Tag Archives: Uhuru Kenyatta

Kenyan betting awaits Treasury judgement on wagering tax future

SBC News Kenyan betting awaits Treasury judgement on wagering tax future

Kenya’s sports betting sector awaits a critical judgement on whether the National Treasury will restore its controversial 20% blanket tax across all wagering verticals.  The tax proposal has been submitted to be considered as a directive of Kenya’s 2021/2022 National Budget, the final amendments of which are currently being reviewed by Treasury Secretary Ukur Yattani. Yattani will present the National …

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Kenya Finance Bill carries tax rescind waiting on Kenyatta approval 

SBC News Kenya Finance Bill carries tax rescind waiting on Kenyatta approval 

Kenya’s National Assembly has approved the nation’s new Finance Bill, which will terminate Kenyan betting’s controversial 20% excise tax on all gambling wagers.  First introduced during the 2019/2020 fiscal year, the 20% excise tax saw all Kenya Betting Control Board (BCLB) licence holders protest its enforcement as a market killer. The events of a tumultuous 2019 saw several Kenyan licensees …

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Everton cuts ties with SportPesa

SBC News Everton cuts ties with SportPesa

Premier League football club Everton FC has issued a statement confirming that it has mutually ended its shirt sponsorship with Kenyan online betting group SportPesa. On Sunday night, Everton management announced that by mutual consent SportPesa would not fulfil its five-year principal shirt sponsorship agreement, secured in May 2017 as a club-record deal for The Toffees. In its statement, Everton …

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SportPesa sponsorship termination triggers Kenyan football crisis

SBC News SportPesa sponsorship termination triggers Kenyan football crisis

Kenyan football is involved in the escalating tax dispute between the Uhuru Kenyatta government and the betting industry, after SportPesa – the title sponsor of the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) – confirmed that it has terminated all national sports sponsorships. Closing Friday trading, SportPesa issued a media statement confirming that it would withdraw all sports sponsorships, as it had been ‘subjected to punitive …

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SportPesa tells stakeholders it has no fear in its Kenyan position

SBC News SportPesa tells stakeholders it has no fear in its Kenyan position

Leading Kenyan bookmaker SportPesa has issued a statement to media and its corporate stakeholders underlining that its business will not be ‘shut down’ by Kenya’s current hostile agenda against licensed betting incumbents. A turbulent week saw Kenyan betting grab global business headlines as the Uhuru Kenyatta government instructed a number of national departments to undertake the strictest of enforcements against gambling …

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SportPesa denies outright Nairobi IPO rumours

SBC News SportPesa denies outright Nairobi IPO rumours

Ronald Karauri, Chief Executive of Kenyan betting group SportPesa has moved to quash rumours that his firm will seek an IPO in 2019. On Thursday, citing unnamed sources, Bloomberg and Reuters Africa reported that Karauri and SportPesa investors were planning to list Kenya’s leading bookmaker as a Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) enterprise. Speculation had mounted within the Kenyan business community …

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Dominant SportPesa eyes softer return to Kenyan football sponsorship

SBC News Dominant SportPesa eyes softer return to Kenyan football sponsorship

Kenyan news sources report that SportPesa expects to end its blackout of sports sponsorships, despite its ongoing betting tax dispute with the Uhuru Kenyatta government. Entering 2018, SportPesa Chief Executive Ronald Karauri withdrew all active sports sponsorships, following through on his previous warnings to Kenyan Parliament which had implemented a blanket gambling tax revenue charge of 35% (previous 7.5%). SportPesa’s …

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SportPesa CEO seeks open dialogue with Kenyan government

SBC News SportPesa CEO seeks open dialogue with Kenyan government

Following the termination of all SportPesa Kenyan sports sponsorships, Chief Executive Ronald Karauri has defended his firm’s position against MP backlash. Entering 2018, Karauri ordered SportPesa to suspend all active sports sponsorships in protest of the Kenyan TNA government’s blanket 35% tax hike on betting and lottery services. During 2017 High Court hearings, Karauri had previously warned the government that …

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Unworkable 35% gambling tax sees Sportpesa suspend all Kenyan sports sponsorships

SBC News Unworkable 35% gambling tax sees Sportpesa suspend all Kenyan sports sponsorships

Kenyan sports betting operator Sportpesa has announced that it will end all forms of sponsorship with national sports clubs and bodies, as the operator deems Kenya’s 35% betting/gambling tax to be unworkable. This weekend Sportpesa CEO Ronald Karauri detailed to Kenya news sources, that his firm would suspend all sponsorships with sports stakeholders from January. Speaking to local press, Karauri …

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