SportsPesa wants to get back to Kenya

SportPesa CEO Ronald Karauri advanced Kenya is a top target for the company after it had to leave the country in 2019.

Kenya.- Back in September, SportPesa left Kenya amid a tax hike and the end of its licence. However, company CEO Ronald Karauri advanced they are pushing to get back in the country.

“I have so many people asking this question. We did not get our license renewed in 2019,” he explained. “We submitted our application to BCLB some months ago and we are still waiting for feedback. If we do get our license renewed we shall let everyone know.”

The conflict

In August, SportPesa announced that it had decided to cancel all of its sports sponsorship deals in the country. This comes after a dispute with the local government’s approval of a new betting tax in the 2019-20 financial budget.

Football Kenya Federation President Nick Mwendwa urged the government to slow down on its stance on betting firms. He referred to the fight between the government and betting firms in regards to tax compliance.

Mwendwa said that the sport will be the biggest loser when it comes to this tax compliance fight. Mwendwa singled out SportPesa’s contribution of €39 million that supported different football entities. The president said he feared that this fight with the government would leave teams without this kind of financial support. SportPesa’s announcement ultimately led to the league without this contribution.