Kenya Flags Betting Jackpots as Possible Avenues for Money Laundering

Richard Marley

July 28, 2022

Kenya has flagged the mega jackpots paid to the punters in the country as the possible avenues for illicit activities like money laundering

The Kenyan government has increased the checks on betting and jackpot platforms as it has marked them as possible avenues for money laundering. Different issues arise with betting and mega jackpots in Kenya as the country flags them as the reason behind money laundering, theft, drug dealing and financial terrorism. The jackpots are critical as the authorities increase their focus on the betting industry.

The popular rewards by betting companies were singled out as money laundering concerns in a report on the hazards of money laundering that Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i released on Wednesday.

The State of Kenya reckons that the risk is increasing as betting firm owners use various companies to launder billions of shillings. This might increase the pressure for different disclosures on the cash utilized to pay jackpots, which have hit a high amount of Sh250 million over the craze of betting that defied government clampdown via the imposition of higher taxes both on firms and punters.

However, the law proposed by the authorities of the state does not require the betting organisations to report suspicious transactions to the FRC (Financial Reporting Centre). The FRC is mandated to monitor and track illicit cash and its sources.

The mega jackpots are on the tracking list of the Kenya government as the launderers proceed with major thefts using these platforms. The Punters or people who put the Stake in large transactions will be on the radar of the authorities and the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), also those who put money in their betting wallets to play with a small fraction of it, as those small regular and suspicious bets will also be checked by the state-run bank.