How to report an unlicensed online casino to the regulator in Kenya

First confirm the operator is absent from the Gambling Regulatory Authority's list, then record the site's details and send them to the Authority through its complaints form, email or toll-free line. The Authority may act on information from any person (Act, s.37), though a report is not a route to recover money.

By Online Casino Kenya Editorial (prepared with AI tools under our editorial policy) · Last updated 2026-10-18

Who this route is for

Use it when a site invites Kenyans to gamble online and does not appear on the regulator's list of licensed gaming companies. The first step is the check described in how to check an online casino licence in Kenya, because a report about a licensed company follows a different path.

The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Kenya (GRA) is the body to tell. Section 10 of the Gambling Control Act, 2025 gives it the functions of regulating and controlling gambling activities, monitoring illegal cross border gambling in collaboration with county governments, and receiving and determining complaints from companies and the public.

Step 1: confirm the operator is not on the list

Copy the company name, trading name and domain from the site, usually in the footer or terms. Compare them with the regulator's list, which shows licence numbers for the 2025/26 trading period. The page was last modified on 2026-03-19, so check the live register before concluding anything. Casino brands that list a domain are shown in the table of public gaming licence holders on this site.

A licence from another country does not answer the question. See whether a Curacao or Malta licence is valid in Kenya.

Step 2: record what you can see

Write down only facts about the site. Do this before you contact anyone, because a site can change or disappear.

1. The full web address and the date and time you visited.
2. The company name, trading name and any licence number or claim shown.
3. Screenshots of the page that shows Kenyan shillings, local payment methods or a Kenyan phone number, if present.
4. Deposit references from mobile money or your bank, with dates and amounts in KES, if you used the site.
5. Any messages received, such as SMS or social media posts that promoted the site.

The list of useful records for a payment dispute is in what to keep as evidence in a casino dispute.

Step 3: choose a channel

The complaints page was read on 2026-10-14. It describes a complaint form that the complainant fills in and submits. The details below still use the domain of the former Board, so check the page before relying on them.

The toll-free line is the simplest way to ask which channel suits a report about a site with no licence. Keep the date and the name of the person you spoke to.

What the law says about the site

Section 28(1) bars any person from offering a gambling activity or service unless it is licensed under the Act. Section 98 makes operating without a valid licence an offence, and section 79(3) covers foreign based operators that provide online gambling in Kenya without a licence. The amounts are set out in what happens to an unlicensed online casino in Kenya.

Section 118 allows the Director of Public Prosecutions to appoint a qualified officer of the Authority as a public prosecutor, and section 117 gives the police power to seize illegal gambling machines in coordination with the Authority. Whether any particular site is acted on is a decision for those bodies.

What a report can and cannot do

Section 37 lets the Authority investigate a licensee on its own motion or on information from any person. That power is described in terms of licensees, so the Act itself does not set out a procedure that follows a report about an unlicensed site. The Authority's wider functions in section 10 are the basis for taking such a report.

The sections read for this guide give no deadline for the Authority to respond and no route to recover a balance from an unlicensed operator. If you paid money, keep the records and consider the route in how to complain about an online casino in Kenya only if the operator turns out to be a licensee.

Writing the report

Keep the report short and factual. State the address of the site, the company name it shows, the date you checked the regulator's list, and that no matching entry was found. Attach the screenshots and payment references, and say plainly which parts you saw yourself and which you only assume.

Things to avoid

• Do not send further deposits to recover earlier ones.
• Do not share the site's address publicly to warn others, since section 92(c) reaches anyone who publishes or solicits bets on an unlicensed site.
• Do not give identity documents or card details to the site's support staff beyond what you have already provided.

Gambling is addictive. Play responsibly, and keep to 18+ only. If gambling is causing harm, the GRA toll-free line and the self-exclusion process are on the responsible gambling page.