What happens to an unlicensed online casino in Kenya?
Operating gambling without a valid licence is a criminal offence under the Gambling Control Act, 2025. On a first conviction the maximum is a fine of KES 3,000,000, three years in prison, or both. A foreign operator that serves Kenya without a licence faces a separate offence with higher fines.
The short answer
An online casino that serves Kenya without a licence commits an offence. The rule starts in section 28(1) of the Gambling Control Act, 2025: no person may offer any gambling activity or service unless it is licensed under the Act. The penalties sit in Part XII, which the Act titles Offences and Penalties.
The reader's side of this is set out in whether online casinos are legal in Kenya. This guide covers what the law says can happen to the operator and the people around it.
Where the licence duty comes from
Section 67(1) says a person who wants to operate, sell or promote online gambling in Kenya must apply for a licence from the Authority. It names three: an online bookmakers licence, an online lottery licence and an online casino licence.
Section 79 adds a rule for operators based abroad. They can be licensed only if they are registered in Kenya, have a physical address registered in Kenya and meet the requirements in regulations. A website hosted elsewhere is therefore not outside the Act when it provides online gambling services in Kenya.
The penalties at a glance
| Conduct | Section | Maximum fine (KES) | Maximum prison term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating gambling without a valid licence, first offence | 98(a) | 3,000,000 | 3 years, or both |
| Operating gambling without a valid licence, second or later offence | 98(b) | 5,000,000 | 5 years, or both |
| Foreign based operator providing online gambling in Kenya without a licence, natural person | 79(3)(a) | 2,000,000 | 2 years, or both |
| Foreign based operator providing online gambling in Kenya without a licence, corporate person | 79(3)(b) | 50,000,000 | None stated |
| Allowing a site to be used for, or aiding, unlicensed gambling; soliciting bets on an unlicensed site; handling money to run it | 92 | 1,000,000 | 1 year, or both |
Every figure is a ceiling set by the Act. A court decides the sentence on conviction, so the table shows the limit and not what any particular case produces.
Reading the numbers
Illustrative example: compare a corporate foreign operator with a first-offence operator under section 98. The corporate ceiling in section 79(3)(b) is KES 50,000,000 and the first-offence fine ceiling in section 98(a) is KES 3,000,000. Dividing, 50,000,000 / 3,000,000 = 16.67, so the corporate ceiling is a little under seventeen times higher.
Illustrative example: a repeat offender under section 98. The step from the first-offence ceiling to the repeat ceiling is 5,000,000 - 3,000,000 = KES 2,000,000, and the prison ceiling rises from three years to five, a difference of two years.
The two sections are drafted for different cases and should not be added together. Which one a prosecutor relies on depends on the facts, and only a court applies them.
Who else can be caught
The Act does not stop at the company running the site. Section 92 reaches the owner or occupier of a licensed premises or electronic site who allows it to be used for unlicensed gambling, or who aids the unlicensed management of an electronic gambling site. It also reaches anyone who advances, furnishes or receives money to set up or run unlicensed gambling.
Section 92(c) covers publicity. A person who announces or publishes, or has published, or who solicits any person to bet in an unlicensed gambling activity or site, commits an offence. That is why a page that sends readers to an unlicensed site is itself a risk for its publisher, which is one reason this site does not link to casino operators at all.
Section 114 deals with companies. Where a body corporate commits an offence, every person in control or management of its affairs is also treated as having committed it. The person can avoid liability by proving the offence took place without their act or omission, that they were unaware of it, or that they took all reasonable steps to prevent it.
| Person | How the Act reaches them | Section |
|---|---|---|
| The operator | Offering or conducting unlicensed gambling | 28(1), 98 |
| A foreign based operator | Online services in Kenya without a licence | 79(3) |
| Owner or occupier of the premises or site | Allowing use for, or aiding, unlicensed gambling | 92(a), 92(b) |
| Promoter or publisher | Announcing, publishing or soliciting bets | 92(c) |
| Person handling money | Advancing, furnishing or receiving money for unlicensed gambling | 92(d) |
| Directors and managers | Control or management of an offending company | 114 |
Unapproved advertising is a separate offence
Advertising has its own rule. Regulation 14 of the Gambling Control (Advertising) Regulations, 2026 makes publishing or causing to be published an unapproved or prohibited gambling advertisement an offence, with a fine up to KES 1,000,000, or up to six months in prison, or both.
This applies whether or not the advertised operator is licensed. A licensed operator can still breach it by running an advertisement the Authority has not approved.
What the Act says about prosecution and seizure
Section 118 allows the Director of Public Prosecutions to appoint a qualified officer of the Authority as a public prosecutor for any case. Section 117 gives the police, in coordination with the Authority and county governments, power to seize illegal gambling, betting and lottery machines.
The sections read for this guide do not describe how a foreign website is blocked or how a foreign company's money would be recovered. Nothing here should be read as a statement of how enforcement has gone in practice.
What this means when judging a site
The offence sections are aimed at operators, owners, promoters and those who handle money for them. None of those read for this guide names a penalty for a player. That is a statement about the text, and not an assurance of protection: a site with no licence has no licence conditions to be held to.
- Take the company name, trading name and domain shown on the site.
- Compare them with the regulator's list, using the steps in how to check an online casino licence in Kenya.
- Read the list as a 2025/26 trading period record. The regulator's page was last modified on 2026-03-19, so confirm against the live page and, where in doubt, the GRA toll-free line.
- If the line does not match, treat the licence claim as unconfirmed.
The duties a licensed casino owes are described in what Kenyan law requires of an online casino. The register snapshot for casino brands with a domain is in the table of casino brands on the GRA list. For a problem with a licensed operator, see how to complain about an online casino in Kenya.
Gambling is addictive. Play responsibly, and keep to 18+ only.
Questions and answers
What is the penalty for running a gambling site without a licence in Kenya?
Section 98 of the Gambling Control Act, 2025 sets, for a first offence, a fine not exceeding KES 3,000,000, or imprisonment not exceeding three years, or both. For a second or later offence it is a fine not exceeding KES 5,000,000, or imprisonment not exceeding five years, or both.
Does the law treat a foreign online casino differently?
Section 79(3) creates its own offence for a foreign based operator that provides online gambling services in Kenya without a licence. A natural person faces a fine up to KES 2,000,000 or up to two years in prison, or both. A corporate person faces a fine up to KES 50,000,000.
Can directors or managers be charged when a company breaks the law?
Section 114 says that where a body corporate commits an offence, every person in the control or management of its affairs commits it too. That person escapes liability only by proving the offence happened without their act or omission, that they did not know of it, or that they took all reasonable steps to prevent it.
Is it an offence to advertise an unlicensed casino?
Yes. Section 92(c) makes it an offence to announce or publish, or to solicit any person to bet in, an unlicensed gambling activity or site. The penalty is a fine up to KES 1,000,000, or up to one year in prison, or both.
Does the Act name a penalty for a player who uses an unlicensed site?
The offence sections read for this guide are addressed to operators, site owners, those who promote the site and those who handle money for it. None of them names a penalty for a player. That says nothing about protection: an unlicensed operator is not bound by licence conditions, so the Authority is the place to ask.
Who prosecutes these offences?
Section 118 allows the Director of Public Prosecutions to appoint a qualified officer of the Authority as a public prosecutor for any case. Whether a particular site is prosecuted is a decision for the prosecuting authorities.
Sources
- Gambling Control Act, 2025 (No. 14 of 2025), ss.28, 67, 79, 92, 98, 114, 117 and 118, accessed 2026-10-05
- Gambling Control (Advertising) Regulations, 2026 (L.N. 114), r.14, accessed 2026-10-05
- Gambling Regulatory Authority of Kenya, Licensed gaming companies for the trading period 2025/26, accessed 2026-10-05