National Assembly rejects Senate new gambling laws

The National Assembly has rejected Senate amendments to the Gambling Control Bill citing constitutional inconsistencies, duplication of roles and overlap with recently enacted tax laws.

During Thursday’s deliberations on a Report by the Committee on Sports and Culture, the lawmakers raised concerns about the amendments’ legality and practicality.

National Assembly Leader of Majority Kimani Ichung’wah (Kikuyu) acknowledged that some of the amendments by the Senate had already been considered under the Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 2024.

“The amendments seek to legislate on matters already addressed by the Tax (Laws) Amendment Act, 2024,” Ichung’wah said.

Weighing in on the matter, Suba South MP Caroli Omondi pointed out several inconsistencies in the Senate amendments, noting that certain proposals conflicted with the Constitution and existing statutes.

“We identified clauses in the Senate amendments that contravene constitutional principles and existing legislation. As a Member of the Committee on Sports I support the Committee’s recommendation that this House reject the Senate amendments,” he stated.

The Senate amendments sought to empower counties to license and regulate various gambling activities, including betting, lotteries, and amusement machines.

The introduction of taxes such as a 15 per cent lottery tax and a 15 per cent gaming tax was deemed unnecessary by lawmakers since similar provisions are already covered under the Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 2024.

The Tax Laws amendment had provided that the Excise duty on betting shall be 12.5 per cent of the amount wagered or staked.

Regulatory body

The Gambling Control Bill, 2023 seeks to establish an Authority known as the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Kenya that shall be the successor of the Betting Control and Licensing Board.

According to the proposed law, the Authority shall develop standards and norms for betting, lotteries, casinos and other forms of gambling, regulate and control gambling activities.

In addition, the Authority shall monitor the implementation of gambling policies at the national and county level, establish and maintain a register of all gambling machines and devices and other relevant data on licensed gambling activities.

“The Authority shall continuously and on a regular basis monitor and report on its performance and on the performance of all of its licences on a quarterly basis with a summary of performance reported through Authority’s annual report on the basis of a clear outcome based performance framework developed by the National government,” the Bill provides.

Senate had sought to redefine online gambling transactions while another clause had proposed penalties for violations, including fines and imprisonment terms but these were dismissed for lacking coherence with the original Bill’s objectives.

The clause states that an online gambling transaction shall commence when a player’s account is debited with an amount of a bet shall conclude when a player’s accounts is credited with an amount of winnings in the case of a winning bet or when a player loses the game.

Members of the National Assembly also dismissed changes proposing reduced operating thresholds and the insertion of new clauses delegating certain functions to county governments.

Lawmakers’ also expressed concerns over the Senate’s proposals encroaching on the mandates of the National Assembly.

“While the Senate has a crucial oversight role, it is vital to respect constitutional boundaries. Duplication of roles only serves to slow progress,” said Ichung’wah.

The Gambling Control Bill seeks to regulate Kenya’s betting and gambling industry while ensuring tax compliance and protecting citizens from exploitative practices.

“This legislation is designed to bring order to the sector,” said Omondi.

According to the Bill, licensee shall not provide credit to a player or on a player’s account or act as an agent for a credit provider to facilitate the provision of credit to a player.