The government has issued deportation orders against 17 foreign directors of betting firms among them SportPesa and Betin whose licenses were suspended last week.
Sources have confirmed to Citizen Digital that the said directors are required to leave the country immediately.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i is understood to have already signed the deportation orders.
This comes as the latest move in an ongoing government crackdown on the overly lucrative industry which has come under State radar over claims of tax evasion, with licenses of 27 firms being suspended by the Betting Control and Licensing Board.
On Monday, the Central Bank of Kenya wrote to the CEOs of all local banks and financial institutions asking them to monitor accounts of 27 betting firms and public lotteries who licenses have been cancelled.
Last week, the government directed mobile money service providers; Safaricom, Airtel and Telkom Kenya to withdraw pay bill numbers and SMS codes of the 27 betting companies among them SportPesa, Betin and Betway.