SportPesa makes Kenyan comeback as High Court grants “stay of execution”

SportPesa has successfully relaunched to Kenyan players following the temporary reinstatement of its Kenyan sports betting licence by the Kenyan Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB). A statement on the firm’s Kenya-facing Twitter account confirmed the comeback, drawing many positive comments from Kenyan sports bettors.

@KorosW Good evening to you, Yes, we have restored all our services.
You can now withdraw money, deposit and play on your favorite games in our sportsbook and casino offering.
We appreciate the patience you accorded us and your unwavering support.
^fd

— SportPesa Kenya (@SportPesa) November 24, 2020

The operator began accepting bets again on Wednesday after Kenya’s High Court ruled an injunction preventing prospective parent company Milestone Games from using the SportPesa brand was invalid. In October, BCLB officials banned Milestone from using SportPesa’s brand and web domains on the grounds that both were owned by Pevans East Africa Limited, the parent company behind SportPesa prior to its licence suspension in July. However, representatives from Milestone filed a legal challenge against the injunction, providing evidence that the SportPesa trademark belonged to SportPesa Global Holdings Limited. “The impugned decisions were arrived at in an opaque and arbitrary manner and there is no explanation for the adverse measures that were chosen and what criteria guided the process,” representatives from Milestone claimed. “It is not true that the trademark SportPesa belongs to M/S Pevans East Africa Limited and this information was communicated to the respondent (BCLB),” the High Court ruling stated. “The applicant has further received confirmation that M/S Pevans East Africa Limited does not own the said trademark as alleged by the respondent from the letter,” court papers read. In the wake of the ruling, the BCLB has been forced to give Milestone leave to operate the SportPesa brand by reinstating its licence, albeit on a temporary basis, with judges describing the leave granted as a “stay of execution”.

@Henry52632448 It is our intention to stay for good. ^WN

— SportPesa Kenya (@SportPesa) November 25, 2020

SportPesa has not responded to a request for comment after being approached by EGR.