Fantasy football betting site has published that operators of gambling establishments located in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi are now required to pay higher licensing fees following the passage of new legislation that was designed to increase tax revenue and money for charitable purposes.
According to a Business Daily Africa report, the Nairobi County Assembly's ratification of the Nairobi County Betting, Lottery and Gambling Act of 2021 means betting shops must pay about $5,560 for their first licenses and simultaneously pay an application fee of $92. The new legislation also calls for an annual license renewal fee of $278, as well as a $92 fee for relocating the license.
Expensive Certification:
For those properties in Nairobi that offer casino-like games, the revised bill imposed a $926 license issuance fee, as well as an application fee of $92, $2,780 for each annual renewal and $1,850 for each transfer. In addition, a $37,000 fee is assumed for an annual lottery license, as well as a $9,260 application fee, $4,630 and $231 for annual license renewals and transfers, respectively.
Operator Obligation:
For anyone considering applying for a gambling license in Nairobi, the newspaper reported that domestic applicants must now pay a $4,630 "investigation fee," which will be doubled for those applicants who are foreigners.
Public Purse:
The newspaper reported that the gambling industry in Kenya, which has a population of about 55 million, has grown rapidly over the past several decades and is now a multi-million dollar industry. The Nairobi government's attempt to accumulate some of this impressive wealth to help improve a number of social welfare and infrastructure programs.
Jackpot:
Business Africa Daily reports that Nairobi's revised legislation imposed a $46 fee on every drawing conducted by any local bookmaking, lottery or gambling enterprise, in addition to a 10% "entertainment tax" levied on winnings revenue. Bingo operators, who will now have to shell out about $278 for a three-month license to operate and donate 15% of their revenues to the county's lottery distribution trust fund for distribution within two weeks to a number of "good causes," are not left out.
The burden of sports betting:
The newspaper concluded by reporting that properties in Nairobi that offer "sweepstakes" services, whether betting through machines or in person, are now required to pay an $1,850 fee, along with an annual $926 fee for license renewal and a $92 fee for transferring money each time they apply.