Live casino licences in Kenya: what the studio needs and what the operator needs

Who needs a licence for a live casino game?

Two businesses stand behind every live table you open on a phone. The studio runs the table, the dealer and the cameras. The operator runs the website or app, your account, your deposits and your payouts.

Evolution's 2023 annual report describes the split from the studio side. It calls Evolution a B2B supplier with about 800 operator customers at the end of 2023, and says it has no information about the identity of players, because that stays with the operators. The wider picture of studios, rules and limits is in the guide to live casino in Kenya.

Kenyan law licenses both sides. Section 28(1) of the Gambling Control Act, 2025 says no one may offer any gambling activity or service unless it is licensed under the Act. Section 28(2) lists the activities the Authority licenses, among them online gambling in paragraph (i) and the provision of any gambling software or platform in paragraph (m).

What licence does the operator need?

The operator needs an online casino licence. Section 67(1) of the Act requires anyone who wants to operate, sell or promote online gambling in Kenya to apply for one of three licences: online bookmaker, online lottery or online casino. Section 2 defines a casino to include an approved virtual or online platform where a person plays a game approved by the Authority.

The application runs through the Gambling Control (Licensing) Regulations, 2026 (L.N. 111). Under r.11, the operator applies on Form 8 and attaches, among other items, a proposed gambling control system compatible with the Authority's central management system. Regulation 11(2)(g) also asks for the proposed platform, the domain name and a games provider from a gambling supplier licensed by the Authority, with a copy of the agreement.

That last item ties the two licences together. The operator's file names the studio, and the regulation expects that studio to hold a supplier licence from the Authority.

The Act's default licence term is 36 months under section 31(3), unless regulations set another period. L.N. 111 does set one: its Fourth Schedule gives online gambling licences a term of one year, for new licences and renewals alike.

What licence does the studio need?

A studio that streams games to Kenyan operators is a supplier, not an operator. Regulation 15(1) of L.N. 111 requires anyone who intends to provide gambling software or a platform to apply for a licence on Form 12. The Fourth Schedule sets that licence at one year as well.

Form 12 shows what the Authority expects from a supplier. It offers a Software Supplier Authorization, described as providing software to licensed operators, and a Platform Provider Authorization for hosting or managing a full platform. Its sample product description reads: online casino platform with slots, live dealer, sportsbook.

The same form asks for the name and accreditation number of an independent testing laboratory, plus its full compliance report. The applicant commits to submit material changes for re-testing before deployment, and to report any material incident to the Authority within 24 hours of discovery.

Providers describe the split in their own words. Evolution's licences page says that where markets require B2B licences, Evolution as a supplier holds the relevant approvals, and that in markets requiring only B2C licences, regulation affects it mainly through its partners. In Romania, for example, it lists a Class 2 licence for studio streaming.

That page lists Tanzania and South Africa but not Kenya. A missing country does not prove a provider is unlicensed there; the page simply does not answer the question for Kenya, and the GRA list described below has no column for suppliers.

How do you check the operator on the GRA list?

The regulator publishes its list of licensed operators at gra.go.ke/licensed-operators/. The page is headed "Licensed Gaming Companies for the Trading Period 2025/26" and holds 187 rows. The site's own content API dates the last change to 19 March 2026.

Search the page for the trading name shown on the app or website. Then compare the address in the DOMAINS column, letter by letter, with the one in your browser bar. Under section 36(3) of the Act, an online licensee must also display its licence on its platform, so you can set the licence on the site beside the row on the list.

Read the licence columns exactly as published. The page does not explain the headings BK, PG and PL, and it has no column headed casino or online casino. It gives no expiry dates either, so a row tells you the operator was listed for 2025/26, not when its licence ends.

Section 39(1) of the Act also requires the Authority to keep a register of licences, recording each licensee's identity, activity, counties and expiry date, among other details. Under section 39(2), that register is open to the public at reasonable times on payment of a prescribed fee.

What are the offences?

Running gambling without a valid licence is an offence under section 98 of the Act. A first offence carries a fine of up to KES 3,000,000, prison of up to three years, or both. A second or later offence carries up to KES 5,000,000, five years, or both.

Foreign operators have their own section. Section 79(1) allows a foreign-based operator an online gambling licence only if it is registered in Kenya, has a registered physical address in Kenya and meets the prescribed requirements. Under section 79(3), offering online gambling in Kenya without a licence carries up to KES 2,000,000, two years or both for a natural person, and up to KES 50,000,000 for a corporate person.

Those who serve unlicensed sites are covered too. L.N. 112 r.102(1) makes it an offence to provide any services to an unlicensed or illegal gambling website or platform, including hosting, servers, domain registration, payment processing and technical support. Under r.102(3), an individual faces up to KES 1,000,000, six months or both, and a body corporate up to KES 1,000,000 plus suspension or revocation of licences and forfeiture of proceeds, equipment or assets.

The application itself must be true. Under section 30(6), knowingly making a false statement in a licence application or renewal carries up to KES 1,000,000, one year in prison or both.

What a licence check does not tell you

A row on the GRA list confirms a licence, not the integrity of each game on the site. How cards, wheels and shuffles are checked is covered in whether live dealer games are fair.

A licensed operator must also confirm who you are. Regulation 82(1) of L.N. 112 bars online gambling without a mandatory identity check, location verification and age assurance check, and the steps are explained in live casino age and identity checks.

Limits are part of the licence too. L.N. 112 r.84 requires real-time tools such as daily, weekly and monthly deposit limits, reality checks and self-exclusion of at least 24 hours, described in responsible gambling tools at a live table.