Regulatory Watch: November 2026 – Kenya’s Licence Fee Fight Still Has No Verdict
Regulatory Watch is AfriplayHub’s monthly series tracking the regulatory moves shaping African gaming. This edition covers October.
The last two editions were defined by enforcement and by continent-wide cooperation. October was defined by waiting. A court missed its judgment date in Kenya, a tax design was pushed to next year’s budget in South Africa, and Nigeria’s state regulators contested proposed federal rules. In each market, the decisive moment is still ahead.
Big Story: Kenya’s Court Misses Its Judgment Date
Kenya’s High Court did not deliver the judgment expected on October 2 in the challenge to the Gambling Control (Licensing) Regulations, 2026. According to the Association of Gaming Operators Kenya, the matter was instead set for mention on October 12.
The case matters because the regulations changed what it costs to operate. The application fee for an online bookmaker licence moved from roughly KSh10,000 to KSh5 million, and the licence fee itself, which covers three years, is set at KSh50 million. Pool and betting licence renewals moved from KSh5,000 to KSh2.5 million. Across licence categories, the increases range from 200% to 49,900%. The regulations also introduced new capital requirements.
The court has handled the dispute in stages. It stayed the regulations in July, then narrowed the stay in August so that only the increased fees and the capital requirements remained suspended. On August 21, it allowed the Gambling Regulatory Authority to process applications and collect the disputed fees, on the Authority’s undertaking to refund any amount the court later finds unlawful. The Authority had told the court that 246 licence applications were stuck because it could not legally accept payment while the fees were suspended. Existing licences expired on September 24, which created a single deadline for operators to reapply.
The result is a market that is licensing in practice while the central question remains open: whether the new fees will stand. Operators are paying fees that may later be found unlawful, and any refund depends on the Authority’s undertaking. Demand has not paused in the meantime. iGaming Afrika reports that iGaming demand in Kenya climbed 29.5% between July and September.
South Africa: The Online Gambling Tax Gets a Date
On October 21, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said that National Treasury will set out the final design of a national online gambling tax in the 2027 budget speech, expected in February. Operators now have a date to watch for the detail.
The announcement came in the same month that South Africa appointed a new National Gambling Board, chaired by Dr Makgathatso Charlotte Chana Pilane-Majake. The board will oversee the national regulator as the tax design takes shape and as the enforcement work covered in our first edition continues.
Nigeria: States Push Back on Federal Promotion Rules
Nigeria’s Federation of State Gaming Regulators asked the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to amend its proposed Sales Promotion (Amended) Regulations, 2026. The states argue that provisions covering lotteries and prize draws could encroach on powers that sit with state regulators.
The objection fits the pattern that has defined Nigerian gaming since the 2024 Supreme Court ruling moved gaming regulation to the states: federal and state bodies each defending their own ground. How the commission responds will indicate how much room it sees for federal rules in a space that states now regulate.
What to Watch Next
- Kenya: the outcome of the October 12 mention and whether the court sets a new judgment date.
- South Africa: the February budget speech and the final design of the online gambling tax.
- Nigeria: the commission’s response to the states’ request for amendments.
Why This Series Exists
Regulation decides who can operate, what it costs, and how sustainable the industry is for operators and players alike. Regulatory Watch pulls those developments into one place each month, across the markets that matter.
Regulatory Watch returns in the first week of next month. Follow AfriplayHub across platforms so you do not miss the next edition.
SEE ALSO…
