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Kenya’s parliament approved its latest finance bill on June 19, including reportedly reducing the excise duty on betting from 15 percent to 5 percent, according to local media reports.
A last-minute amendment to the bill will also change the point of taxation from when a bet is placed to when funds are transferred from mobile money wallets, a digital service that allows users to store, send, and receive money using their mobile devices, to betting accounts.
MP Kimani Kuria, chairman of the Finance Committee, told Parliament: “There are so many entities operating virtually, some outside the country, from which we are not able to get this excise duty from them. This now means that every time a Kenyan transfers money from their mobile wallet to the wallet of the betting company, then that’s the time the excise duty is paid.”
The bill is currently awaiting final approval from President William Ruto.
The bill would also introduce a new definition for digital marketplaces, which would come into effect on July 1, 2025, as an online platform that lets users sell goods or provide services to other users. This includes online betting, gaming, and advertising.
Last year, the government proposed to increase the 12.5 percent gambling excise duty to 20 percent; however, these plans, along with a range of other tax hikes, were abandoned after massive public upheaval, including the storming of Parliament.
The latest changes, as well as recently published new advertising guidelines, look to improve industry oversight and compliance, as well as squeeze illegal operators.
