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Using Your Phone for Betting May Attract Ksh 2 Million Fine

BY Soko Directory Team · June 28, 2019 10:06 am

Gamblers may face a huge blow as a new proposed bill is set to restrict betting using mobile phones and breaching this rule could attract a two million shillings fine or a jail term of not less than two years.

This bill covers all sorts of betting from sports, lottery casino games, and even online gaming.

“A person in Kenya may not use a telecommunication platform for purposes of playing online games which include betting, lottery, casino games or any platform for other forms of online gaming,” reads the proposed bill.

Service providers such as M-Pesa are not left out of this as gamblers are not allowed to engage in the activity without using the bank. M-Pesa allows users to place bets, pay off losses and get winnings on their phone without needing a bank account.

If the gambling or betting activity is done by a company, then the fine will be more and the involved company will have to pay a fine of 50 million shillings.

READ ALSO: Government Bans Advertising of Gambling on Social Media 

The bill that is still in parliament, is supposed to aid in regulating the rate of betting among the unemployed youth in Kenya. Unemployed youth are viewed to be spending more on betting with an estimation of about 5000 shillings per month.

To control this menace, a real-time monitoring system is required and this is where the Communications Authority of Kenya and the National Gaming Authority comes in.

All online gaming firms in Kenya will be required to provide a website platform as well as all visual and audio communication channels, disclose particulars and location of servers, operator’s system that show how players may be registered or deregistered, and the levied charges on gamblers.

On the contrary, the gambling platform has been a reason as to why at least 5000 people have gained employment, and has sparked more input to the revenue of the country through taxes.

After the bill is passed, anyone found breaching the rules will be blocked immediately by the CAK and legal actions will be taken against them.

READ ALSO: Lottery, Gambling and Betting; Same Difference? 

Soko Directory is a Financial and Markets digital portal that tracks brands, listed firms on the NSE, SMEs and trend setters in the markets eco-system. Find us on Facebook: facebook.com/SokoDirectory and on Twitter: twitter.com/SokoDirectory

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