Kenya’s Betting Control and Licensing Board director Peter Mbugi said a proposed law to change gaming regulation was awaiting its third reading in parliament. He said the legislation, which the board had sought to change since 2019, would establish a new authority to regulate gaming.
A new regulatory authority could change oversight arrangements for gaming companies operating in Kenya.
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Gambling advertising expenditure in Kenya fell 89% to Sh131 million in the first quarter of the 2025/26 financial year, according to a Communications Authority report. The decline followed restrictions introduced by the Betting Control and Licensing Board and the Kenya Film Classification Board, including a ban on celebrity and influencer endorsements. The report said betting companies had spent Sh1.2 billion in the final quarter of 2024/25.
Brazil’s Mixed Parliamentary Front for the Free Market issued a manifesto opposing the proposed CIDE-Bets tax and retroactive tax collection under the Anti-Faction Bill. It argued that the proposed 15% levy on user deposits could raise betting costs and encourage migration to illegal operators; it also opposed retroactive collection from legal entities and their representatives who operated fixed-odds betting through 31 December 2024.
Thailand’s government withdrew its proposed casino bill from parliamentary discussion ahead of a planned debate on Wednesday, saying it wanted to address public doubts. The move followed internal political tensions and a weakened coalition, according to the source material.
Brazil’s Free Market Parliamentary Front published a manifesto opposing a proposed rise in betting companies’ tax rate from 12% to 18%. The group said the change could raise the sector’s total tax burden to 56.25% where municipal service tax is 5%, and argued that higher costs could undermine licensed operations and reduce government revenue.
Canada’s Parliament was prorogued until 24 March after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau resigned and the governor general agreed to his request. Bill S-269, which passed the Senate in November and awaited its first reading in the House of Commons, would task the Canadian Heritage Minister with developing national gaming advertising standards. A BVGroup executive said the prorogation would delay the bill’s progress but not change the company’s strategy.