SportsPesa among 97 betting firms to miss out on licence

Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) Chairperson Cyrus Maina. [Samson Wire, Standard]

Sport betting giant SportPesa is among 97 companies that risk closure after the government failed to renew their licences for the current financial year ending June next year.

In a letter addressed to the head of legal secretarial services of Safaricom, which owns mobile money transfer service M-Pesa, the chairperson of the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) Cyrus Maina said only three companies had been licensed for the 2022-23 financial year.

“The board hereby notifies you that only the following gaming operators have been found to be compliant with the Betting and Lotteries Act as well as the operating requirements issued by the board as at July 1, 2022, and therefore, their 2022-23 licences have been renewed,” said the letter to Daniel Ndaba dated July 1, 2022.