Kenya High Court Freezes New Gambling Licensing Rules
Kenya’s gambling industry has been thrown into uncertainty after the High Court suspended the country’s new licensing framework.
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Justice William Musyoka issued a stay order against the Gambling Control (Licensing) Regulations 2026, halting their rollout following a petition filed by Thomas Buckley Opar Owuor and Ken Brance.
Thomas Buckley Opar Owuor and Ken Brance. Owuor, who runs Buckley Owuor & Co Advocates in Nairobi and previously served as Sportpesa’s business development director, argued that the rules imposed unfair capital requirements on operators.
Court questions lack of consultation process
At the centre of the dispute are the steep increases in licensing fees. Renewal costs for land‑based bookmakers jumped from KES 5,000 (USD $38.60) to KES 2.5 million ($19,298). Online bookmakers and casino operators now face licence fees of KES 50 million ($385,950).
On top of that, the regulations introduced a 6 per cent approval fee on gambling advertising budgets.
The applicants insist these changes place a heavy financial burden on licensed operators and could reshape the sector by making it harder for businesses to remain competitive.
The challenge before the High Court also does not only focus on the size of the new fees but also on how the regulations were introduced.
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The petitioners go on to argue that the government failed to carry out proper public participation before finalising the rules. They say stakeholders were left out of the process and that the Regulatory Impact Statement did not clearly explain how feedback was gathered or used.
The filing also raises doubts about whether the statement was ever opened for public comment and whether submissions from stakeholders were documented before the regulations were adopted.
Applicants contend Prime Cabinet Secretary’s right to issue regulations
The petitioners went on to question whether the regulations were issued under the right authority. They argue that the Gambling Control Act assigns the responsibility for creating gambling rules to the Cabinet Secretary in charge of the gaming sector, not to Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi.
In their view, no constitutional or statutory provision gives Mudavadi the power to introduce the licensing framework. As part of the judicial review, the court will examine if the regulations were made under proper legal authority.
Until then, the stay order prevents the Gambling Regulatory Authority from enforcing directives that would have required mobile money providers such as Safaricom and Airtel to suspend payment services for operators failing to comply with the disputed rules.
Judges have given the applicants 14 days to file their substantive motion, with the matter scheduled to return on 21 September 2026.
Source: SiGMA
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