SportPesa license revocation has now caused tussles among members of the Betting Control And Licensing Board (BCLB).
Board members Sabrina Kanini and Joy Masinde, have had a fallout with other members of the board stating, they were not involved in the decision that resulted in the consent, which was submitted to the court on May 22. This follows a decision by Justice Anthony Ndung’u of the High Court who temporarily suspended the license granted to Milestone Games by the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) last month, to use the SportPesa brand for the calendar year ending in June 2023.
Read: Court Revokes SportPesa License
Kanini had urged the court to reconsider a decision finding its board members in contempt of court for allegedly meddling in the betting company’s internal operations. She claimed that Milestone Games’ attorneys and a state attorney later came to a resolution on the issue, but the board was never made aware of the agreement for approval.
Read: Milestone Games Limited Barred From Using “SportPesa” Trademark
Sportpesa brand received its initial nod from the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) last month, setting off a legal battle for the gaming company’s essential assets, including its trademark and web domains. Ms Maina and business tycoon Paul Wanderi Ndung’u, who owns a 17 percent stake in Pevans East Africa, have charged Milestone Games of obtaining the license under mysterious circumstances as the country was preoccupied with the elections on August 9.
Milestone Games, which operates the SportPesa brand, had been given license number 0000448, according to a list of betting companies allowed to operate in the 2022/2023 fiscal year. The regulator revised the list of authorized betting companies and posted it online.
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