A case in which betting company SportPesa has sued the state seeking compensation for the days it has been out of business continues today.
On July 10, the government ordered the withdrawal of betting codes for 27 gambling companies whose licenses had not been renewed by the required date.
Sportpesa now wants the court to quash a notice issued by the Betting Control and Licensing Board to Safaricom that disabled their M-Pesa paybill and SMS shortcodes.
Gamblers were denied access to betting platforms after telcos suspended paybill numbers of major firms in the country.
The Kenya Revenue Authority is demanding Sh8.59 billion from Safaricom as withholding tax due from SportPesa and Betin Kenya.
The two firms say the July 12 switch-off of their M-Pesa paybills and SMS shortcodes are illegal because they both have court orders allowing them to continue operating despite being denied licences by the State.
More than half a billion spent daily on online gambling has been stalled in the ongoing tussle between online betting firms and the authorities.
Leading betting firm SportPesa said the BCLB’s actions to block payments were malicious considering there was an existing court order.
Both Betin and SportPesa have sued KRA, fighting off the alleged tax arrears.
They want the court to declare the claim notices as "unlawful, in bad faith, illegal, null avoid" saying KRA is not handling their tax objections within the law.
