One of the recommendations of the Presidential Task Force on the Establishment of a National Lottery is to divert a portion of the billions of dollars bet annually by players into a mandatory savings account modeled after the Hustler Fund, which is supported by President William Ruto’s administration as a means of encouraging Kenyans to save money. presidential taskforce national lottery
Furthermore, the proposal has suggested changes to the gambling laws that would require gamblers to wager a minimum of Sh20(0.2$) from KSh1($0.01) when playing online and to make it illegal for Kenyans under 18 to bet. There is no law prohibiting gambling for anyone, regardless of age at the moment. The move is aimed at curbing underage gambling which is now rampant in the country.
At the moment, you can bet even with Sh1, Sh2 or Sh5, we are trying to raise that to Sh20 because that stops children from participating in gambling.
revealed the task force’s vice-chairman Gideon Thuranira.
The draft Gambling Control Bill also says that part of the wagered amount shall be slashed for savings. The rate at which this should happen shall be determined by the Authority in consultation with the Cabinet Secretary.
Read Also: Paid Partnerships and Digital Assets sales subject to Taxation
The task force under the leadership of billionaire Narendra Raval, is already winding up its work. It has already finished its nationwide public participation trips during which it asked for opinions on how to simplify the industry from members of the public and owners of betting companies.
The public will have access and provide feedback to the updated Draft National Lottery Bill 2023 and the Draft Gambling Control Bill 2023 today (Friday, 5th May 2023). The two bills and the draft gambling policy for Kenya 2023 are currently being revised by the task team to include the feedback obtained.
The revised draft policy and Bills will be available for access on the task force’s website by Friday (today). This is the reason we as a task force have scheduled to undertake a virtual national validation forum on the revised policy and Bills by next week.
The spirit of this task force and that of its mandate is to grow and develop a national gambling industry that is inclusive and properly regulated,” said Mr Thuranira. “There has been an outcry regarding the state of betting, lottery and gambling in Kenya with many people saying there is no control or regulation.
Since 1966 to now, a lot of developments and changes have come into the sector, like online gambling, gambling across borders that aren’t addressed by the 1966 Act.
said Mr Raval through an advertisement in the media.
The Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) is the current authority in charge of policing the industry. Once the task force has finished its work, the government wants to rename it the Gambling Regulatory Authority with an expanded mandate and more power.
According to Mr. Thuranira, the authority would implement appropriate regulations without driving out small players.
If passed, the new Bill will replace the Betting, Lotteries, and Gaming Act.
Subscribe to our channel on Telegram here for timely live updates on all happenings in the iGaming space in Africa. You may also join our group on Telegram here and grow your networks by interacting with all players in the iGaming sector in Africa presidential taskforce national lottery
