Pambazuka National Lottery has suspended its operations in Kenya saying the new tax takes it total cost of operations to 115 per cent.
"Operating any lottery under this framework is not possible and therefore business operations are forced to close,"the company said in a statement on Sunday.
The company noted that the effect of the 35 per cent tax on all tickets sales has made them to cease operations until a “sustainable regulatory framework” is in place.
“All prize claims after yesterday’s draw will be paid out to winners directly or from the company offices on April 7th 2018,” it added.
This came after Kenyan sports gambling firm Sportpesa withdrew all their local sponsorship commitments over the proposed tax of 35%.
Asante sana. Can the rest follow suit. Kenya will not lose anything if gambling stops. The house always wins and people lose. They don’t produce anything of value. Let’s increase it to 90% Tax like Germany.
Kabisa that’s why they law was drafted by Parliament as peoples assembly, the betting firm participated and law passed at 50%. However it was reduced at 35%. Some firms agreed, others didn’t and went to high court. Court ruled against them and they are free to appeal. Meanwhile let them pay up or close shop.
On top of suggesting and enforcing legislation in the industry, one duty is validating the logic in the games for example the slot machines. The programmable chips decide the odds of winning. The house can heavily tilt the odds in their favor if not checked. The chips(or machines) are supposed to give the gambler a realistic chance of winning a bet against the house based on his skill and technique.
