How to check if a betting site is licensed in Kenya, step by step

A betting site's own claim to be licensed proves nothing until the regulator's list agrees with it. The check takes a few minutes and needs only the site, the list and a pen. This site keeps a copy of the regulator's table on the licensed bookmakers list, but the regulator's live page is the one that counts.

What the law requires before you start

Section 28(1) of the Gambling Control Act, 2025 says no person may offer a gambling activity or service unless it is licensed under the Act. Section 58(d) lets the Gambling Regulatory Authority issue an online bookmakers licence, and section 67(1) lists it beside the online lottery and online casino licences.

Section 36(3) then requires the holder of an online gambling licence to display that licence on its online platform. The Act does not say where on the site it must appear or which details it must carry. For everything else a site should put on its pages, read what a licensed betting site must show.

Step 1: find the licence statement on the site

Start with the footer at the bottom of the home page. If the licence is not there, open the terms and conditions, the about page and the responsible gambling page.

Type the site's address into your browser yourself rather than following a link someone sent you. That way you know which address you are actually checking.

Write down what you find exactly as printed. A screenshot works too, as long as it shows the address bar.

Step 2: note the five details

You need five pieces of information from the site. Each one maps to a column on the regulator's list, which is headed "Licensed Gaming Companies for the Trading Period 2025/26".

The BK column carries bookmaker licence numbers, although the page does not spell out the letters. What a BK licence is explains the number and how it differs from the PG and PL columns.

Step 3: compare the details with the regulator's list

Type gra.go.ke/licensed-operators into the browser. The list is a single table of 187 rows, so the find-in-page tool (Ctrl+F on a computer, "Find in page" in a phone browser menu) is the quickest way through it.

Search for the trading name first, then the domain, then the BK number. All three searches should land on the same row, and the Operators Name on that row should match the company named in the site's terms.

Spellings on the list are reproduced as the regulator entered them, so try a shorter part of a name if the full name returns nothing. The guide on how to read the GRA list of licensed bookmakers explains every column and the word Nil.

What a mismatch means

A gap between the site and the list does not by itself prove the site is illegal. It does mean the list does not confirm the licence, so hold off on any deposit until the gap is explained.

Missing web addresses are common. Of the 187 rows, 62 show Nil or nil in the DOMAINS column, and 31 of those rows still carry a BK number, so for those companies the list cannot confirm which website they run.

A site with no row at all runs into section 28(1). Section 98 makes operating gambling without a valid licence an offence, punishable for a first offence by a fine of up to three million shillings, up to three years in prison, or both.

Regulation 102(2) of the Gambling Control (Conduct of Gambling Operations) Regulations, 2026 calls any website or app that offers gambling without the required licence an illegal gambling platform. Sites run from abroad raise further questions under section 79 of the Act, covered in what the law says about foreign betting sites.

Check how current the list is

The regulator's page shows no date of its own. The content record behind it on the same website shows it was last changed on 19 March 2026.

The Gambling Control (Licensing) Regulations, 2026 were gazetted on 30 June 2026. Regulation 30(1) kept licences issued under the repealed Act in force for sixty days from publication, and regulation 30(2) required holders to apply for a licence under the new rules within that time.

The list was last edited before that window opened. A site licensed in the new round may therefore be missing from it, and a site that appears on it may have let its licence lapse.

The list prints no expiry dates and no suspensions either. Section 39(1) of the Act requires the Authority's formal register of licences to record both, and section 39(2) opens that register to the public on payment of a prescribed fee.

Ask the regulator directly

When the list and the site do not match, ask the Gambling Regulatory Authority. Its website shows a toll-free line, 0800-723-770, and its Online Services page gives +254-111021400 and +254-111021407.

Give the trading name, the full web address and any licence number the site shows. Section 10(m) of the Act lists receiving and deciding complaints from the public on games of chance among the Authority's functions.

If you already hold an account and something has gone wrong, the order of steps is different. See how to complain about a betting company before you contact anyone.

What this check does not tell you

A matching row shows that the regulator listed the company for the 2025/26 trading period. It does not show whether the site pays on time, how it words its bonus terms or how its odds compare.

The law deals with some of that separately. Section 70(1) requires online winnings to be credited to the player's account within two days, and regulation 23(1) of the Conduct Regulations requires odds, rules and terms to be clearly displayed for each bet.