When SportPesa was pushed out of the market, Ekabet recruited former SportPesa employees with very good terms of service coupled with high salaries. They had assumed they will inherit SportPesa’s market share. The employees received huge salaries for only a few months and later they started experiencing late salaries, and as things stand now, some have gone without salaries for two months and with no signs of getting November salaries. The greatest fear is that the company could go down with gamblers’ money running into millions of shilling
When the former Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiangi ordered the Betting and Licensing Board to only license betting firms that are tax compliant, the directive was targeted at specific betting companies, a source has told The Weekly Vision. Some of the betting firms were considered a threat to politically connected betting firms which were then struggling to get hold of the market share in Kenya’s multi-billion shillings betting industry.
It was however noticed that some power brokers within the corridors of power were only interested in kicking out SportPesa which was the most popular betting platform in the country controlling over 80 per cent of the market. True to their bad intentions, SportPesa was pushed out of the market and new players emerged. One such firm is Ekabet which is owned by a powerful clique close to former Uhuru Kenyatta and his administration. Investigations reveal that Ekabet was pushed into the market despite having failed to fulfil all the conditions which had been set by the Betting and Licensing Board.
The sources divulged to us that Ekabet is owned and run by the larger family of Mount Kenya University founder and Chairman Simon Gicharu. It is claimed that Gicharu and his larger family through their connections with Dr Matinag’i ventured into the gambling business through Ekabet. Although SportPesa was pushed out of the market ostensibly to create room for government-friendly firms, all is not well at Ekabet which is said to be on the verge of collapse. According to impeccable sources well versed in the operations and management of Ekabet, the company is unable to settle employees’ salaries.
When SportPesa was pushed out of the market, Ekabet recruited former SportPesa employees with very good terms of service coupled with high salaries. They had assumed they will inherit SportPesa’s market share.
The employees received huge salaries for only a few months and later they started experiencing late salaries, and as things stand now, some have gone without salaries for two months and with no signs of getting November salaries. The greatest fear is that the company could go down with gamblers’ money running into millions of shilling.
Apart from late or non-payment of salaries, we have also gathered that Ekabet is even struggling to pay certain wins and eventually, some promises and even Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) events they had promised have been cancelled without notice. Sources say Ekabet will soon close shop because the operational costs outweigh the profits it is making hence not able to pay salaries and even wins.
Investigations further reveal that Ekabet is in bad books with Kenya Revenue Authority as they are struggling to meet KRA’s obligations and other delayed mandatory payments.
