Kenya High Court allows gambling regulator to collect contested licence fees as legal challenge continues

Kenya’s High Court has allowed the Gambling Regulatory Authority to collect disputed licensing fees under the 2026 rules, removing a bottleneck that had left 246 applications pending. The underlying legal challenge remains unresolved, and operators could receive refunds if the court ultimately finds the fees unlawful.

Kenya’s High Court has allowed the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Kenya (GRA) to resume collecting licensing fees under the contested Gambling Control (Licensing) Regulations, 2026 while the substantive judicial review continues. Justice William Musyoka delivered the latest ruling on August 21 in Judicial Review E251 of 2026, varying the restrictions that had previously prevented the regulator from implementing the disputed fee provisions.

The decision addresses a practical problem that emerged after the court’s earlier ruling of August 7. At that stage, most of the 2026 licensing regulations were allowed to operate, but the increased fees contained in the Second Schedule and the new gambling capital requirements in the Third Schedule remained suspended. The GRA subsequently returned to court arguing that it could not complete the licensing process without collecting the prescribed charges.

According to the regulator, 246 licence applications were pending because payment of the relevant fees is a condition for issuing licences. The court accepted that the fee structure could not practically be separated from the licensing process and concluded that continuing the suspension risked leaving the sector without a functioning mechanism for approving new operators.

Justice Musyoka also noted a gap created by Kenya’s transition to the new regulatory framework. The licensing charges are set out in schedules to the 2026 regulations rather than directly in the Gambling Control Act 2025, while the previous Betting, Lotteries and Gaming Act has already been repealed. Without the disputed fee provisions, the regulator argued there was no alternative framework available for charging applicants and completing new licences.

The financial requirements remain highly controversial. The applicants, Thomas Buckley Opar Owuor and Ken Brance, argue that some licensing charges have increased by between 200% and 49,900% compared with the previous regime. They contend that the higher costs could force some operators to abandon applications, reduce investment or leave the Kenyan market altogether.

Crucially, the latest ruling does not determine whether the new fees are lawful. The GRA gave an undertaking that money collected under the contested provisions would be refunded if the High Court ultimately finds that the regulations or the fees themselves were unlawfully introduced. The court took that commitment into account when allowing the licensing process to proceed.

The case forms part of Kenya’s wider transition under the Gambling Control Act 2025, which replaced the previous regulatory system and created the Gambling Regulatory Authority. The 2026 licensing regulations establish the detailed framework for licence categories, application procedures, financial requirements, technical standards and renewals.

The substantive dispute is therefore still open. Parties are due to complete written submissions by September 21, with judgment currently scheduled for October 2, 2026. Until then, the latest order gives the GRA a route to process the 246 pending applications and collect the contested fees, while leaving operators with the possibility of reimbursement if the court later strikes the provisions down.