MPs seek to bar broadcasters from betting

MPs are mulling on introducing changes to the betting law to arrest what they termed "runaway emergence of gambling propagated by the broadcast media in Kenya".

The Information, Communication and Innovation Committee, chaired by Marakwet West MP William Kisang, said the law change would curb harmful effects of betting on unsuspecting Kenyans, largely children.

The amendments will be factored in at the committee stage of the Gaming Bill, 2019, following its approval at the second reading in the National Assembly.

“We are concerned that the proliferation of unregulated gaming programmes may have serious effects on members of the public, especially children,” Kisang said.

The committee on Tuesday invited the Communication Authority (CA) and the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) to give their input.

MPs sought an explanation of why there is a steady rise in the number of operators, as well as the process of issuance of licences by BCLB.

They also sought to know what policies and guidelines have been developed by BCLB to regulate the media in carrying out betting.

CA, in its response, said the programming code for broadcast services allows media houses to air third-party content as an advertisement or a competition.

The regulator held that broadcasters are, however, responsible for advertising material transmitted by their stations.

“They must, therefore, ensure that all advertisements are legal, honest, decent, truthful and conform to the rules of fair competition,” the CA said.

The authority said the mandate of providing guidelines on programming and advertisements related to gaming lies with the BCLB.

“It is imperative that the BCLB guidelines are harmonised with the provisions of the programming code and classification,” the CA said, in respect of time for airing gaming-related ads.

The deliberations exposed a lacuna in the law, which has given broadcasters the freehand to conduct gaming and competition activities.

BCLB said they were unaware of the reasons behind the rampant gambling-related promotions in the broadcast media.

“The board is not fully aware of the reasons behind the rampant gambling-related promotions in the broadcast media,” BCLB director Peter Mbugi said in his response to MPs.

He said several reasons have been advanced, one being the misapprehension of what constitutes gaming activity requiring authorisation.

Mbugi also argued that various reasons explain why broadcasters fail to acknowledge and observe the gaming advertisement guidelines as well as exploit the advantages of online ticketing.

He cited the devastating economic effects of Covid-19 where most radio stations lost a substantial amount of advertising revenue.

Mbugi said media houses are required to adhere to guidelines it has since issued whenever licensed operators approach them for advertisement.

The board tabled a document showing that they had directed Safaricom PLC to suspend over 70 'paybill' numbers registered by gaming operators between December 2020 and August 2021.

MPs demanded that regulators provide information on media outlets, 'paybill' numbers and the period of time the operators have been running the numbers.

Their argument is that media outlets were still carrying out betting activities in total disregard of the crackdown by the board.

MPs further want details of any taxes avoided or evaded by these operators and the status of the crackdown on unscrupulous operators in the gaming sector across the media.

Parliament in July agreed to cut the 20 per cent tax on winnings from gambling to 7.5 per cent as a boost to gamblers.

 The 20 per cent tax on winnings was introduced by the Treasury through the Finance Bill, 2021, to discourage betting and have those hooked engage in meaningful economic activities.

It was the second time Parliament shot down the proposal amid intense lobbying by betting firms keen on keeping more of their earnings in line with old adage that “the house always wins”.

Edited by A.N