Kenya tightens sport betting advertisement regulations

The same rules applied to advertising of alcoholic beverages would apply to adverts promoting gambling.

Kenya.- Yesterday (Tuesday) the moral policing Kenya Film Classification Board said the same rules that regulate the advertising of alcoholic beverages would apply to those promoting gambling.

Back in January, Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery appointed Anthony Kimani Kung’u as the Betting Control and Licensing Board Chairman, whilst Kenya was experiencing an explosion in the mobile phone sports betting arena with firms such as Betin, Betyetu, Betway, SportPesa and mCheza entering the market.

Now Ezekiel Mutua, Film Board’s CEO expressed that gambling is a vice, just like drinking and therefore, they had the responsibility to limit the exposure of vulnerable minds to their “glamourisation.” The on-air promotion will be restricted to times outside the 5am to 10pm watershed.

“The likelihood of misleading the youth and children to think that you can get rich quick, you can use shortcuts, you just bet one day and you know, you’re there (is high),” said Mutua, but he added that the ads already airing, had been cleared by the Board and would be allowed to retain their time slots for the contractual period agreed on with broadcasters.

Government sponsored lotteries are exempt and free to advertise between the hours of 5am and 10pm but the off-watershed regulation will apply to any kind of product promotions that encourage customers to subscribe as many times as possible for a chance to win either a house, a car or a trip abroad. “As long as you’re getting a betting and control number.”