Advertising spend slashed amid Kenya’s strict regime

Summary

Kenya’s gambling sector is undergoing a rapid contraction in advertising as tougher regulation and a reworked tax regime bite. Operators cut marketing spend to Sh 131m (£742,023) in Q1 2025/26 — down nearly 95% year-on-year — after the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) introduced strict advertising rules, including a ban on celebrity and influencer endorsements and mandatory approvals and classifications for ads.

The Communications Authority of Kenya’s figures show dramatic falls across TV and radio advertising and no print spend. The changes come alongside the Gambling Control Act, 2025, which replaces decades-old law, creates a new Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA), and tightens local ownership, banking and compliance requirements for licence-holders. Parliament also reworked tax rules, shifting to a 5% levy on withdrawals (and certain mobile wallet transfers) intended to improve enforcement and raise revenues.

Key Points

Advertising spend fell to Sh 131m in Q1 2025/26 — almost a 95% drop versus Q1 FY24/25.
BCLB rules now ban use of celebrities, influencers and content creators in gambling ads; adverts must carry responsible-gambling messages and be pre-approved and classified.
TV advertising dropped from Sh 1.8bn to Sh 80m (July–Sept comparison); radio also plunged and print ad spend fell to zero.
The Gambling Control Act, 2025 replaces the old 1960s law and establishes the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Kenya (GRA).
New licence conditions require 30% Kenyan ownership and that gambling proceeds be paid into Kenyan-licensed bank accounts.
Online operators must verify identities, integrate with the GRA’s real-time monitoring, and comply with data protection, AML and cybersecurity rules; foreign operators face tighter local registration requirements.
Tax changes include a 5% charge on withdrawals (and on certain mobile wallet transfers) replacing earlier withholding/excise models, with Parliament projecting a revenue lift to Ksh 11.4bn.
President William Ruto has publicly backed tougher oversight, framing gambling alongside other social harms and signalling stronger enforcement.

Context and relevance

This is a pivotal moment for operators, affiliates and advertisers active in Kenya and the wider East African market. The near-elimination of ad budgets shows how regulatory tightening — plus targeted tax enforcement — can quickly reshape commercial behaviour. The GRA and new tax mechanism shift compliance burdens on to operators and raise the bar for market entry (local shareholding, Kenyan bank accounts, real-time monitoring). For affiliates and media partners, referral volumes and monetisation models could be hit hard; for investors, the market may look less scalable unless firms adapt to tighter local rules.

More broadly, Kenya’s approach highlights an ongoing global trend: regulators combining advertising controls, tougher licensing and tax changes to both protect consumers and capture revenue. Firms that move fast on KYC, localization and compliant marketing will have the best chance of survival.

Author’s take (Punchy)

This isn’t a tweak — it’s a market reboot. Ad budgets evaporated almost overnight and the new law plus tax changes force operators to rethink where and how they acquire customers. If you’re in iGaming, affiliates or ad sales in Africa, this is not a ‘watch and wait’ moment.

Why should I read this?

Short answer: if you spend, sell or earn from gambling traffic in Kenya, you need to know this now. Ads have been gutted, rules are tight, and the tax switch changes how money moves. Read the detail so you don’t get blindsided — we’ve done the heavy lifting and pulled the crucial bits out for you.