The 30% Kenyan ownership rule for casino licences

Section 29(a) of the Gambling Control Act, 2025 allows a gambling licence only to a body corporate in which a minimum of thirty per cent of shares are held by Kenyan citizens. Section 79(5) exempts one narrow case: a foreign operator that does not intend to carry out online gambling in Kenya.

By Online Casino Kenya Editorial (prepared with AI tools under our editorial policy) · Last updated 2026-10-14

What section 29(a) says

Section 29 of the Gambling Control Act, 2025 says a person shall not be licensed to offer any gambling or betting activity unless that person is a body corporate in which a minimum of thirty per cent of shares are held by Kenyan citizens. Paragraph (b) adds a separate test about a Kenyan bank account. The wider list of eligibility tests is set out in who can hold an online casino licence in Kenya.

This guide stays on the shareholding test only: what it counts, what it leaves open, and how the Authority checks it. It describes the law as published. It is not legal advice.

The rule in one table

What the wording counts and what it leaves open

The test is a floor on shares held by Kenyan citizens. The Act text does not state a ceiling, does not mention voting rights, and does not say how shares held through another company are treated. The Act defines "beneficial owner" only by pointing to the Companies Act, which is outside the sources used here.

A reader should therefore avoid treating thirty per cent as a complete description of who may own a casino company. It is one test among several, and the Authority applies the rest during vetting.

Worked arithmetic

Illustrative example. A company has 10,000,000 issued shares. Thirty per cent of 10,000,000 is 10,000,000 x 30 / 100 = 3,000,000 shares. Three Kenyan citizens holding 1,200,000, 1,000,000 and 800,000 shares together hold 1,200,000 + 1,000,000 + 800,000 = 3,000,000 shares, which is exactly the minimum.

If the same three held 2,999,999 shares in total, the holding would be one share short and the section 29(a) wording would not be met. The remaining 7,000,000 shares (70 per cent) could sit with a foreign holder without changing that result. The figures are invented for the arithmetic and describe no real company.

Other tests that sit beside it

Passing section 29(a) does not make a licence automatic. Under section 30 the Authority vets every application and weighs solvency, qualifications and fit and proper conduct of the body corporate and its directors. Regulation 20(5) of the Licensing Regulations adds the background, reputation, integrity and experience of proposed significant shareholders.

The thirty per cent test and the twenty-five per cent definition measure different things. The first is a minimum Kenyan citizen holding required of the licence holder, while the second labels persons whose suitability is examined. Both figures are taken from different instruments and should not be mixed.

The foreign operator exemption

Section 79(1) allows a foreign based operator to be issued an online gambling licence only where it is registered in Kenya, has a physical address registered in Kenya and meets the requirements in regulations. Section 79(2) adds audited books of accounts for the immediately preceding year.

Section 79(4) lets a foreign based operator that does not intend to carry out online gambling activities in Kenya apply anyway, and section 79(5) exempts that applicant from section 29(a). An operator that does intend to serve Kenya is not inside the exemption. Whether a Curacao or Malta licence changes any of this is covered in whether a Curacao or Malta licence is valid in Kenya.

Keeping the ownership in line after the licence is issued

The test is not only checked on the day of application. Regulation 65 of the Conduct Regulations requires a licensee and its directors, shareholders and key employees to remain fit and proper during the licence. Regulation 66 says a gambling company must seek written authorisation before any change in directors or shareholders.

Regulation 100 says a licensed body corporate that intends to change ownership, directorship or shareholding shall notify the Authority in writing for approval before the change is effected, and that the Authority undertakes due diligence and vetting of the proposed holders. The rules stop short of saying in so many words that the thirty per cent figure is re-tested, so that question belongs with the Authority.

1. The licensee notifies the Authority in writing before the change.
2. The Authority vets the proposed directors or shareholders.
3. The change is made only after approval.

What a player can and cannot check

The regulator's published list shows company, trading name, licence numbers, status and domain. It does not show shareholders, so a player cannot confirm the thirty per cent holding from it. The list describes the 2025/26 trading period and was last modified on 2026-03-19, so the live page should be read for the current position.

What can be checked is whether the company behind a site appears on the list at all. The table of entries that list a domain is on casino brands on the GRA list. Operating without a licence is an offence, and the consequences are summarised in the penalty for an unlicensed online casino in Kenya. For the full list of duties a licensee carries, see what Kenyan law requires of an online casino.

Gambling is addictive: play responsibly, and keep to the 18+ rule. The GRA toll-free line is 0800-723-770.