KRA hails integration of betting firms into tax system for improved revenue yield » Capital News

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 27 — Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) now says its efforts to integrate betting companies’ into its tax system have led to a scale up in revenue collection during the 2023/24 financial year.

The taxman said it reported a 26.2 percent growth in revenue collection from gambling activities, reaching Sh24.2 billion, up from Sh19.2 billion in the previous year.

”The system integration gave KRA real-time access to 111 companies in the gaming and betting sector that have been on-boarded on the Authority’s Tax System, thereby streaming revenue collection from the sector,” KRA said in a statement on Friday.

The taxman, through the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB), had in August 2023 introduced a comprehensive tax structure applied to the betting and gaming sector.

This included a 15 percent betting tax on revenue generated from betting, a 15 percent turnover tax on all gross earnings, a 20 percent excise duty on amounts staked in betting activities, and a 20 percent withholding tax on winnings from betting, lotteries, gaming, and prize competitions.

The taxes however forced a number of betting companies to cease their operations in the country.

In May, betting company Betsafe announced its exit from the Kenyan market amid heavy taxation.

It joined other punters who abandoned Kenya, which includes big players who also wound up their Kenyan operations owing to the unsustainable tax regime.

In 2023, for instance, Betin and Betway exited the country.

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