Help and limits

Right now

The Gambling Regulatory Authority runs a toll-free assistance line: 0800-723-770. It is free to call from a Kenyan number. The Authority's offices are at ACK Garden Annex, Bishop Road, 1st Ngong Avenue, 7th floor, Nairobi, open Monday to Friday from 8am to 5pm. If you are in immediate danger or thinking of harming yourself, call the emergency services or go to the nearest hospital first.

Signs that gambling is doing harm

Betting more than you decided to, or for longer. Chasing a loss with a bigger stake. Borrowing, selling something or missing a bill in order to bet. Hiding bets, or the size of them, from people close to you. Feeling restless or low when you cannot bet. Betting to fix money problems that betting created. One of these on its own is a warning; two or three together are a reason to act today.

This page is for adults

Everything here is for people aged 18 and over. The Conduct of Gambling Operations Regulations, 2026 treat anyone under eighteen as a minor who must be kept out of gambling (L.N. 112, r.92(1)(c)); an operator must require proof of age of majority before registering a player (Gambling Control Act, 2025, s.72(3)) and again before paying out a prize (s.70(6)); and betting with a child is an offence (s.109).

Self-exclusion under the Act

Section 115(1) of the Gambling Control Act, 2025 lets a person who recognises that their gambling is harmful enter a voluntary self-exclusion agreement with a licensee covering all gambling, including online. The Authority keeps the register and notifies all licensees (s.115(2) and (3)). A licensee must remove you from its marketing databases within two days of the completed notification (s.115(4)(c)) and close your accounts and return any funds held (s.115(4)(d)); an operator that fails to implement a written request within seven days commits an offence (s.115(5)).

The Conduct Regulations set out the route. You apply to the Authority on Form 1 in the First Schedule, stating the period and attaching a copy of your national ID or passport; the Authority acknowledges within seven days and enters you in the registry (L.N. 112, r.70(1) to (3)). The form offers six months, one year, two years or an indefinite period, and the period cannot be shortened before it ends (Form 1, Part C; r.72(1)). Once registered you may not place a bet, open a gambling account, receive promotions or claim winnings (r.70(5)). Online platforms must also offer a real-time self-exclusion mechanism of their own (r.67(3)). A licensee must deny you all access, refund any deposit taken in breach within seven days, cancel winnings so obtained and report attempts to the Authority (r.74(1)).

Limits every licensee must offer

Under L.N. 112, r.84(1) and (2) an online operator must give you real-time tools to set deposit limits on a daily, weekly and monthly basis; to set loss, session and expenditure limits; reality-check pop-ups showing how long you have been playing; and an easy option to self-exclude for at least twenty-four hours, linked to the national self-exclusion register. If a licensed site does not show you these tools, that is something the Authority should hear about.

What to do today

1. Set a deposit limit on every account you hold, at a level you would be at ease telling someone about.
2. If you want a full stop, use the site's own self-exclusion tool now (r.67(3)), then file Form 1 with the Authority so the exclusion covers every licensee (r.70).
3. Call 0800-723-770 and say what is happening. You do not need to have decided anything first.
4. Tell one person you trust. Hiding is part of the harm.
5. Keep a copy of your Form 1 and the Authority's acknowledgement. They are your proof if a licensee lets you in anyway, and r.74(1) then requires it to refund deposits taken in breach.

Nothing here is medical advice, and no part of this site will ever ask you to bet. If a page does, report it on the Corrections page.