An article shared widely on Facebook claims online sports betting platform SportPesa will resume operations in Kenya in June 2020.
One post captioned the article with a quote, apparently from SportPesa CEO Ronald Karauri: “We have been issued the certificate of operation from the government of Kenya and we are set to resume in June.”
The article was published on the website Kenyan Times on 30 May and says SportPesa’s reopening is on 17 June, the date the English Premier League hopes to restart.
The article claims Karauri said that the betting company has “legally accomplished the pending restrictions that has barred its operations with the Kenya Revenue Authority”.
SportPesa shut down its operations in Kenya in September 2019 citing a hostile tax and business environment.
While SportPesa’s restarting would be good news for punters in Kenya, is it true? We checked.
Africa Check contacted SportPesa to verify the news.
“We have not yet resumed operations in Kenya,” the company told Africa Check. “SportPesa is still waiting for feedback from the licensing board. We shall update all our customers in case of any new developments.”
The betting regulator asked SportPesa to reapply for its licence in March.
On Twitter, the company said: “We do not have an exact timeline on when we shall resume. Upon resumption we sure shall communicate officially. Keep it SportPesa.” The article shared on social media is false. – Grace Gichuhi
One post captioned the article with a quote, apparently from SportPesa CEO Ronald Karauri: “We have been issued the certificate of operation from the government of Kenya and we are set to resume in June.”
The article was published on the website Kenyan Times on 30 May and says SportPesa’s reopening is on 17 June, the date the English Premier League hopes to restart.
The article claims Karauri said that the betting company has “legally accomplished the pending restrictions that has barred its operations with the Kenya Revenue Authority”.
SportPesa shut down its operations in Kenya in September 2019 citing a hostile tax and business environment.
While SportPesa’s restarting would be good news for punters in Kenya, is it true? We checked.
No ‘exact timeline’, says SportPesa
Africa Check contacted SportPesa to verify the news.
“We have not yet resumed operations in Kenya,” the company told Africa Check. “SportPesa is still waiting for feedback from the licensing board. We shall update all our customers in case of any new developments.”
The betting regulator asked SportPesa to reapply for its licence in March.
On Twitter, the company said: “We do not have an exact timeline on when we shall resume. Upon resumption we sure shall communicate officially. Keep it SportPesa.” The article shared on social media is false. – Grace Gichuhi
For publishers: what to do if your post is rated false
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Further Reading
[email protected]: The challenges of working across Africa
Misinformation knows no borders and Africa Check often responds to similar false claims from country to country.
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