New betting sites in Kenya: how to check a new licensee before you trust it with money

A new betting site in Kenya is one whose line on the regulator's list carries the status New. The list, headed "Licensed Gaming Companies for the Trading Period 2025/26", had 187 rows when its page was last modified on 19 March 2026: 17 marked New and 170 marked Renewal. Every operator on it is listed as licensed for that trading period; the Gambling Control Act, 2025, under which licences are now issued, commenced on 26 August 2025.

This page explains how to read a New line, how to check a new site against the list in five steps, what the law requires of every licensee from its first day, and what happens to a licence over its life. It names no favourite and links to no operator. The status word itself is unpacked in what New means in the status column of the GRA list.

What "New" means on the regulator's list

Section 28(1) of the Gambling Control Act, 2025 says a person shall not offer any gambling activity or service unless it is licensed under the Act. Section 67(1) lists three online licences: an online bookmakers licence, an online lottery licence and an online casino licence. The body that issues them is the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Kenya, established by section 6(1).

The Authority publishes its licensees in a single table on gra.go.ke. The table has eight columns: No., Operators Name, Trading Name, BK, PG, PL, STATUS, DOMAINS. The page does not expand the three abbreviations; the column headed BK carries bookmaker licence numbers, and the Act's licence categories are bookmaker, public gaming and public lottery.

The STATUS column holds one of two words, New or Renewal. The page does not define them. Read with the Act, Renewal matches section 31, which covers renewal of a licence, and New matches a first grant under section 30, which covers an application for a licence.

New therefore describes the application in this trading period, not the age of the brand and not the quality of the service. A company can have traded under the old law and still appear as New if it applied afresh. A brand can be months old and still sit on a Renewal line if the licensee renewed.

Of the 17 New rows, 13 carry a number in the BK column, three carry a number in the PG column and one carries a number in the PL column. All 17 show Nil in the DOMAINS column. The regulator has published no website address for any of them, which is why the domain check below needs an extra step.

The list is not the register. Section 39(1) of the Act requires the Authority to keep a register of licences that records, among other things, the date of expiry of each licence and particulars of any revocation or suspension. The public web table prints neither, and section 39(2) makes the register open to the public at reasonable times on payment of the prescribed fee.

Two practical consequences follow. Never add an expiry date to a line, because the page does not print one. And treat the page as a snapshot: its own content record shows the 19 March 2026 modification date, and the status on the day you check may differ from the status on the day you deposit.

How to check a new site in five steps

The check rests on one duty and one document. The duty is in section 36(3) of the Act: a holder of an online gambling licence shall display the licence issued under the Act in their online platform. The document is the regulator's table.

Step one: find the licence on the site itself. Section 36(1) requires every licensee to display the licence at a place visible to the public during its period of validity, and section 36(3) applies that duty to the online platform. The licence form in the First Schedule of the Gambling Control (Licensing) Regulations, 2026 carries a licence number, the company name, the trading name, a physical address and a validity period, so look for those fields.

Step two: write down the company name, not just the brand. Section 2 of the Act defines a licensee as a person issued with a licence under the Act, and section 29(a) requires that person to be a body corporate. The company name is what the Operators Name column records.

Step three: open the table on gra.go.ke and find the row. Match the Operators Name, the Trading Name and the licence number in the BK, PG or PL column, then read the STATUS. A match on the brand alone is not enough, because section 2 also says a licence is assigned to a specific person and may not be re-assigned.

Step four: compare the DOMAINS column with the address in your browser. For every New row on the current list that column reads Nil, so the page confirms no website for a new licensee. Nil means unconfirmed, not unlicensed; the longer version of this check, including what to do when the domain is missing, is in how to check a new betting site is licensed.

Step five: when anything differs, call the regulator. Its website shows a toll-free line, 0800-723-770. Section 10(m) of the Act makes receiving and determining complaints from the public one of the Authority's functions, and section 37(1) lets it investigate a licensee on information from any person.

Three more signs belong to the first visit. Regulation 82(1) of the Gambling Control (Conduct of Gambling Operations) Regulations, 2026 bars a licensee from letting anyone gamble online without an identity check, a location check and an age assurance check, so a site that opens an account without them is not following the Regulations as gazetted. Section 71(1) of the Act sets the minimum online bet at twenty shillings, and section 73(3) allows a wager only when the player's account already holds funds to cover it.

What every licensee must have from day one

A New status does not lower the bar. Regulation 3 of the Conduct of Gambling Operations Regulations requires a licensee to notify the Authority of its start date seven days before commencing a gambling business, confirming among other items its integration with the Kenya Revenue Authority's systems and with the Authority's central monitoring system. The complete explainer is what a newly licensed bookmaker must have from day one.

Kenyan company and address. Section 79(1) of the Act allows a foreign-based operator an online gambling licence only if it is registered in Kenya, has a physical address registered in Kenya and meets the requirements prescribed in regulations. Section 29(a) requires every licensee to be a body corporate in which a minimum of thirty per cent of the shares are held by Kenyan citizens.

Kenyan bank account. Section 29(b) requires the licensee to maintain an account with an authorized financial institution registered in Kenya into which it pays all monies relating to the licensed gambling activity. Your deposit should land in that account, in the company's name.

Displayed licence. Section 36(1) and 36(3) require the licence to be visible to the public and, for online licences, displayed on the platform. Regulation 29 of the Licensing Regulations adds that the licensee must trademark the name it trades under and file the certificate with the Authority within thirty days of being licensed.

Proof of age and identity. Section 72(3) requires an operator to require proof of age of majority before registering every player, and section 72(2) requires mechanisms that stop a child being registered. Regulation 82 adds the identity, location and age assurance checks before account activation, and regulation 92(1)(c) bars prize-competition advertising or promotional material that targets or appeals to persons under the age of eighteen years.

Player-set limits. Regulation 84(1) and (2) require real-time tools for deposit limits on a daily, weekly and monthly basis, loss, session and expenditure limits, reality-check pop-ups showing duration of play, and an easy option for self-exclusion of at least twenty-four hours linked to the national self-exclusion register. Regulation 67(3) requires a real-time self-exclusion mechanism on an online platform. No figure is set for the limits themselves: you set them.

Complaints handling. Section 68(8) of the Act requires an online operator to maintain a customer care centre within Kenya to monitor and respond to issues raised by consumers. Regulation 9(2)(d) requires that centre to report to the Authority within two days any matter raised by the public, and regulation 9(2)(e) requires it to refer to the Authority any matter unresolved after seventy-two hours, or sooner if the complainant asks in writing.

Transparent terms and no credit. Regulation 23 requires a licensee to clearly display betting odds, rules and terms for each bet and forbids altering the terms of a bet after acceptance. Section 72(7) forbids inducing a bet by advancing credit or allowing credit cards, and section 74(1) forbids providing credit to a player or on a player's account; both sections leave free bets and bonus bets in the ordinary course of business untouched.

Money behind the licence. Section 40(1) of the Act requires an insurance security bond or bank guarantee covering the Third Schedule amount, which for online gambling is one hundred million shillings. The Third Schedule of the Licensing Regulations sets the gambling capital for an online bookmaker at one hundred million shillings as well.

Payouts: what the law requires and when

Section 70(1) of the Act is the baseline: where a player in an online gambling transaction wins a monetary prize, the licensee shall within two days credit the amount to the player's account. Section 70(6) requires proof of age of majority before the prize is remitted, so a request for your identity document at the first withdrawal is the law working, not by itself a stalling tactic.

The Conduct of Gambling Operations Regulations then set payment tiers in their Third Schedule, headed Online Gambling Prize Payment Tiers. The tiers govern how, and how fast, the money leaves the operator once a prize is won.

Regulation 101(1) attaches a cost to delay. A licensee that fails to pay winnings within fourteen days owes the Authority a penalty of five per cent of the total winnings, and under regulation 101(2) owes the player the outstanding winnings plus interest accruing at five per cent per day for the next twenty-one days until payment in full. Regulation 101(3) adds that non-compliance may lead to suspension of the licence.

Other payment rules protect balances rather than wins. Section 76(2) requires the money a licensee holds for players to at least equal total player balances, with any shortfall made good from the licensee's own money within thirty days of the end of the month. Section 76(3) stops the licensee setting a player's balance off against other debts.

Section 77(1) requires a licensee to remit the balance to a player whose account shows no transaction for three months, and section 77(2) sends balances untraceable for five years to the Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority. Section 70(2) gives seven days to deliver a non-monetary prize or tell the player in writing where in Kenya to collect it, and section 70(5) lapses claims for uncollected prizes six months after the winnings are declared.

Deposits have their own rules. Section 73(4) lists debit card, electronic funds transfer, mobile money transfer, cash deposit or another method approved by the Authority. Regulation 83 prohibits anonymous gambling and the use of virtual assets for gambling or withdrawal unless the Authority approves.

Early risks and red flags in the first months

A newly licensed site has the same duties as an old one but less history to judge it by. The practical answer is to compare what you see with what the law requires, line by line. The flag-by-flag version is in new betting site red flags: what to watch in month one.

Start with the licence itself. A site with no licence displayed is not meeting section 36(3), and a company absent from the regulator's table has no visible authority to offer gambling under section 28(1). Section 98 makes operating without a valid licence an offence, with a fine of up to three million shillings or up to three years for a first offence.

Next, the company behind the brand. A foreign-based operator that provides online gambling in Kenya without a licence commits an offence under section 79(3): a natural person faces a fine of up to two million shillings or two years, and a corporate person a fine of up to fifty million shillings. A licensed operator must have a Kenyan registration and a Kenyan physical address under section 79(1), so a site that shows only a foreign address is a question to put to the regulator.

Then the money. Section 29(b) requires gambling monies to be paid into the licensee's account at an authorized financial institution registered in Kenya, so a request to send a deposit to an individual's mobile number or to a differently named account does not fit the rule. Regulation 83 bars anonymous play and virtual assets, and sections 72(7) and 74(1) bar credit, so offers of betting on credit or of crypto deposits are flags too.

Then the tools and terms. Missing deposit, loss or session limits means regulation 84 is not met. Odds or terms that change after a bet is accepted breach regulation 23(2), a win that sits unpaid beyond two days is outside section 70(1), and beyond fourteen days regulation 101 applies.

The first months also carry a licence-specific risk. Regulation 26(1)(a) of the Licensing Regulations lets the Authority suspend or revoke a licence where the licensee does not commence business within six months of issue, and regulation 26(1)(b) where it has ceased or suspended operations for more than three months without approval. A site that goes quiet soon after launch may be heading into that process, which is a reason to keep balances small until it has a record.

Adverts tell you something as well. Section 87(1) of the Act requires the Authority's approval for gambling advertising on any medium, section 87(2)(e) bars television and radio adverts between six in the morning and ten at night except during a live sporting event, and section 87(2)(g) requires twenty per cent of aired advertising to promote responsible gambling. Section 87(4) sets the penalty for breaching the section at up to twenty million shillings or twenty years.

The licence lifecycle: one year, fees, renewal, suspension, revocation

A New line is the start of a cycle with fixed stages. The duration explainer is how long a new online betting licence lasts in Kenya; this section walks the whole cycle from application to revocation.

Application. Section 30 of the Act governs the application, and regulation 11 of the Licensing Regulations lists what an online gambling application must include, among them a gambling control system compatible with the Authority's central management system. Section 30(6) makes a knowingly false statement in an application an offence carrying a fine of up to one million shillings or one year.

Fees. The Second Schedule of the Licensing Regulations prices an online bookmaker licence at an application fee of five million shillings and a licence fee of fifty million shillings, with an annual operating licence fee of five million shillings. Regulation 27 makes fees non-refundable where a licence is cancelled or revoked and not payable pro rata.

Duration. Section 31(3) of the Act makes a gambling licence valid for thirty-six months from issue or for such other period as regulations prescribe, and section 35 says the duration varies by activity subject to that section. Regulation 22 then points to the Fourth Schedule, where online gambling reads one year for a new licence and one year for a renewal, while casino and bookmaking licences read three years.

Renewal. Section 31(2)(b) of the Act requires a renewal application at least three months before expiry; regulation 24(2) requires it at least ninety days before expiry, and regulation 24(3) gives the Authority thirty days to issue the licence to a successful applicant. Regulation 24(4) requires written reasons within fourteen days when a renewal is rejected, and section 32(3) gives twenty-one days to appeal a refusal.

Suspension. Section 34(1) lets the Authority suspend a licence where the holder contravenes the Act, after notice and an opportunity to be heard, and section 34(3) requires it to inform the public forthwith through the Gazette and two newspapers of nationwide circulation. Regulation 26(1) lists twelve grounds for suspension or revocation, including failure to commence within six months, ceasing operations for over three months, failing to protect data, failing to pay the annual licence fee and failing audit requirements.

Revocation. Section 33(1) lets the Authority revoke a licence where the holder breaches the Act, made a knowingly false statement in the application, is wound up, or breaches a condition required for issue. Section 33(2) requires a notice of intended revocation giving the licensee fourteen days to give reasons, section 33(3) requires that notice at least twenty-one days before the intended date, and section 33(4) ends the licence if no reasons are given.

After revocation. Section 33(8) requires the licensee to surrender the licence and bars it from holding one for a period not exceeding five years, and section 33(9) gives twenty-one days to appeal. Regulation 26(5) requires the licensee to take measures to safeguard player deposits and personal data, regulation 26(7) requires surrender and cessation of business within seven days of notification, and regulation 26(9) requires publication of the suspension or revocation and its grounds in the Gazette and two national newspapers.

Transfer. Section 2 defines a licence as assigned to a specific person that may not be re-assigned, and regulation 28(1) forbids transferring a licence to another person. A rebrand under the same company keeps the licence; a sale to a different company needs a new application.

Transition from the old law. Section 122(1) kept licences issued under the repealed Betting, Lotteries and Gaming Act valid for their period, and section 122(2) requires the holder to apply for a new licence on expiry. Regulation 30(1) then continued those licences for sixty days from publication of the Regulations on 30 June 2026, regulation 30(2) required holders to apply within that window, and regulation 30(3) sends pending applications into the new Regulations. The current list was last modified on 19 March 2026, before that window opened, so its lines reflect the position at that date.

Where to report a problem or an unlicensed site

Start with the operator when the site is licensed. Regulation 9(2)(e) requires its customer care centre to refer any matter unresolved after seventy-two hours to the Authority, or earlier if you ask for escalation in writing, so put the complaint in writing and keep the date. The procedure for a site with no licence is in how to report an unlicensed betting site in Kenya.

Then the Authority. Its website shows the toll-free line 0800-723-770, and its contact page gives the office as ACK Garden Annex, Bishop Road, 1st Ngong Avenue, 7th floor, Nairobi, open Monday to Friday from 8am to 5pm. The e-mail addresses still shown on the site carry the former Board's domain, so the telephone line and the office are the channels to rely on.

Section 10(m) of the Act makes receiving and determining complaints from the public a statutory function of the Authority. Section 37(1) lets it investigate the conduct of a licensee on its own motion or on information from any person, and section 37(2) lets it direct the licensee to rectify shortcomings.

Then the Tribunal. Section 88(1) establishes the Gambling Appeals Tribunal, which under section 88(9) hears appeals against decisions of the Authority and complaints arising out of the outcome of a gambling transaction. Section 80 lets a party to an online gambling dispute appeal to the Tribunal within fourteen days of the dispute, and section 90 allows a further appeal to the High Court within fourteen days.

The Tribunal's own rules narrow the door. Regulation 18 of the Gambling Control (Gambling Appeals Tribunal) Regulations, 2026 denies the Tribunal jurisdiction until the complaint has first been heard and determined through the Authority's administrative, review or appellate mechanisms, and regulation 6 requires a memorandum of appeal within thirty days of the Authority's decision. Exhaust the operator and the Authority first.

Reporting an unlicensed site matters beyond your own money. Section 98 and section 79(3) create the offences for unlicensed and foreign unlicensed operation described above. Regulation 102 of the Conduct of Gambling Operations Regulations makes it an offence to provide hosting, domain registration, payment processing or technical support to an illegal gambling platform, which regulation 102(2) defines as any website, application or electronic system offering gambling without the authorization, licence or approval required by law.

What this guide and the list do not cover

The list records licences, not quality. It says nothing about odds, markets, app design or speed of support, and this site does not rank or score operators. A New line and a Renewal line are both licences; neither is an endorsement.

Dates are the second gap. The page prints no issue or expiry dates, and section 39 of the Act places those in a register that is open to the public on payment of a fee rather than on the web table. The 19 March 2026 modification date is the only date the page gives.

Taxes are the third. Duties on deposits and taxes on withdrawals are set in tax law, not in the Gambling Control Act, and are outside this page. Self-exclusion and limit-setting appear here only as duties of the licensee; the regulator's own pages describe how a person applies.

Finally, the law described here is the Act as commenced on 26 August 2025 and the Regulations as gazetted on 30 June 2026. Check the regulator's page on the day you act, because a status can change between the snapshot and your deposit.