Kenya pushes for real-time gambling monitoring system as regulator targets US$310m tax revenue
Regulator proposes central monitoring system to give real-time visibility of betting transactions, reduce reliance on operator reporting and strengthen tax compliance.
Kenya.- Kenya’s Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) is pushing for the introduction of a central monitoring system that would provide regulators with greater visibility of gambling transactions across licensed operators, as it projects the sector will generate more than KSh40bn (US$310m) in tax revenue during the current financial year.
Speaking at the Gaming Tech Summit Africa (GTSA) in Nairobi on June 4, GRA Director General Peter Karimi said every licensed operator would have to integrate into the system so the regulator could track transactions across the market. and added the regulator will have sight of every transaction that happens in a gambling operation in Kenya.
Karimi said the regulator would be able to forecast tax revenues more accurately through improved visibility of gambling transactions, adding: “The country will be able to predict with a high degree of accuracy the taxes that are going to be realised.”
Karimi said the gambling sector generated approximately KSh33bn (US$257m in tax revenue during the 2024-25 financial year, with the regulator projecting collections of more than KSh40bn (US$310m) during the current fiscal year.
The system, proposed under the Gambling Control Act, is expected to provide government agencies with a live feed of gambling activity, allowing regulators to monitor compliance and identify suspicious transactions as they occur.
The Fintech Association of Kenya described the platform as reducing reliance on operator-submitted figures by giving regulators direct access to gambling transaction data. In a LinkedIn post, it said the system is expected to improve transparency and strengthen regulatory oversight through more consistent monitoring of activity across licensed operators.
The system will cover both online and land-based gambling operations, strengthening regulatory oversight and helping prevent the use of platforms for money laundering. It is also expected to support responsible gambling measures, including cooling-off periods and player monitoring tools that could trigger intervention where necessary. The authority also linked revenue growth to greater predictability in the sector’s tax structure.
Industry stakeholders welcomed the move towards technology-driven oversight. David Moshi, managing director for East Africa at Velex Advisory, a gaming industry advisory firm, said: “We saw in terms of technology that the industry is moving very fast, while the adoption from the regulatory side was lagging behind.”
The GRA’s push for a central real-time gambling monitoring system comes amid wider regulatory reforms and ongoing tax policy discussions in Kenya’s betting sector. These include debates over the proposed 20 per cent winnings tax and the increasing role of gambling revenues in supporting public fiscal commitments such as Talanta bond repayments.
