Photo: Pixabay.<\/p>\n
NAIROBI (Reuters) Kenyas president signed a law on Wednesday that raises the tax rate on gambling but sets it at a lower rate than had originally been proposed. <\/p>\n
The law will impose a tax of 35 percent of gross profits on all gambling. Until now, lotteries were taxed at 5 percent, betting firms bookmakers at 7.5 percent, casino gambling at 12 percent and competitions like raffles at 15 percent. <\/p>\n
Secretary for the National Treasury Henry Rotich had originally proposed raising the tax rate to 50 percent, saying the rapid growth of on-line gambling hurt the young and vulnerable, and the proceeds from the tax would fund sports, culture and the arts. <\/p>\n
Gambling in Kenya generally takes place on-line. Mobile- phone-based financial services like M-Pesa by Safaricom allow users to place bets, pay off losses and get winnings on their phone without needing a bank account. <\/p>\n
Industry executives say about 7 million out of 45 million Kenyans have registered for betting services. No figures are publicly available on the industrys profits. <\/p>\n
(Reporting by George Obulutsa, editing by Larry King) <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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Kenya says will raise tax rate on gambling to 35 percent - CNBCAfrica.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Photo: Pixabay. Continue reading