The sudden collapse of SportyBet Kenya has sent shockwaves through the country’s betting industry, exposing the dark side of a sector plagued by billion-shilling disputes, regulatory crackdowns, and corporate secrecy. By March 2025, the once-popular platform had disappeared from the Kenyan market, leaving thousands of punters without answers and raising serious questions about the stability of the industry.

SportyBet had built a strong following by offering a wide range of betting options, from football, rugby, and cricket to basketball, tennis, e-sports, and virtual games. It allowed punters to place live, in-play bets with shifting odds and provided smooth mobile access through its website and dedicated Android and iOS apps. It marketed itself as the platform for “serious punters,” and for years, it delivered on that promise — at least on the surface. Behind the scenes, however, SportyBet was locked in a quiet but intense battle with Kenyan authorities.

The breaking point came when the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) slapped the company with a Ksh 5 billion tax demand. The move triggered a swift and brutal chain of events: the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) suspended SportyBet’s license, its paybill numbers were frozen, and its bank accounts were locked. With no access to its own funds, the company could not pay staff, process withdrawals, or maintain its operations.

Regulatory pressure had already been building across the sector. Between September 2023 and August 2024, the BCLB reduced the number of licensed betting firms from 128 to 118. Reports of SportyBet’s licensing troubles date back to late 2022, but the platform continued to operate until the KRA dispute finally brought it to its knees. By March 2025, SportyBet had officially exited the Kenyan market, joining other big-name casualties such as Betway and Betking, which have also struggled under heavy compliance costs and regulatory hostility.

Determined to fight back, SportyBet went to court, claiming that the freezing of its accounts had “severely crippled” its business. It sought to challenge both the tax assessment and the operational restrictions. Despite months of litigation, the company failed to overturn the orders or resume operations, and the silence from its leadership only fueled punters’ frustration.

Long before its shutdown, SportyBet had been facing waves of user complaints. Bettors reported delayed withdrawals despite the platform’s “instant payout” promise, accounts being blocked without notice, and verification procedures that held up winnings for weeks. On social media and betting forums, some accused the platform of deliberately stalling payments to manage its cash flow — allegations the company never publicly addressed.

SportyBet’s collapse is part of a broader crackdown on Kenya’s betting industry. In April 2025, the BCLB imposed a nationwide 30-day ban on gambling ads and influencer promotions, while proposed fee hikes threatened to push smaller operators out of the market. The regulator’s unpredictability, combined with the rising cost of compliance, has made the sector volatile and unstable.

For punters, the shutdown meant more than just losing a betting option. Many lost access to their account balances and pending bets, affiliates lost their income streams, and the market lost one of its biggest players. The incident has raised critical questions: How much money was trapped in SportyBet accounts when the freeze hit? Was KRA’s Sh5 billion claim based on genuine arrears or disputed calculations? And why is there no clear mechanism to protect customer deposits when a betting firm collapses?

SportyBet’s downfall is a stark reminder that in Kenya’s betting industry, size and popularity are no guarantee of security. When regulators move in over tax disputes, licensing breaches, or compliance failures, punters are the first to lose. Without stronger safeguards and transparency, SportyBet’s fate could easily be repeated — and the next collapse could be just around the corner.