Kenyan families will be able to ask the country’s gambling regulator to bar relatives from betting under sweeping new rules that give households an unprecedented role in tackling gambling problems, as authorities seek to curb a surge in addiction fuelled by economic hardship.
The proposals, published in regulations gazetted on June 30, would also allow betting companies to suspend customers they believe are gambling beyond their financial means, shifting responsibility for policing harmful betting from gamblers alone to relatives and operators.
The measures mark one of the biggest changes to Kenya’s gambling regime, reflecting growing official concern that the country’s online betting boom is pushing households deeper into debt rather than merely exposing individual gamblers to financial losses.
Under the Gambling Control (Conduct of Gambling Operations) Regulations, 2026, family members may apply to the Gaming Regulatory Authority of Kenya (GRAK) to exclude a relative from gambling where the habit “has caused or is likely to cause serious financial hardship” or threatens family welfare. The affected gambler would have an opportunity to challenge the application before the regulator reaches a decision.
