SportPesa

SportPesa is the best-known sports betting brand in Kenya, launched in Nairobi in 2014 by Pevans East Africa. It grew rapidly on mobile money distribution and sponsorship of Kenyan and English football, reaching annual revenue reported at 150 billion shillings at its 2018 peak. Its history is also the clearest case study in African regulatory risk. Its licence was withdrawn in 2019 amid a dispute with the government over betting taxation, and the brand returned to the Kenyan market in 2022 under Milestone Games, licensed by the Betting Control and Licensing Board. Ronald Karauri, a shareholder in the original Pevans business, leads the company. Operators building on mobile money in East Africa look at SportPesa as the template for both the scale available and the speed at which it can be removed.

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