Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) collected Sh15.1 billion in revenue from the betting and gaming sector in general through Excise on Betting and Withholding Tax on winnings.

KRA says its revenue collection from the betting and gaming sector from the said tax heads realized a 23.9 per cent increase compared to a similar period in the previous financial year.

In a statement, the taxman also said a total of Sh6.640 billion was collected from the lucrative sector in Excise Duty on Betting against a target of Sh5.715 billion set by KRA.

Acting Commissioner for Domestic Taxes David Mwangi says the collection marked a stellar performance of 116.2 per cent and a 30 per cent growth from the previous financial year.

KRA’s collections from Withholding Tax on winnings grew by 21.1 per cent to Sh8.6 billion while betting tax also posted a growth of 14.7 per cent raking in Sh3.874 billion for KRA.

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Mwangi has attributed the impressive revenue collection by the authority to its decision to integrate betting companies into its tax system with a total of 36 firms already onboarded.

He revealed that KRA is in the process of integrating the final 87 betting firm into its tax system in a move that is projects will further expand its revenue collection from the sector.

KRA’s tax integration started in mid-October 2022 targeted to net the daily 7.5 per cent Excise Duty on bettors and 20 per cent Withholding Tax on winnings directly from the firms.

The new integrated system enables KRA to monitor daily performance of the betting and gaming companies in real time allowing it to streamline tax remittances from the players.

The taxman says the move is part of its tax-at-source initiatives, a move away from the traditional self-assessment of taxes, to embrace global best practices in tax collection.