Kenya Regulator Opposes Reinstatement of 20% Tax on Winnings

The Gambling Regulatory Authority wants to stop the return of the 20% tax on winnings: Finance Bill 2026 is changing the rules again for a market where almost all demand belongs to licensed operators.

On 26 May 2026, Kenya’s regulator, the GRA, came out against reinstating the 20% withholding tax on winnings. At hearings of the National Assembly finance committee, the regulator asked to remove this provision from Finance Bill 2026 because it reverses the tax model the market rebuilt less than a year ago.

After the Finance Act 2025, the burden shifted from each win to money movement in the betting and gambling wallet: operators pay 5% on deposits and withdrawals. Finance Bill 2026 again introduces a 20% tax on winnings for residents and non-residents, keeps 5% on withdrawals, and expands the definition of a deposit to chips, tokens, credits, and virtual assets.

If the text is adopted without amendments, licensed operators will get a second tax layer on top of the wallet-based model. That is what the GRA is opposing: the regulator believes the 2025 model is simpler to enforce and is already increasing collections from the sector.

The Licensed market holds almost all demand

Kenya’s iGaming market is mature and well-channelized. Between January 2024 and April 2026, Blask tracked 207 active brands with a combined CEB of around $1.28B.

Licensed operators account for the vast majority: in April 2026, onshore brands held 92.9% BAP against offshore’s 7.1%, with monthly projected revenue of $46.9M versus $3.4M.

Onshore demand grew by roughly 5% over 15 months. Offshore, from a low base, is about +51% over the same period: the perimeter is growing, but volume remains small.

The Kenyan market remains a market of local mobile betting operators. Betika keeps a confident lead with 34.3% BAP and $251.2M CEB for the period, however its Blask Index fell 25.2% year-over-year. Second place is GameMania with 12.3% BAP, and the brand is among the few major players that continue to grow (+22.9% YoY).

GRA against double tax burden

The dispute around Finance Bill 2026 is not a fight against offshore, but the risk of reshaping the tax model again for an already licensed market. According to Blask data, almost all demand in Kenya remains within the onshore segment, so a new tax layer will hit Betika, GameMania, Odibets, SportPesa, and other local operators first.

The GRA proposes keeping the 2025 model, where tax is collected through the betting wallet and is easier to control at the level of money movement. If parliament restores the 20% tax on winnings on top of the existing 5% on withdrawals, the market will get regulatory whiplash less than a year after the previous reform. For operators this means a new compliance overhaul, and for the regulator — the risk of complicating a system that has already started to deliver growth in collections.