How to complain about a betting company in Kenya: operator, Authority, Tribunal

A complaint about a Kenyan betting company moves through three levels: the bookmaker's own customer care, then the Gambling Regulatory Authority, then the Gambling Appeals Tribunal. Each level has its own rules and time limits, set in the Gambling Control Act, 2025 and in two sets of 2026 Regulations. This guide takes you through them in order.

The steps fit any dispute with a licensee, from a deposit that never reached your account to a bet settled the wrong way. If the problem is a win the bookmaker will not release, read what to do when a bookmaker refuses to pay winnings alongside this page.

Before you start: is the company licensed?

Every step below depends on the company holding a Kenyan licence, because the duties and penalties attach to licensees. Take two minutes to check whether the betting site is licensed before you write anything. Note the company name and the trading name exactly as the regulator lists them, since you will use them in every letter.

A site run from abroad without a Kenyan licence sits outside this process. What the law says about such operators is covered in foreign betting sites and Kenyan law.

Step 1: complain to the bookmaker's customer care centre

Section 68(8) of the Act requires an online operator to keep a customer care centre within Kenya to monitor and respond to issues raised by consumers. Regulation 9(1) of the Gambling Control (Conduct of Gambling Operations) Regulations, 2026 (L.N. 112) requires that centre to exist before the licensee starts operating. Under regulation 9(2)(c), one of its purposes is to resolve complaints or disputes before they are reported to the Authority.

The licensee's terms must describe the process too. Regulation 4(2)(t) lists "complaints and dispute resolution mechanisms" among the contents of the terms the Authority approves, and regulation 100 requires internal dispute resolution mechanisms approved by the Authority. For a disputed settlement, regulation 24(2) says the dispute is handled under those approved procedures.

Write your complaint rather than only phoning. Use e-mail, in-app chat or a web form that leaves you a copy, ask for a reference number, and note the date and time you sent it.

What to include in your complaint

1. Your full name and the phone number registered on the betting account.
2. The account number or username, if the bookmaker shows one.
3. The bet ID or ticket number, with the date, the stake, the odds and the result you expected.
4. The M-Pesa or bank transaction code for any deposit or withdrawal involved.
5. Screenshots of the bet slip, the account history and any error message.
6. A short account of what happened, in date order.
7. What you are asking for: payment, a correction, a refund or a written explanation.
8. The dates of any earlier contact and the reference numbers you were given.

The bookmaker can check each point against its own files. Regulation 88(1) of L.N. 112 requires a licensee to keep accurate records of tickets accepted and settled, financial transactions, player accounts, and complaints lodged and disputes resolved. Ask it to confirm what those records show for your bet.

Step 2: escalate to the Gambling Regulatory Authority

The Regulations put a clock on the licensee. Regulation 9(2)(d) requires the customer care centre to report to the Authority, within two days, any matter raised by the public about the licensee's gambling activities. Regulation 9(2)(e) requires it to refer to the Authority any matter unresolved after 72 hours, or sooner where the complainant asks in writing for escalation.

If 72 hours pass without a fix, send a short written request. Give your reference number and ask the licensee to refer the complaint to the Authority under regulation 9(2)(e). Keep a copy of that request with the rest of your evidence.

You may also go to the Authority yourself. Section 10(m) of the Act makes receiving and determining complaints from the public one of its functions, and section 12(2)(f) gives its Board power to inquire into any complaint against a licensee.

The regulator's complaints page, which still uses the wording of the former Betting Control and Licensing Board, asks for a signed complaint form delivered to the offices at ACK Garden Annex, 7th floor, Nairobi. The page also gives an e-mail address on the old bclb.go.ke domain. This guide does not repeat it, because no page of the regulator confirms that the address is still in use.

For help with the process, the regulator's website shows a toll-free line, 0800-723-770. Its Online Services page gives two more numbers, +254-111021400 and +254-111021407, and its contact page lists office hours of Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm.

What the Authority can and cannot do

Section 37(1) lets the Authority investigate the conduct of a licensee on its own motion or on information from any person, which includes you. Under section 37(2) it may direct the licensee to put right any shortcoming it finds. Where a licensee breaches the Act, section 34 allows suspension and section 33 allows revocation, each after notice and a chance to be heard.

Unpaid winnings carry their own sanction. Regulation 101 of L.N. 112 makes a licensee that fails to pay winnings within 14 days liable to a penalty of 5% of the winnings, payable to the Authority, and requires it to pay the player interest of 5% per day for the next 21 days. Under regulation 101(3), non-compliance may lead to suspension of the licence.

There are limits. Neither the Act nor L.N. 112 sets a deadline for the Authority to decide a complaint, so follow up in writing if you hear nothing. Suspension and revocation work only against a licence, which is why an unlicensed site falls outside this route.

Step 3: appeal to the Gambling Appeals Tribunal

Section 88(1) of the Act establishes the Gambling Appeals Tribunal. Under section 88(9) it hears appeals against decisions of the Authority and appeals regarding complaints arising out of the outcome of a gambling transaction. Section 80 says a party to a dispute arising out of online gambling may appeal to the Tribunal within fourteen days from the date of the dispute.

The Gambling Control (Gambling Appeals Tribunal) Regulations, 2026 (L.N. 115) add a condition. Regulation 18 says the Tribunal has no jurisdiction until the complaint has first been heard and determined through the Authority's own mechanisms. Regulation 6 then gives you thirty days from the Authority's decision to file a Memorandum of Appeal at the Tribunal's registry.

The fourteen days in the Act and the thirty days in the Regulations run from different starting points, and the texts do not reconcile them. Move quickly at every stage. Regulation 15(2) of L.N. 115 lets the Tribunal extend a time limit set by those Regulations on application, but that is at its discretion.

Regulation 4 sets the form. The appeal must be a written Memorandum of Appeal with a copy of the decision appealed against attached, each ground in a separate numbered paragraph, and the documents you rely on annexed.

The Schedule to L.N. 115 sets a filing fee of KSh 10,000 for a Memorandum of Appeal, KSh 2,500 for a response and KSh 1,500 for any other document. Hearings are held in public unless the Tribunal directs otherwise for good cause (regulation 13), and costs follow the outcome unless it orders differently (regulation 21). Under regulation 16(5) the Tribunal may allow or dismiss the appeal, strike it out, or send the dispute back to the Authority.

What this route does not cover

The process above is for disputes with a licensee about its gambling business. If the site has stopped trading altogether, start with what happens to your money when a betting site closes. Guides on refusals, closures and the Tribunal are collected under complaints and disputes.