Betting firms fight new gambling rules as court weighs massive fee hikes

Two lawyers, Thomas Buckley Opal and Ken Brance, sued the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Kenya (GRA), the Attorney General and Prime Cabinet Secretary, arguing that the new regulations will cripple the industry and were allegedly passed without public participation.

The decision on whether Gambling companies will pay a Sh50 million licensing fee for online bookmakers and Sh120 million for casinos, or stick to the old requirement of Sh200,000 and Sh7 million respectively, now lies with High Court Judge William Musyoka.

They further claimed that for an online bookmaker license fee, the amount was increased 24,900 times, from Sh 200,000 to Sh 50 million.