Kenya Senate flags Kilifi County betting law among 36 facing regulatory gaps
The county has one month to report on missing regulations, after Senate guidance from 2025 went unheeded.
Key takeaways:
- Kenya’s Senate has flagged Kilifi County’s Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act among 36 laws and legislative instruments affected by gaps in supporting regulations.
- The Senate committee gave the county government one month to submit a report on the outstanding regulations.
- The affected laws cover eight county departments, including revenue, education, environment, agriculture, trade and healthcare.
- The County Executive said regulations were at different stages of development and pledged to work towards compliance.
- The committee said similar concerns had been raised during its 2025 visit to Kilifi.
Kenya.- Kenya’s Senate has told Kilifi County to explain why its Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act, along with 35 other county laws, still lacks the supporting regulations needed to put it into practice. The Committee on Delegated Legislation raised the matter on September 22 during a Senate sitting in Kilifi and set a one-month deadline for a full report. The warning is that laws without regulations leave gaps in implementation and enforcement.
The meeting was held at the Kilifi County Assembly, where the Senate committee sought explanations from county departments on the status of regulations supporting county legislation. The County Executive was led by deputy governor Flora Chibule, according to the official Kenya Parliament report. The engagement formed part of the Senate’s five-day sitting in Kilifi, which ran from September 21 to 25.
The 36 laws and legislative instruments span eight county departments, with supporting regulations either not developed or not submitted to the County Assembly for scrutiny and consideration.
The gaps cover several areas, including revenue and taxation, education, environment, agriculture, livestock, trade, healthcare and social development. The laws identified include the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act, the Valuation for Rating Act and the Revenue Administration Act, among several other pieces of county legislation.
Senate demands regulatory action
The parliamentary report said county departments had failed to develop and submit regulations required under various pieces of county legislation. The failure had created gaps in the implementation of county laws and affected their effective operation.
Senator Mwenda Gataya, chair of the Senate Committee on Delegated Legislation, criticised the County Executive over the gaps and described the situation as an abdication of duty. The committee was also concerned that guidance issued during its previous visit to Kilifi in 2025 had not been acted on.
Members of the Kilifi County Assembly who attended the engagement also raised concerns about the County Executive’s commitment to the rule of law. The County Executive said various regulations were at different stages of development and assured the committee that it would work towards complying with the required legal processes.
The committee directed the Kilifi County Assembly, in consultation with the County Executive, to prepare and submit a comprehensive report to the Senate on the outstanding regulations.
The committee warned that failure to operationalise county laws through regulations can create administrative and legal gaps, delay implementation and leave residents without clear mechanisms for enforcing rights and obligations under county legislation.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
- Why did Kenya’s Senate flag Kilifi County’s betting law? The Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act is one of 36 county laws and instruments whose supporting regulations were either not developed or not submitted to the County Assembly. The committee said this creates gaps in how the laws are implemented.
- What happens when a county law has no regulations? The committee warned it can create administrative and legal gaps and delay implementation. It can also leave residents without clear mechanisms to enforce their rights and obligations under the law.
- Which other Kilifi laws are affected? The list includes the Valuation for Rating Act and the Revenue Administration Act. The 36 laws span eight county departments and cover revenue, education, environment, agriculture, livestock, trade, healthcare and social development.
