SportPesa gets green light from KRA to resume operations

Betting firm SportPesa is set to make a return to the betting industry following a lengthy two-month absence prompted by the cancellation of its operational license.

In a statement released Tuesday, the firm operated by the Pevans East Africa Limited said it has had its license renewed by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and is now bracing to resume full operations.

“There has been notable progress in these sessions and we are pleased that KRA has now cleared us to have our license renewed. SportPesa is confident that these processes will be completed soon allowing the company to resume full operations,” read part of the statement.

SportPesa was among 27 betting firms that had their licenses revoked by the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) pending clearance of withholding tax on winnings.

The firms also saw their M-pesa pay bills and SMS short codes withdrawn in early July even as Sportpesa disputed KRA’s substantive tax claim.

SportPesa headed to court challenging KRA’s definition on winnings and most recently even sought compensation for money lost since the government sanctioned shutdown.

However, the firm would see both its bids thrown out as the courts sided by the State’s stance on the betting industry’s taxation.

SportPesa will now be required to stick to KRA’s definition of winnings which will see it trim the return on customer winnings at the rate of 20 percent upon its return to full operations.

The return of SportPesa marks the continued compliance of affected firms and comes on the back of the clearance of other betting rivals including the UK based Betway.

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KRA SportPesa betting BCLB

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