Sports betting operator SportPesa’s return to its native Kenya appears back on track – for the moment, at least – after a court quashed an effort by the local gambling regulator to block the company’s revival.

On Wednesday, Kenyan media reported that High Court Justice Pauline Nyamweya had issued a ruling striking down a Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) decision prohibiting SportPesa from relaunching its Kenyan betting business.  

SportPesa shut its local operations last year following a lengthy dispute with the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) over alleged tax arrears. Last month, the company authorized new BCLB licensee Milestone Gaming Ltd to use SportPesa’s brand, mobile paybill numbers and short codes to handle wagers from Kenyan bettors.

That effort was rudely disrupted by the BCLB within hours of the new ke.SportPesa.com domain’s launch, based on the regulator’s view that local ownership of the SportPesa brand was the subject of a legal dispute. But Nyamweya’s Wednesday order instructed the Communication Authority of Kenya (CAK) to lift its blocking of the new SportPesa website.