Kenya’s online betting sector generated $2 billion in annual revenue by 2018, representing a hundredfold increase over the preceding five years. Mobile devices accounted for 96 percent of all wagers, with M-Pesa serving as the primary transaction method.
Payment Infrastructure and Licensing Requirements
The rapid expansion of the Kenyan betting industry relied on mobile money rather than traditional banking or card networks. Operators such as SportPesa, Betika, and MozzartBet structured their platforms around M-Pesa integration to accommodate the predominantly smartphone-based user base. SportPesa leveraged this infrastructure to secure Premier League sponsorship agreements before exiting the market in 2019 due to a tax dispute.Direct M-Pesa integration requires a locally issued Kenyan betting license. Companies operating without domestic authorization must route transactions through third-party aggregators, which reduces profit margins and limits direct customer engagement. Market entry strategies in similar mobile-money economies therefore prioritize local licensing to establish direct payment connectivity.
Information sourced from MGL News.