AWith more than 100 licensed gambling operators in Kenya, the industry has become so competitive over the last few years.
Every year, Kenya's main betting regulatory body, the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) issues at least five new licences, further saturating the market.
It is therefore hardly surprising that betting operators are trying out different tricks to steal a march on their rivals, with the older sites fighting hard to hold on to their share of the market, and the newer companies battling to gain a foothold in one of the fastest developing gambling industries in the world.
One tried and trusted way of gaining ground on the opposition is by offering attractive bonuses to customers. Kenyan bookmakers have used the incentive of bonuses and freebies to lure new customers, promising a wide range of rewards from cash to free bets.
Given how financially demanding sports betting can be, bettors naturally respond to these bonuses, hoping to limit their own betting expenditure. In fact, the nature of bonuses being offered has become a major decision-making factor amongst the Kenyan betting populace when it comes to choosing their preferred bookmaker.
Unfortunately, Kenyan bookmakers have tended to abuse this quest for bonuses by deceptively advertising their offers. A common practice with these operators is to advertise big bonus amounts while hiding finer, important details on how to claim the bonus behind vague terms and conditions.
Typically, betting bonuses in Kenya are not free. Customers would have to part with some money before they can earn a bonus. These offers have wagering requirements, some of which can be very stringent, rendering the bonus almost impossible to claim.
For example, a betting company may offer a sign up bonus of KES 20,000, but then, the wagering requirements would demand that the customer spends 10 times that amount in order to receive the bonus.
These companies would display these big bonus amounts boldly on their site and other advertising campaigns (Social Media, TV, Radio etc.), without making mention of the key wagering requirements. Instead, the requirements are hidden away in very small text under the terms and conditions of the bonus.
Out of excitement and the chance to claim the bonus, unsuspecting customers would then rush to sign up on that betting site, deposit some money in order to get their bonus, only to find out that they need to part with a lot more money to claim that offer.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
It's time for Kenyan regulators to step in and compel the operators to be more transparent with how they display and promote their betting offers.
At the very least, betting operators should be mandated to include information about the key terms and conditions for their bonus, especially the wagering requirements everywhere they have mentioned the bonus - be it on their sites or in their media advertising.
It has to be said that not all betting offers are bad. There are indeed numerous valuable online betting bonuses available to new and old customers. The point being made here is that it would be of great help to the customers if all of the major terms and technicalities of getting the bonuses are available at first glance.
This sort of thing is done in the United States, with betting authorities charged by the country's regulators to provide as much information as possible on their bonus advertisements.
Sports betting has the potential to cause financial and mental issues hence it is imperative for the authorities to leave no stones unturned in order to protect their citizens.
Apart from stepping up their regulations on how bonuses are advertised, they should also look to educate bettors on how to differentiate good, legitimate bonuses from unrealistic offers that have only been designed as bait to get them into signing up on the site.
The betting operators must also shoulder some of the responsibilities. As much as they are keen to make money, it must not be at the detriment of the customers who have placed so much trust in them to deliver fair betting services.
Kenya is already so neck-deep into sports betting that there's no going back. What can be done is to ensure that there are regulations that are fair to all the parties involved, especially the bettors.
