The Kenya Kwanza administration commits to providing an equal and enabling environment to all players in the betting and gaming industry, Interior CS Kindiki Kithure has said.
Kithure, however, urged the operators to play their part and honor their duty of paying the required taxes.
The CS spoke during a meeting with the stakeholders from the betting industry on Friday.
He said his ministry will be working towards bringing all the operators together.
“Moving forward we are going to bring the operators together to comply with their tax obligations,” he said.
Those present were representatives from Betting Control and Licensing Board, Safaricom and Kenya Revenue Authority.
While speaking recently, President William Ruto said the betting companies in the country were operating in a space that is opaque.
He asked Central Bank of Kenya Governor Patrick Njoroge to moderate the companies so that they can also pay taxes.
“I am happy that the governor is bringing our online betting companies into the regulation space because we also want them to pay taxes,” Ruto said during a joint presser with Safaricom, KCB, and NCBA CEOs.
During his tenure, former CS Fred Matiangi came under sharp criticism for allegedly harassing the operators.
In 2019, he ordered a crackdown on all business operators and investors in the country.
He also ordered for deportations of foreigners, he said, were operating the business ‘illegally’ in the country.
“This business is destroying the lives of our children. Some of them are not going to school. Let us stop pretending. We must stand up and call sin by its name for the sake of our children,” Matiang'i said.
