The Betting Control and Licensing Board has proposed measures to regulate gambling. They include a mandatory picture of the gambler holding his or her Identity card while registering.
The regulator also called for increased capital requirements – such as a Sh50 million minimum capital investment for small scale betting shop – before getting a licence to reduce the number of betting companies.
Appearing before the National Assembly Finance and National Planning Committee, BCLB Director Peter Mbugi told of advanced plans to implement stricter licensing conditions to prevent the easy market entry of betting firms.
Age and identity verification where betting companies must implement enhanced checks such as Biometric verification (facial recognition or fingerprint) will be required for every account opened.
Further, a betting firm will be required to show significant capital investment before receiving operating licences prior to market penetration. This, Mbugi said, was to enhance consumer protection.
“For a small-scale betting shop, we are proposing a minimum capital investment of Sh50 million. For public gaming operators such as casinos, the proposal is to raise the requirement to Sh5 billion,” Mbugi said.
If implemented, online betting firms will also be required to show access to at least Sh200 million in capital, while national lottery operators could have a Sh200 million threshold.
To enhance consumer protection measures, Mbugi also called for enforcement of strategies such as bet and loss limits, daily loss thresholds and mandatory “time-outs” where the operators platforms to actualise the mandatory time-out.
Betting companies will also include mandatory licensing addendum – where all licensed operators must seek a specific endorsement for games of chance. Approval, the director said, will hinge on demonstrating robust consumer-protection protocols.
This came against the backdrop of revelations by the director of the gambling addiction by Kenyan youth, with the regulator disclosing that more than 236 companies were licensed last year. The Board and Communications Authority however said to have brought down 106 gambling sites in the last year.
The director noted that currently, application fees are pegged at Sh10,000, with annual license fees oscillating between Sh400,000 for small operators and up to Sh1 million for larger firms.
Other measures that the board is putting in place to ensure that gaming operators do not exploit the economic situation of the Kenyan youth is through cracking down on illegal betting shops and Chinese slot machines, closing foreign off-shore gambling platforms from operating/enticing Kenyans to gamble in their unlicensed platforms and discouraging members of the public from participating in illegal promotions disguised as gambling.
