should apply: the recently increased fees or those originally established under the new legislation. However, the regulator is expected to return to the fees in effect before the legislative review and issue the relevant guidelines.

Online betting operators previously paid USD 77 to submit a license application, followed by USD 3,095 to 7,737 per year in licensing fees.

🔣 Context: there are currently more than 150 licensed operators registered in Kenya awaiting the opportunity to resume operations.

The effective resumption of the licensing process will depend on the regulator's next decisions.

#news #Africa #gambling

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