KRA Launches Appeal Against Gambling Ruling

Kenya’s tax body, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), has confirmed it filed an appeal on Monday last week against a ruling by the Tax Appeals Tribunal, that stated gross betting winnings cannot be taxed at 20 per cent.

It further announced its plan to combat the tribunal’s other ruling, which specified that customers, rather than the betting firms, were liable for any tax payments.

Both decisions were a set-back in the KRA’s aggressive anti-gambling measures they have been implementing since July, forcing the country’s two biggest firms, SportsPesa and Betin, to pull out of Kenya altogether.

In a statement on Monday, the KRA said it will “challenge the judgement of the Tax Appeals Tribunal (TAT) delivered on 6thNovember 2019 in favour of betting firms.

“KRA has commenced the appeal process by filing a notice of appeal, which it did on 8th November 2019”.

The previous law demanded that tax be paid on net winnings, which is winnings subtracted from stakes, however Interior Minister Fred Matiangi revised this to make gross winnings liable.

Both SportsPesa and Betin have said they are open to returning to Kenya, but only when 

a “non-hostile regulatory environment is returned”.

Around 2,500 people have already lost their jobs, but it is difficult to quantify the number of people that have been indirectly affected.

A number of sectors are heavily reliant on the betting industry, such as advertising.  We may never know the true number of people made unemployed.