Nairobi — The Kenyan Government seeks to collect views from members of the public through the new National Lottery Bill 2023.
It calls for the establishment of a National Lottery Board (NLB) that will manage and operate the country’s lottery ecosystem.
Through this, NLB will operate and manage the national lottery, procure an operator to manage the national lottery, and establish the National Lottery Fund (NLF) to prudently distribute the funds.
“The main purpose of a national lottery is to support good causes and improve the quality of life of citizens through identified good causes, through the proceeds of ticket sales and taxation of winnings the government generates revenue to support various public initiatives or programs and to promote responsible gaming,” the Bill stated.
Kenya has an estimated betting market size of Sh200 billion and is reported to be the 3rd largest gambling market in Africa after South Africa and Nigeria.
The East African market is, however, expected to continue to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 7.5 percent between 2020 and 2025, in part due to the growing popularity of online and mobile gambling.
Revenue proceeds from the national lottery propose 50 percent prizes and tax for prizes, 38 percent to the national lottery fund, and 10 percent operator profit, tax, retailers, marketing, and operating costs.
Another one percent will go to the National Gambling Regulatory Authority, while 0.5 percent will go to National Lottery Board operations and 0.5 percent to NLF operations.
In the proposed law, the Betting Control and License Board shall transition to the Gambling Regulatory Authority. However, existing gambling licenses issued under the repealed act will remain valid during the licensed period.
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“Children, director, agent or employee of an operator, a member of the national lottery board, a person who prints national lottery tickets are prohibited from participating, giving a chance to adults who proves to be above age to take part, participants of the national lottery shall be required to register themselves initially once the platforms that shall be provided by the operator” the Bill added.
“We seek to establish a national lottery run and operated by the government to ensure a healthy gambling environment in the country” said the Taskforce Vice chairperson Gideon Thuranira.
South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, India, Singapore, Finland, and the United Kingdom are among the countries that have established national lotteries globally.
The taskforce is set to visit all 47 counties in the country in a bid to gather views from the public on the establishment of a national lottery.
