Kenya unveils real-time gambling monitoring system
The system was demonstrated to Kenya’s head of public service days after the High Court suspended new licensing regulations pending judicial review.
Kenya.- Kenya’s Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) has unveiled a digital Gambling Management System that will allow regulators to monitor licensed gambling activities in real time once operational, while moving all licensing processes onto a single online platform. The system was presented to head of public service Felix Koskei during a meeting with the Authority’s board and management last Wednesday (July 22).
The Authority said the platform will handle licence applications and renewals electronically while giving regulators continuous visibility into the activities of licensed betting, casino and lottery operators once it goes live. The shift is intended to strengthen compliance, improve accountability and support faster enforcement against regulatory breaches.
Koskei said the technology will reinforce the Authority’s oversight responsibilities under the new law and praised the regulator’s adoption of digital tools to improve supervision of the sector. He also reiterated the government’s commitment to building a gambling industry that operates transparently and in the public interest.
The meeting was attended by Joseph Limo, chairman of the GRA, and Peter Maina Karimi, its chief executive officer. The regulator expects the new digital platform to improve oversight of Kenya’s rapidly expanding gambling market, where mobile betting has grown faster than traditional regulatory systems. The system builds on plans for real-time transaction monitoring that GRA first outlined in June.
The Gambling Management System forms part of broader reforms introduced under the Gambling Control Act, 2025. The legislation requires mandatory age verification using a national identity card or passport to prevent underage gambling and introduces measures aimed at strengthening responsible gambling and consumer protection.
The legislation also includes higher licensing thresholds for operators, stricter advertising rules, a National Self-Exclusion Register, mandatory deposit and loss limits for players, and a Gambling Appeals Tribunal for licensing appeals.
The rollout comes days after Kenya’s High Court suspended the new licensing rules over claims the regulations were adopted without adequate public participation, pending a judicial review. However, the order does not affect the wider implementation of the Gambling Control Act, 2025, under which the GRA is continuing its regulatory reforms.
