Betting firm Sportpesa Kenya has fired 400 workers indicating that it could no longer afford their salaries.
In a meeting held on Wednesday, Sportpesa Kenya CEO Ronald Karauri informed the employees that their services were no longer needed by the betting giants.
‘’We have been keeping our employees on the payroll without generating revenue. It is really sad, but this is something that we have to do,’’ Said Mr. Karauri
He added that the government’s decision to impose an additional tax of 20% on revenues led to Sportpesa Kenya’s business model collapsing.
‘’With the new tax regime, our business model has collapsed. The tax regime we have in our industry is meant to control how the local players operate, and can result in our business becoming completely noncompetitive because foreign firms operating online are not subject to the same rules. Additionally, it will lead to the diversion and loss of revenue to offshore accounts due to people using foreign firms to generate more cash from their bets on those platforms,’’ he Said.
Mr. Karauri also added that they are still in court over trying to get their operating license back. For the last three months, Sportpesa Kenya has been battling with the taxman in contest of the government’s decision to to withdraw its licence.
