Launching an online casino in Kenya

An online casino licence from the Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) under the Gambling Control Act, 2025, in force since 26 August 2025. The applicant must be a company registered in Kenya with a physical address there and at least 30% of its shares held by Kenyan citizens.

The Act replaced the Betting, Lotteries and Gaming Act of 1966 and the Betting Control and Licensing Board with the GRA. It creates separate online licences for bookmakers, lotteries and casinos. According to a summary by a Kenyan law firm, applicants must show the prescribed gambling capital, post a bond or bank guarantee, keep all gambling money in a Kenyan bank account and run a gambling control system the GRA approves and can monitor in real time.

Online operators must also keep a customer care centre in Kenya. Broadcast advertising is barred between 06:00 and 22:00 except during live sport, and a fifth of advertising airtime has to carry responsible-gambling messages.

On both sides. Players pay 5% excise duty on what they deposit and, since 1 July 2026, 20% withholding tax on winnings. Operators pay betting tax on gross gaming revenue — 15% for bookmakers.

The player-side taxes come from the Finance Act, 2026, which also moved the excise from the betting wallet to any amount deposited for betting or gaming. The operator-side rate is as described by a Kenyan tax practice.

These rates have changed with almost every Finance Act for several years — the winnings tax went from 20% to 5% in 2025 and back to 20% in 2026. Model a Kenyan launch on current rates, and assume they will move again.

M-Pesa, almost exclusively. Safaricom's mobile money is how most Kenyans pay for anything, and a Kenyan brand without it does not really have deposits. Airtel Money is a distant second; cards play a small part.

These are the methods the market expects, not a list of what any platform has live. On WW Games, crypto is connected with every launch; local methods like M-Pesa can be integrated for the market when a payment provider agrees to work with the brand, which depends mostly on its licence. How payments are set up is on payments.

English and Swahili, prices and wallets in shillings, small stakes and a mobile-first interface that works on modest phones and connections. English is already on the WW Games storefront; Swahili is added for the market as part of setup.

Football carries the sportsbook, with the English Premier League far ahead of anything else. On the casino side, crash games have been among the most played titles in the market. The sportsbook on WW Games runs through a third-party integration on the same wallet and bonuses as the casino, and the full catalogue is on game providers.

The GRA licence and the Kenyan company are yours; WW Games supplies the platform. Licensing is the operator's responsibility and depends on the markets served. WW Games does not hold or sublicense a gambling licence, and can put you in touch with licensing providers.

The GRA's control-system approval and real-time monitoring mean the platform will be part of the licence file, so involve it early. The platform side itself is part of the standard setup; what it costs is on pricing.