After a decade of trial and error, Bonnie Kamau, an accountant, has finally cashed out the biggest payout of Sh424.6 million SportPesa Mega Jackpot.

The jackpot is the latest and largest payout by the Betting Company SportPesa. This amount, which is more than the equivalent allocated to fund the upgrade of health facilities in Nairobi City County, doesn’t faze Mr Kamau.

The amount is also more than the Sh402 million that has been allocated for Sports Kenya, under the Sports, Art and Social Development Fund, in 2025/2026 budget.

He says, “I can’t say I come from a poor family, God has blessed us”.

Bonnie Kamau, the jackpot winner of Sh424.6 million, has been betting for over 10 years, and he says this win doesn’t stop him from betting even more.

At the official unveiling ceremony by the betting company SportPesa Kenya, Kamau, who hails from Nakuru County, says he put a stake of Sh500 and correctly predicted 17 out of 17 matches played on 3rd Sunday, 2025.

His win comes slightly over six years since the SportPesa mega jackpot was won in Kenya, and four years after SportPesa resumed operations in Kenya.

In 2019, SportPesa ceased operations in Kenya due to a combination of stringent government regulations and a taxation dispute. The Kenyan government, under Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i, revoked the licenses of 27 betting firms, including SportPesa, for alleged non-compliance with tax regulations. 

A key issue was the imposition of a 20% excise tax on all betting stakes, which SportPesa argued was based on a misunderstanding of the bookmaker industry’s revenue model.

Kamau, the latest millionaire who is an accountant by profession, notes that he is generally a calm person and wasn’t baffled when he received the call, announcing him as the winner.

It took him more than an hour to share the news with anyone. “The first person I called was my wife after an hour and a half.  Asking her what her dream car was,” 

Kamau said, noting that even then, he did not disclose that he had won a staggering close to half a billion shillings, he plans to uplift his family with the proceeds. 

The father of three however notes that he comes from a well-to-do family, despite the issue with water supply. “I will dig for them a borehole”. 

Currently, Kamau is a player in the Matatu industry, a manager at Nuclear Investments, OLKalau branch. He was tasked with accounting and banking for the company. He also does ticketing for the company. 

He plans to take time off from work and treat himself to a holiday, “when I come back, I will have decided way forward regarding my current job”.

According to the Mega Jackpot winner, he will continue betting. The 2nd largest amount he won was Sh171,000 from SportPesa.

And even as he celebrates his win, he cautioned other gamblers against using money for essentials like school fees to bet.

Ronald Karauri, Chief Executive of SportPesa, while congratulating Bonnie Kamau encouraged people to bet responsibly.

“When I made the call, I was very excited, because this is the first time we have a winner since 2019,” Mr. Karauri said. “My advice to you is take your time, go on vacation, and decide on how you will spend such an amount”.

According to Kaurauri, the responsibility of dealing with gambling addiction comes from all stakeholders, like Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB), association of gaming operators and betting companies among others.

“At SportPesa, we have our own self-exclusion mechanisms. The main thing missing most of the time is just education, and this responsibility usually lies with the association of gaming,” Karauri said.

He said that leaving work to bet should be discouraged, “we never promote betting as a lifestyle.”

According to Karauri, pushing betting into the underworld will create illegal gambling.

In 2029, the government’s crackdown was motivated by concerns over gambling addiction, particularly among youth, and its social impact. 

SportPesa resumed operations in Kenya in October 2020 after receiving clearance from the Kenya Revenue Authority. However, its return faced challenges, as the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) initially resisted, leading to legal battles. A High Court ruling in December 2020 allowed SportPesa to operate pending further resolution.

SportPesa Mega Jackpot starts from Sh100 million, and over the years, millions have been minted. In 2017, the first Mega Jackpot of Sh221.3 million was won by Samuel Abisai. In the same year, three joint winners received a payout of Sh111.2 million each.

In 2018, Gordon Ogada won a Sh230.7 million jackpot, the highest of his time, and was followed by Cosmas Korir in 2018, who bagged a mega Jackpot of Sh208.7 million.

Additional Reporting by Mulki Ali