High Court offers Sportpesa fans lifeline

SportPesa CEO Ronald Karauri when he appeared before the Senate Justice and Legal Affairs Committee [PHOTO: Boniface Okendo]

NAIROBI, KENYA:  Football fans can still use the SportPesa platform to place bets for their favorite teams after the High Court barred the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) from interfering with its operations.

This is after Milestone Games Limited, the company operating the SportPesa platform moved to court on December 2 seeking to overturn the earlier decision by BCLB stopping it from using the name ‘SportPesa’ the domain www.ke.sportpesa.com.

On December 3, High Court Judge Pauline Nyamweya issued orders prohibiting BCLB from interfering with Milestone’s business and operations pending the hearing and determination of the matter.

This means that Milestone Games Limited is legally entitled to continue using the ‘SportPesa’ name and domain as well as the shortcode 29050 and Paybill numbers 5212121 and 955100, despite attempts by the regulator to shut them down.

Justice Nyamweya ruled, “In the circumstances, in order to prevent abuse of the process of court and in the interest of Justice, it is my finding that the extension of the stay orders sought is merited and justified and to prevent imminent further actions by the Respondent.”

She also ruled that Milestone has provided sufficient evidence that BCLB had taken further actions even after the court had ordered it from doing so on November 16.

On December 2, Milestone moved to court seeking to bar BCLB from meddling in its business after the regulator wrote to the company on November 24 asking it to show cause why its licence should not be cancelled after changes in its shareholding.

Milestone argued that the notice to show cause letter amounted to violating and undermining the orders issued by the High Court on November 16 that prohibited the betting regulator from interfering with the company’s business and operations.

In the case, mobile service providers Safaricom and Airtel have been named alongside the Communications Authority of Kenya and Pevans East Africa Limited (the company that previously operated the SportPesa platform) as interested parties.

The case will be heard next year January 25.