Online sports betting operator Betway has been hit with a nearly $1.5m back-tax judgment by a Kenyan tribunal, in yet another blow to the country’s struggling gaming sector.

On Wednesday, Kenyan media reported that a Tax Appeals Tribunal had ordered Betway to pay the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) a total of KSH158m (US$1.46m), the vast majority of which was due to outstanding withholding tax on Betway punters’ sports betting winnings.

Betway was one of dozens of Kenyan-facing betting operators that had their local licenses suspended in July 2019 due to the KRA’s claim that they owed hundreds of millions of dollars in back taxes. The KRA based its claim on a disputed definition of how to apply a 20% tax on punters’ winnings, with the KRA claiming the tax applied not just to winnings but also to a punter’s original stake.

While market-leading operators SportPesa and Betin opted to shut their Kenyan-facing operations rather than accede to the KRA’s demands, Betway’s license was reinstated in August 2019 after it agreed to apply the new tax in line with the KRA’s definition.