What we’ll do to get back in business – SportPesa CEO Capt. Karauri

SportPesa CEO, Captain Ronald Karauri, says the leadership of the betting firm in Kenya will engage the Ministry of Interior in dialogue in a bid to have the company back in business.

Karauri hinted at seeking legal redress should their dialogue attempts fail to yield the desired results.

The SportPesa chief’s remarks come on the back of an active suspension by Government over claims that the firm has failed to comply with regulations governing the betting sector in Kenya.

“I want to assure everybody that as SportPesa, we are compliant in terms of tax payments and are adhering to all regulations,” said Karauri in a video-taped address to Kenyans, and posted on SportPesa’s official Twitter page.

“We are doing everything in our power to resolve all the issues by engaging all the stakeholders, including the Kenya Revenue Authority and the Ministry of Interior,” said Karauri.

-Dialogue-

“I believe our suspension is due to a misunderstanding. I also believe that all issues can be resolved through dialogue. We are currently involving all the key stakeholders in Government to ensure that everything is back to normal,” said the CEO.

-Legal redress-

“We have a wide family of employees at SportPesa, currently standing at 400 and the wider family which includes our sports fraternity members [such as] AFC Leopards and Gor Mahia. I feel it is my responsibility to protect them, and we’ll use everything in our power, including legal means, to ensure that we protect the business.

“In the meantime, we will ensure that we keep on engaging the authorities to that the business is back in operation.”

SportPesa is among the 27 betting firms in Kenya that the Government declined to renew their operating licenses on July 1 on allegations that they are yet to adhere to key requirements such as tax compliance.

Other betting giants locked out of business are Betin and Betway, which alongside SportPesa control at least 85 per cent of the Kenyan market.