Betting giant companies SportPesa and Betin have exited the Kenyan market after fighting for months to have their licenses renewed.
The move, according to the two companies that control 60 percent of the market, was sparked by the high taxes introduced by the government making the business no longer viable.
A memo from Betin read in part:
“…As a result of the deterioration of the profitability, the management has had to rethink its operations model and proceed with the exercise of termination on account of redundancy,”
SportPesa said of the 20 percent excise duty slapped by the Kenyan legislature:
“The tax is based on a fundamental misundestanding by the Rotich led treasury of how revenue generation works in the bookmaker industry. This decision will have a damaging impact on both customers and treasury”…..