Kenya lets families block relatives from gambling under proposed rules

Kenyan families will be able to ask the country’s gambling regulator to bar relatives from betting under sweeping new rules that give households an unprecedented role in tackling gambling problems, as authorities seek to curb a surge in addiction fuelled by economic hardship.

The proposals, published in regulations gazetted on June 30, would also allow betting companies to suspend customers they believe are gambling beyond their financial means, shifting responsibility for policing harmful betting from gamblers alone to relatives and operators.

The measures mark one of the biggest changes to Kenya’s gambling regime, reflecting growing official concern that the country’s online betting boom is pushing households deeper into debt rather than merely exposing individual gamblers to financial losses.

Under the Gambling Control (Conduct of Gambling Operations) Regulations, 2026, family members may apply to the Gaming Regulatory Authority of Kenya (GRAK) to exclude a relative from gambling where the habit “has caused or is likely to cause serious financial hardship” or threatens family welfare. The affected gambler would have an opportunity to challenge the application before the regulator reaches a decision.

Operators would also be empowered to intervene independently.

“A licenced operator may initiate exclusion where it reasonably believes that a gambler exhibits signs of compulsive or harmful gambling, is gambling beyond their apparent financial means,” the regulations stated.

Once a betting company suspends an account, it must notify GRAK within 24 hours, after which the regulator will review the decision before determining whether the exclusion should remain in force.

The proposals move Kenya beyond the current system of voluntary self-exclusion, in which gamblers themselves request that betting firms block their accounts for a specified period. Similar third-party intervention mechanisms exist in a handful of jurisdictions, including Belgium, Singapore, and New Zealand.

However, the regulations leave unanswered how operators will determine whether a customer is in financial distress. Betting companies have limited visibility into customers’ incomes, debts, or other financial obligations, raising questions over how consistently the new powers can be applied.

In recent years, the government has come under pressure to respond to a rapidly expanding betting culture, which has grown alongside smartphone ownership, mobile money, and persistently high youth unemployment.

A 2024 Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) survey found that bettors spent an average of KES 1,825 a month on gambling.

Kenya has largely relied on higher taxes to curb gambling. Betting companies now face a 15% tax on gross gaming revenue, a 30% corporate tax, and other levies, while gamblers pay a 12.5% excise duty on every stake and a 20% tax on winnings.

The latest proposals mean the government wants to address the social consequences of gambling directly, giving regulators and families powers to intervene before financial losses spill over.

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