The war on sports betting being waged by the Kenyan government has been stepped up by the order to shut down their mobile payment avenues.
The gambling regulatory body, Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB), has ordered Safaricom to shut down the Paybill accounts and SMS codes of 27 betting firms.
Among the 27 are betting big wigs, Sportpesa and Betin, whose licenses have not been renewed.
BCLB says the targeted firms have not met a set of undisclosed licensing requirements and are being vetted to establish if they are fit to hold gambling permits.
Safaricom’s order to stop support for the firms will affect 12 million bettors’ accounts, some of which still have money in them.
The regulatory board said a firm’s license will only be reinstated after the vetting process gives it a ‘clean bill of health’.
Related article: Popular Kenyan sports betting firm sues over license cancellation
Majority of the betting services are online or SMS-based, hence Safaricom cutting them off would see them bleed a lot of their revenue.
Revenue generated by the betting industry is estimated to be in the billions of dollars.
BCLB’s letter to Safaricom read, “Consequently, we request you to suspend pay bills and short codes until otherwise advised.”
Nonetheless, Safaricom reckons that switching off the services would be contravening the law as bigger firms like SportPesa and Betin sued, and had the court issue orders to keep them in operation.
