• Betin said its action has been reached after it fails to renew its operation license on July 1, which hardened its operation hence unable to sustain its staff.
• The firm has further said that it fully complied to tax contribution.
Betting firm Betin has said it will start closing its outlets countrywide following a disagreement with the government over its operations.
In a statement on Friday, Betin said the government's hard stand has left the company with no other option but to issue notices of redundancy to its staff, which is a 200-strong workforce.
"Further to this, we have moved to close our network of 500 retail outlets, forcing a further 2,500 Kenyans to lose their jobs and their livelihood," the statement read.
Betin said its action has been reached after it failed to renew its operation licence on July 1, which made it difficult to operate and sustain its staff.
It said that the government's decision to introduce the 20 per cent withholding tax and a new 20 per cent on excise duty through the Finance Act 2019 rendered their business untenable.
"These policy changes are globally unprecedented and clearly prohibitive to the ongoing commercial existence of the industry," Betin said.
The firm has further said that it fully complied to tax contribution.
"The claim that we have been avoiding paying tax is false, erroneous and affront to our business values. The KRA and Treasury are misguided in their interpretation of the term 'winnings' and as a result, has demanded sums of the money that simply don't exist," Betin said.
The announcement comes a week after gaming firm SportPesa announced that it was closing its business in the country.
Closure of SportPesa rendered more than 400 employees jobless.
The firm's CEO, Ronald Karauri, told its employees that their services were no longer tenable after it announced the closure of its operations in Kenya.