Kenya High Court partially lifts suspension of new gambling rules
The court’s latest decision means the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Kenya (GRA) can proceed with regulatory and licensing functions covered by the regulations.
Kenya.- A new ruling by the Kenyan High Court has allowed most of the country’s Gambling Control (Licensing) Regulations, 2026 to take effect, while keeping increases to licence fees and gambling capital requirements suspended.
The judgement, issued on August 7 by Justice W. Musyoka, partially changed an earlier court order that had halted the implementation of the 2026 gambling licensing framework.
However, the higher fees contained in the Second Schedule and the gambling capital requirements under the Third Schedule remain suspended pending the outcome of the legal challenge.
The case was filed by Thomas Buckley Opar Owuor and Ken Brance, who are challenging provisions of the new licensing regime. Their case includes objections to licence fee increases ranging from 200 per cent to 49,900 per cent.
The court had initially suspended the regulations on July 20 after granting the applicants leave to pursue a judicial review. The government later applied to have the suspension lifted or narrowed, arguing that a blanket suspension was restricting the GRA’s ability to carry out its duties under the Gambling Control Act 2025.
The government told the court that the regulator needed to process licence applications, oversee gambling operators, protect consumers, enforce anti-money laundering requirements and monitor unlicensed or foreign-based gambling activity.
The Act came into force on August 26, 2025, and introduced a new legal framework for Kenya’s gambling sector. The accompanying regulations provide requirements for different licence categories, applications, financial capacity, technical standards and renewals.
The legality of the two disputed requirements will be decided when the judicial review case is heard. The parties have been ordered to file and exchange written submissions by September 21.
The court has scheduled October 2 for its decision in the substantive case. The outcome will determine whether the suspended fees and capital requirements become part of Kenya’s permanent gambling licensing regime.
