Betting windfall as Kenya slashes excise tax on gambling to five per cent
Finance Bill 2025 introduces major tax shift for punters and puts rogue importers on notice with tougher compliance measures.
Kenya.- Kenya’s betting industry is set for a major shake-up and so are unscrupulous importers, as Parliament sharpens its tax laws under the proposed Finance Bill 2025.
In a surprise move, the National Assembly has approved a sweeping cut to the excise duty on betting stakes, slashing it from 15 per cent to just 5 per cent. But there’s a catch: the tax will now be applied when money is transferred into a betting company’s wallet, not when a bet is placed.
“When you are placing a bet as it is now, the current taxation regime is say you have money on your Airtel or M-Pesa account, and then you transfer that money to the wallet of the betting company. The time of charging of excise duty is when you place a bet,” said Kimani Kuria, Chair of the National Assembly’s Finance Committee, according to The Kenyan Wall Street publication.
“Now, we are changing that to making the excise duty payable when you transfer money from your mobile wallet to the betting company wallet… that’s the time when excise duty is paid.”
This change is designed to close loopholes exploited by offshore betting firms operating virtually in Kenya’s booming gambling market. By shifting the tax point to the moment of mobile money transfer, authorities hope to ensure compliance across both local and foreign platforms.
Not only gambling sector
But betting isn’t the only sector under the microscope. The Finance Bill also introduces stiffer rules for importers in a bid to stem the tide of tax evasion and protect consumers from substandard goods. Kuria highlighted widespread abuse of tax exemptions by traders who falsely declare finished goods as raw materials, particularly in sectors like edible oils.
Under the new rules, importers will be required to present certificates of origin from credible institutions, disclosing full cargo details at the point of entry, a move aimed at both curbing revenue leaks and raising product standards.
Meanwhile, in a win for devolved units, the Mediation Committee on the Division of Revenue Bill has agreed to allocate KSh415 billion ($3.22bn) to counties in the upcoming fiscal year – a 4.8 per cent boost from the National Treasury’s original proposal and a significant KSh27.6 billion ($3bn) increase from the current year’s figure.
