Late last year, the Central Bank of Kenya released a report in collaboration with the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics that tells a lot about the local betting sector. It reveals a dramatic drop in Kenyans who use betting to pay their bills. The imposition of greater taxes on gaming and betting, according to the research, is the primary cause of the fall. As a result, gaming spending has decreased by 63 percent.
The percentage of gamblers who rely on gambling to pay their bills has decreased. It fell from 22.7 percent in 2019 to 11.2 percent this year. Over the course of two years, this indicates a drop of more than half.
The betting stakes excise tax was enacted in 2019. This type of tax was repealed in Kenya’s Finance Act in July 2020. This was in response to widespread opposition from betting companies. Despite all of the changes, the survey clearly demonstrates that up to 14% of Kenyans still rely on gambling to pay their monthly expenditures. As a result, betting and gambling are still seen as alternative sources of income. Especially for cash-strapped gamblers in a country where unemployment is rampant.