What is a licensee under the Gambling Control Act, 2025?

The definition in the Act

Section 2 of the Gambling Control Act, 2025 defines a licensee as "a person issued with a licence under this Act". The same section defines a licence as a legal authorization issued by the Authority which is subject to conditions and standards, which may be cancelled if they are violated, and which is assigned to a specific person and may not be re-assigned.

That person is a company in practice. Section 29(a) of the Act requires a licensee to be a body corporate in which at least thirty per cent of the shares are held by Kenyan citizens.

Three duties every licensee carries

Display: section 36(3) requires the holder of an online gambling licence to display the licence on its online platform. Age: section 72(3) requires an operator to ask for proof of age of majority before registering every player. Payouts: section 70(1) requires a licensee to credit a monetary online win to the player's account within two days.

The full set of day-one obligations, from the Kenyan bank account to the complaints route, is set out in what a newly licensed bookmaker must have.

Example from the regulator's list

Row 89 of the table headed "Licensed Gaming Companies for the Trading Period 2025/26" on gra.go.ke reads: Bet Fusion Limited, trading name Betfusion, BK 0001038, status New, domains Nil. The licensee is Bet Fusion Limited. Betfusion is the name the public sees, and the column headed BK carries the bookmaker licence number.

When you look at a new site, compare the company name on the displayed licence with the Operators Name column, as described in how to check a new licensee. A line marked New is explained in what New means in the status column.

What the word does not tell you

Licensee says nothing about odds, service or payment speed. It records one fact: the Authority issued a licence to that person. The public table prints no expiry dates, so the word also does not tell you when the licence runs out.