New gambling law puts player protection at centre of regulation

Audio By Vocalize

Kenya’s new gambling law puts player protection at the centre of regulation as the Gambling Regulatory Authority takes over a sector facing new digital challenges.

The Gambling Control Act, 2025 established the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Kenya (GRA), replacing the former Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) framework.

The law seeks to promote responsible gambling, minimise social harm, ensure fairness and integrity in licensed gambling and provide mechanisms for resolving disputes. It also requires safeguards for online payments, underage gambling, vulnerable people, responsible advertising and data protection.

Edgar Ogaro, founder of Muse Communications, a communications and public relations firm, says the new regulator should go beyond issuing licences, collecting regulatory fees and taking action against operators that breach the rules.

“The GRA can become more than an authority that issues licences, collects regulatory fees and takes action against operators that break the rules,” Ogaro says.

“It can build a regulatory system in which the interests of the Kenyan player are central to how the gambling market operates,” he adds.

Ogaro notes that licensing requirements covering ownership, financial resources, technology and compliance are important but should not mark the end of regulation.

For players, he raises questions over what happens when withdrawals are delayed, winnings are disputed or accounts are restricted without clear explanations.

“What happens when a withdrawal is unreasonably delayed? What happens when winnings are disputed? What happens when an account is suddenly restricted?” Ogaro asks.

He also wants players to have a clear route to seek help when an issue cannot be resolved directly with an operator.

“A licence should mean something to the person using the service,” Ogaro observes, arguing that regulation should give players confidence that gambling services are fair, transparent and subject to safeguards.

The concerns follow years of regulatory challenges under the former BCLB. In 2024, then-director Peter Mbugi told MPs that 80 per cent of gambling activity in Kenya was online and that inadequate technology was making it difficult to monitor the industry effectively. He also blamed weak and outdated laws for the rise of illegal gambling.

Mbugi’s comments came as the regulator sought stronger technological systems to monitor online gambling, reflecting the shift from a largely physical industry to one dominated by digital platforms.

The former regulator had also begun tightening consumer safeguards. In May 2025, then-BCLB chairperson Jane Makau announced restrictions on gambling advertisements near schools and places frequented by children. The measures also barred the use of celebrities and influencers in gambling advertising and required responsible-gambling warnings.

The GRA is now developing the new framework under the 2025 law, with regulations covering licensing, gambling operations, advertising, foreign-based operators, the National Lottery and the Gambling Appeals Tribunal. Public consultations on the regulations were held in March and April 2026.

GRA Director General Peter Karimi has acknowledged that the previous framework was inadequate for modern challenges such as online betting and consumer protection.

He says the new framework emphasises responsible gambling, player protection and safeguarding vulnerable groups, particularly young people and people at risk of addiction.

The law also gives the Authority responsibility for receiving and determining complaints from companies and members of the public. For online gambling, operators must maintain a customer care centre in Kenya to monitor and respond to consumer concerns.

The law further requires an online operator to credit a monetary prize to a winning player's account within two days. An online gambling transaction begins when a player deposits money and ends when the player withdraws it.

Ogaro says the complaints process should therefore be visible and easy for players to use, with a clear path from the operator to the regulator where a matter falls within its mandate.

He also proposes that the regulator publish aggregated information on complaints, including the time taken to resolve them and their outcomes.

The Act provides for self-exclusion, allowing people who recognise that gambling has become harmful to voluntarily exclude themselves from gambling activities.

Operators must establish mechanisms to enforce the exclusion, prevent marketing from reaching self-excluded customers and close their accounts.

Ogaro warns that responsible gambling should go beyond warnings and provide safeguards that players can access when they need them.

“The creation of the GRA is an opportunity to establish what the regulator represents from the very beginning,” he says.

He adds that the Authority should maintain firm standards for operators while keeping consumer protection at the centre of its regulatory work.

“Ultimately, the GRA’s legacy will not be determined solely by how many licences it issues, how much revenue the sector generates or how many enforcement actions it takes,” Ogaro says.

“It will also be determined by something much simpler: Whether Kenyan players are safer, better informed and treated more fairly under the new system than they were under the old one.”