All advertisements booked by betting firms through television, radio, online, billboards, short messaging service and any other medium, will be slapped with a 35% tax on the advertisements. Appearing before the National Assembly’s Sport and Tourism committee to present KRA’s views of the Gaming Bill, 2019 the KRA deputy told Parliament that the base of taxation should be fixated on the cost of the advertisement.
“There shall be a tax to be known as the gaming advertisement tax chargeable at the rate of 35 per cent on the cost of the gaming advertisement done through radio, television, newspapers, short message service and any other advertisement medium,” said Mr Masudi.
All media companies holding licences on gamming have been prohibited from using any of their broadcast frequencies to advertise or promote their gamming products or activities and those who contravene the requirement on advertisement risk a fine not exceeding Sh20 million or imprisonment for a term not more than five years or both upon conviction as per the Gaming Bill.
Weighing in on the matter, Communications Authority of Kenya acting director in charge of licensing, compliance and standards Christopher Kemei said that betting is a con game and it is an area that needs to be looked into and they will work with other actors to address the same
The recommendation by KRA comes in after similar proposals by the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) which called for restricted advertisement on betting pegging it on influx of media outlets advertisements tailored to lure Kenyans into engaging in gambling. The committee is collecting views of Kenyans on the gaming Bill, through public hearings.
