The online sports betting industry in Kenya has been on the rise in the last few years, with the country now rated as the third largest market in Africa.Recognizing the potential in Kenya, several betting sites have sprung up in the East African nation, looking to earn a share of the big cake.
Only Nigeria and South Africa have bigger sports betting markets in Africa.
Gambling is hardly a new phenomenon in Kenya, but it has become even more prevalent in the last decade. The reasons for this surge are not too far-fetched.
Kenyans are very passionate about sports, and the opportunity to make money from this passion naturally appeals to the sports-loving population.
At the onset, betting enthusiasts used to make their wagers in physical betting shops around Nairobi and other cities, but these days, online betting has taken over.
Even that has been further streamlined into mobile betting, with most Kenyan punters now placing their bets on their smartphones.
Whether they are in the comfort of their living rooms or stuck in traffic, all they have to do is whip up their smartphones, launch their mobile betting apps, and start betting!
According to GeoPoll, 88% of Kenyan bettors have placed bets using their mobile phones, with 55% gambling at least once a week.
As at 2019, the mobile penetration in Kenya stood at 91%, well above the continental average of 80%. The number of mobile subscriptions in Kenya is projected to go well beyond the 50 million mark by the end of 2020. The country is one of the leading nations in Africa when it comes to smartphones and internet usage.
This is sweet music to the ears of sports betting stakeholders in the country.
Another very important contributor to the rise of online sports betting in Kenya is mobile money.
Kenya has done a terrific job in this area, with the country now regarded as a global leader in mobile money services. Kenya’s leading provider, M-Pesa is widely acclaimed as one of the most successful mobile money services in the world.
Kenya reportedly has over 58 million mobile money subscribers, which is greater than the actual population of the country.
The ease of payment via mobile money services, especially M-Pesa, has made life very convenient for Kenyan bettors.
While the market continues to generate decent numbers, things have not exactly been plain sailing in the industry.
Over the last couple of years, the Kenyan government has been involved in a running battle with gambling operators, leading to the exit of some of the leading betting companies in the country.
The market has taken a bit of a hit as a result.
It isn’t just the betting companies that have been affected by unfavourable government regulations, some telecoms providers have also experienced a drop in revenue.
Kenya’s top telecoms company, Safaricom recently reported a dip in profit for the first time in eight years, largely due to a reduction in the revenue generated by M-Pesa.
M-Pesa’s lower returns can be attributed to two main reasons:
- The Central Bank of Kenya’s directive that all mobile money transfers below Ksh. 1000 should not attract any charges
- The 2019 Gaming Bill, which prevented gambling operators from receiving payments through mobile money services
Thankfully, the Gaming Bill has now been amended by the Kenyan National Assembly, allowing betting companies to include mobile money payment methods without falling foul of any laws.
With mobile penetration in Kenya constantly on the increase, and mobile money now being accepted as a legal means of payment into betting sites, online sports betting in Kenya looks set to produce even bigger numbers in the coming years.
