•In the petition, the petitioners supported by bookmarkers Betika, Mozzart Bet, Odibets and Sportpesa had sued the National Assembly, Attorney General and the Kenya Revenue Authority.
•The court held that based on the evidence there was sufficient public participation in enacting the law.
Image: FILE
Two betting players have suffered a loss after the High Court dismissed a petition challenging the imposition of a 7.5 per cent excise duty on the amount wagered or staked by players.
Isaiah Onyango Okello and Cliff Odolo Mboya had told the court they lawfully engage in betting using mobile phone platforms provided by the bookmakers with support from mobile companies.
They informed the court that a player maintains a mobile money wallet on the platforms from which they transfer money to the bookmakers’ wallets to wage a bet and withdraw monies earned.
“The introduction of the excise duty would in essence tax a player just for having money and being a player and taking a risk and without effectively consuming the service which is being purchased,” they said.
They challenged the constitutionality requiring payment of excise duty on the amount staked, saying it was discriminatory and amounted to arbitrary deprivation of their property (investment).
The petitioners told the court it was against the best international betting practices and the government was unfairly giving advantage to foreign bookmarkers trading in Kenya as they were not subjected to the same double taxation.
In the petition, the petitioners supported by bookmakers Betika, Mozzart Bet, Odibets and Sportpesa had sued the National Assembly, Attorney General and the Kenya Revenue Authority.
The National Assembly responded to the petition saying it adhered to legal requirements for enactment of the Constitution and the law and there was no reason given by the players to warrant interference by the court.
“Collection of taxes through the procedures provided by the law cannot constitute an arbitrary deprivation of property,” the assembly said.
A judgement delivered by Justice George Odunga on May 6 found that the National Assembly has the constitutional authority to enact the legislation and the petitioners had failed to table evidence to demonstrate the unconstitutionality of contested legal provisions.
The court held that based on the evidence there was sufficient public participation in enacting the law.
“The court having found that the petition failed in all limps gave KRA the green light to continue collecting the excise duty on betting services,” the judge ruled.
He said the taxes need not look the same and that selective taxes may be applied to different sectors for different reasons and the same is not discriminatory.
“In this case, however, I have found that the levy of excise duty on stakes is proper and lawful,” Odunga said.
“Having arrived at the aforesaid findings, the order that commends itself to me and which I hereby make is that this petition lacks merit and is hereby dismissed but with no order as to costs as the petition was brought on behalf of the betting public member.”
Edited by Kiilu Damaris