Kenya High Court suspends new gambling licensing framework after public-consultation challenge

The High Court of Kenya has put the country’s new gambling licensing framework on hold after a challenge arguing that the capital requirements were not properly subjected to public consultation. For licensed operators and PSPs, that means the new regime is effectively frozen while the legal process runs its course.

1. On Monday, Justice William Musyoka signed a stay order against the Gambling Control (Licensing) Regulations 2026 in a case filed by Thomas Buckley Opar Owuor and Ken Brance. The order stops implementation of the new framework for now.
2. David Sarinke, partner at Kenyan law firm McKay Advocates, told iGB that the stay effectively puts Kenya’s licensed gambling market on hold because the new regulations applied only to licensed entities. In other words, the people who actually need a licence are the ones caught in the freeze.
3. The legal challenge includes a constitutional argument tied to the higher capital requirements for licensees. Sarinke said the final requirements in the legislation were higher than the figures originally put out for public consultation, which is the core point of contention in the case.
4. Under Article 10 of Kenya’s 2010 Constitution, public participation is a national value and principle of governance. Sarinke said that when a case is filed to object to a law coming into operation, courts normally stop implementation, especially where the challenge rests on constitutional principles such as public participation.
5. The Gambling Control Act and the new regulations had been presented by stakeholders in Kenya as the start of a new era after years of turbulence. The act replaced legislation dating back to 1966 and moved oversight from the Betting Control and Licensing Board to the newly established Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA).

For the market, the practical issue is timing. Sarinke said the new law has already come into operation, but with the licensing framework now suspended, Kenya is “lacking a licensing framework” and may need “a few more months” before the sector can move forward.

Owuor and Brance now have 14 days to file their substantive judicial review motion. In their initial application, they asked for the current licensing regime to be scrapped entirely, saying “numerous operators” were worried about meeting the higher fees, some were considering closure, and the dispute risked jobs and investment being pulled back.