Kenya betting site reviews

On this site, you can find reviews for the best betting sites in Kenya! Our list of bookmaker tests consists of the most popular betting providers in concern of the number of registered users, promotions and bonus offers, quality of betting offer, number of betting markets/types of bets, the attractiveness of betting odds, registration process, availability of a mobile app, number of payment methods and many more betting related issues!

Click on the cards of the bookmakers and find out all details about a certain betting site or navigate to our start page for the best betting sites in Africa in other countries.

Our top list of best betting companies in Kenya

The Kenyan betting market is highly concentrated with a plethora of different bookmakers. Thus, choosing where to place your bets might be rather tricky. We’ll outline our top picks in the section that follows and provide you with some brief facts to help you in choosing your ideal bookmaker.

Easily one of the most recognizable betting sites globally, Betway is among our top recommendations in Kenya. They’ve been pioneers for years and continue to set benchmarks in the betting industry. Their revolutionary promotions and bonuses have allowed them to always stay one step ahead of the competition and constantly grow their customer base at a solid rate.

Quickfire facts about Betway:

Operating: Globally

Payout rate: 95-96%

Founded: 2006 (UK), 2015 (Kenya)

Most outstanding features: Vast betting offer, extremely competitive odds, implementation of the highest security & data protection protocols, 24/7 customer support availability, innovative bonuses & promotions…

Betway bonus

As previously indicated, Kenyans can choose from a wide variety of bonuses at Betway. Arguably, the best among the bunch is the welcome bonus that users receive when they first register on their site. All the specifics regarding this alluring offer can be found on our dedicated page named “Betway registration bonus“.

Furthermore, we strongly advise you to read our full assessment of Betway found at “Betway sports betting review“, where we discuss all the pertinent details of Betway’s operations from top to bottom.

1xBet is our next suggestion and is featured in our top recommendations list. There are many things that can be stated about 1xBet’s journey from its modest beginnings in eastern Europe to becoming a certified top dog in the betting scene landscape around the globe. They have managed to grow leaps and bounds in recent years due to their distinct features, amazing promotions, and exceptional customer service.

Quickfire facts about 1xBet:

Operating: Globally

Payout rate: 98%

Exclusive bonus: 30%

Founded: 2007 (Cyprus), 2016 (Kenya)

Most outstanding features: Industry-wide highest odds, best value-for-money promotions & bonuses, extensive betting offer, free live streaming, user-friendly mobile apps…

1xBet Bonus

Besides other promotions on a regular basis, 1xBet offers one of the most appealing welcome bonuses in Kenya. The bonus amount remains unmatched in the betting industry and stands at 300%. But, that’s not even the full story. Our team at betting sites Africa has managed to secure an exclusive promo code that increases the bonus amount by an additional 30%! For more specific information on this incredible bonus, make sure to head over to our dedicated page “1xBet first deposit bonus“.

Moreover, if you are interested in learning more about 1xBet and its Kenyan ventures, you can have a look at our comprehensive analysis under the name, “1xBet sports betting review“.

A rising bookmaker in the Kenyan betting industry Paripesa is steadily expanding its presence in the African market. They were founded in 2019 and, as a result of their excellent services, have quickly risen to the top of the list among many Kenyan bettors. All in all, they’ve grown at an exponential rate and don’t seem to be slowing down any time soon.

Quickfire facts about Paripesa:

Operating: Globally

Payout rate: 98%

Founded: 2019 (Kenya)

Most outstanding features: Incredibly high payout rate, extensive payment options, great betting offer, top live betting feature, enticing bonuses & promotions…

Paripesa bonus

On Paripesa’s betting service, new customers are eligible for a 100% welcome bonus that may be used on the initial deposit. For the full scoop and the details of the bonus, we advise you to have a look at our dedicated page Paripesa 100% Welcome Bonus. This can help you massively in the beginning phases of claiming and the eventual fulfillment of the bonus!

In addition, we thoroughly examined every facet of Paripesa’s activities as part of our bookmaker test protocol. For extra details, visit our evaluation at “Paripesa betting site review“.

Last but not least, one of our top choices for your betting activities in Kenya is Betika. Since its humble beginnings in 2016, Betika has reached a status that is not to be reckoned with and has grown to a powerhouse position in the Kenyan betting space. This is a result of their continuous development, customer-oriented service, and revolutionary additions in terms of bonuses and promotions.

Quickfire facts about Betika:

Operating: Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania

Payout rate: 94-97%

Founded: 2016 (Kenya)

Most outstanding features: Competitive odds, a wide array of sports available, user-friendly Android & iOS mobile apps, high prize pool jackpots, constant promotions…

Betika Bonus

An interesting fact regarding Betika is that they do not have a so-called classic welcome bonus. However, that is not the whole story since their portfolio of other bonuses/promotions fills the gap and brings more variety to their customers. The promotion that stands out the most has to be their football jackpot. We suggest you have a look at our dedicated Betika Jackpot bonus page to fully familiarize yourself and perhaps win a share of the massive prize pool!

Moreover, as a complementary measure, we analyzed every part of Betika’s operations in our detailed bookmaker test. Hence, to get the full scoop, we recommend you check out our Betika review.

Kenya betting news for February

• Odibets started holding a Trivia competition on their social media pages and rewarding winners with free bet bonus. Players are asked questions about the English Premier League and winners are picked randomly to be rewarded with KES 50 free bet in their Odibets accounts
• World Sports Betting (WSB) Kenya has introduced a new promotion called ‘Operation Piga Njaa’. Participants are required to bet KES 200 or more on multibets. Prizes include free bets, airtime, shopping vouchers, maize flour, rice, and cooking oil
• Betting companies will now be required to pay their taxes daily by 1 am. The KRA has introduced an online system that is linked directly to the betting sites to calculate taxes automatically and have them submitted at the end of each day

Kenya betting news for January

• The Government of Kenya has appointed new members to the Betting Control and Licensing Board of Kenya (BCLB) to serve for a 3-year period. Reverend Jane Makau is the new Chair. Other members include Edwin Irungu, Enerst Kamau, Innocent Muganda, Anne Too, and Janet Mwawasi
• Betting firm Odibets has rolled out a new promotion for this January called “Piga Njaanuary Na Odibets” which seeks to reward customers for placing bets during the tough economic times in January. There will be 100 daily winners of KES 1,000 each
• BetKing has waived withdrawal charges for winnings in their 225% multi bet bonus promotion. Customers can play with as little as KES 20 and will be able to withdraw all their winnings as BetKing takes care of the withdrawal charges

Kenya betting news for December

• Betting Control and Licensing Board of Kenya (BCLB) reports that the average spending per betting customer declined last year to KES 939 compared to KES 2,559 in 2019. This is attributed to increased taxation and tighter regulation of the gambling sector by the government

• A report by international firm Astute Analytica on Africa Gambling Market says that Kenya has the highest ratio of youth (aged 17 – 35 years) involved in sports betting at 74%. Overall, 54% of youth in Sub-Saharan Africa gambled regularly

• The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics says the leading counties in betting in the country are; Nakuru (25.6% of residents), West Pokot (25.0%), Nyandarua (23.7%), Busia (22.3%) and Trans Nzoia (20.9%)

Keep it here for up-to-date betting-related news from betting companies in Kenya, including new offers and promotions that you can enjoy as a betting fan.

Kenya history in betting

Kenya has always been one of the more liberal African nations when it comes to gambling and sports betting. Gambling has been legal in Kenya since 1966 according to the Betting, Lotteries and Gaming Act, Chapter 131, Laws of Kenya. This was the body that was established to provide the regulatory framework for gaming in the country and to license and monitor gaming operators in the country.

That said, for the longest time, sports betting in Kenya was always seen as a reserve of the high and mighty that could afford to get into casinos and premises that were licensed to provide the service. However, at the turn of the century, across the world, there was a shift from establishment-based betting to online betting. In 2011, the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) amended its act to include online gambling as part of its mandate and it started licensing online betting companies in the country.

There were a few small companies that started off and couldn’t quite generate much interest. It was not until 2014 that Sportpesa came onto the scene and the rest as they say is history. They took the industry by storm and oversaw the growth of the industry into one of the biggest in Africa.

Betting offer in Kenya

Kenya is a sports-loving country. At the international level, Kenyan athletes have for decades dominated events like the Olympics and World Championships in middle-distance and long-distance races. The Kenyan Rugby 7s team is also part of the 7s circuit.

At the local level, Kenyans’ passion for football is unmatched. From local pubs to high-end clubs in upmarket areas, there are football fans watching and cheering for their favorite team in the top European leagues, mostly the English Premier League.

It is this passion that has seen the remarkable growth of the sports betting industry in Kenya as the sports betting companies simply tapped into the high appetite for sports and the lure of easy money. We will take a look at the top bookmakers in Kenya in our preview here and provide insights on their various offers and promotions to guide you into making the best possible choices of the best bookies in Kenya.

Betting Promotions in Kenya

Kenyan punters are spoiled for a choice concerning their sports betting offers and promotions on the table from different bookies. Because of the open nature of the sports betting industry in Kenya, there are a lot of licensed bookmakers and they are all going out of their way in an effort to come up with unique offers and promotions to attract new users to their sports betting websites.

One of the most popular sports betting promotions is the welcome bonus offer which offers new users to a site either a percentage of their initial stake as a bonus upon fulfillment of certain conditions. The catch is usually here in the conditions as some require that you wager your qualifying deposit up to 12 times for you to qualify for the bonus. It is therefore absolutely critical that you read through these terms and conditions. All bookies in Kenya have different T&C and it is of high importance to always familiarize yourself with the bookmaker of your choice in Kenya’s conditions.

If you feel reading through these fine prints is not the thing for you, then worry not. We have gone through some of these bonuses and have summarized them in a way that is easy for you to read and understand what you are getting into. Some of the ones that we recommend include the Melbet Welcome Bonus, 22Bet, Betway, and many other bookmakers that have similar promotions.

We are also always updating these bonuses on a regular basis. So if there are any changes, or if there are any new attractive bonuses, you can be sure we will have these updated right here!

What’s more? We have talked to some of these bookmakers and organized special promotion codes for Betting Tips Africa which you can use to get a bit more than what you would ordinarily get from them!

Availability of Mobile Betting Apps

Mobile apps are the in-thing in sports betting and therefore a must-have for any bookie in Kenya worth it is salt. We have therefore taken the time to examine all the mobile apps for the top bookmakers in Kenya and have also scored them based on the user experience as not all apps are the same. We consider the ease of using the app, the interface, the availability of payment methods, its compatibility with different devices, and so on. Read our review of the best betting apps in Kenya and get to find out which bookies have invested in this critical part of the modern-day betting experience.

Payment Methods

In Kenya, mobile money is king. As a result, the only payment method that punters really care about is the mobile wallet. Punters want to put in money in their betting accounts and withdraw their winnings at their own convenience.

Whereas some bookies in Kenya may have other payment methods like cards and cryptocurrencies, those are mostly seen as add-ons by many punters in the country and would only appeal to a small segment.

Deposit methods:

The biggest mobile platform remains Safaricom whose MPESA platform accounts for about 90% of the transactions. Other mobile platform providers include Airtel Money which is not very popular in the country due to its lack of reach in parts of the country.

Most deposits incur a small charge depending on the amount from the service provider. However, some bookmakers like Betika often add this charge back on the deposit amount as a way of insulating their customers from the charges. Deposits are mostly free of charge and, like deposits, unless there are network delays, these are always instantaneous.

Withdrawal Methods:

Most of the deposit options are used for withdrawals. You will find all these as you read through our individual bookmaker previews.

Furthermore, it is important to know that if you want to make a withdrawal from your betting account, you need to own and operate a valid bank account. The withdrawal time frame ranges between instant payment and sometimes up to 24 hours.

Note: Mobile deposit and withdrawal limits are mostly pegged on the limits of the provider. At the moment, Safaricom has set a deposit limit of Kes 70,000 per transaction (140,000 per day) and a withdrawal limit of Kes 100,000 per transaction (200,000 per day).

Licenses/ Legal

Sports betting is legal in Kenya and is regulated and monitored under the auspices of the government regulatory body known as the Betting Controls and Licensing Board or BCLB as it is commonly referred to.

This is the only entity that is tasked with the responsibility of issuing betting licenses to bookmakers and monitoring their activities to ensure that they are in compliance with the provisions of the Gaming Act.

You can always verify that your bookmaker has been licensed to operate by checking the BCLB number on their website with the information publicly available on the BCLB website.

Security and Seriousness

Most sports betting sites in Kenya provide secure betting environments and payment methods that ensure the privacy of customer data and the security of their funds. However, that does not mean you can just join any company blindly and hope they are legit. You need to do some research on the sports bookmaker before you join. Find out if there are any negative reports about the sports bookie of your choice in Kenya, check if they are properly licensed, and read their terms and conditions to ensure you understand.

Always look for a gambling license: this is found at the bottom of the homepage in the T&C section.

Check the reviews of the online betting site: people will recommend or complain in this section depending on their experience with the bookmaker.

Check out their payment methods to be sure that they offer payment options with free or low conversion rates. Just relax, we are always here to keep you safe from bad betting sites.

User Experience

As we said earlier, punters in Kenya are spoilt in Kenya when it comes to different offers and promotions.

Welcome Bonus: If the welcome bonus is your cup of coffee, you cannot go wrong with Melbet, 22Bet, or even Betwinner.

Cash out: If you are not risk averse and always looking to cash out a little profit, then Sportybet and Bet365 would suit you just fine.

Extensive betting markets: If you like having fun with different betting markets and a wide array of sports, our experts recommend Melbet, Odibets, 22Bet, or even Mozzartbet here. You can’t really go wrong with either of these.

Jackpots: These are a huge attraction in Kenya. For the best jackpots, we feel Betika and Sportpesa are neck and neck at the top of the list. Sportybet and Mozzartbet also deserve an honorable mention here.

Betting sites in Kenya – FAQ