Sportsbetting in Kenya – How to start betting

Sports betting is a much-loved pastime for many Kenyans. There are few things that make a sports event more exciting than to bet a few Shillings on it. If you manage to win a bit it is even better. However, there is much to learn about how sports betting online works but luckily it is not that difficult to start playing. In this guide, you will learn everything about how to start sports betting in Kenya, how you create an account at a betting site, and how odds work. While it is mainly for new players, it still has a few bits and pieces that are more suitable for experienced players too.

Understanding the Basics of How to Start Betting

There are many pros to placing your bets on an online betting site rather than going to your local shop. One of the most obvious ones is the convenience. When you bet online you can place a bet at any time of the day without ever leaving your home. There is also an added layer of privacy and no one else needs to know about your betting.

Another positive of online betting in Kenya is the game selection. There are simply more betting alternatives when you bet online. While your local betting shop has limited options you can bet on, when you bet online the selection is almost unlimited. You can bet on football, basketball, cricket, and even e-sports.

For Kenyan players betting on Football is definitely the most popular alternative.

Setting Up an Account (For Kenyan Betting Sites)

To play at a Kenyan betting site you need to be at least 18 years old. The first step you need to do when you want to bet online is to find a Kenyan betting site that you want to play on. There are many things that make a good betting site – including game selection, payment methods, and trustworthiness. To find the best betting sites in Kenya we recommend that you read our casino reviews.

After you know which betting site you want to play at, it is time to create an account. Luckily it is quite easy to create an account at a Kenya betting site, but there are still a few steps to go through.

To create an account at a Kenyan betting site you just need to follow these steps:

• Visit the online betting site you want to play at and create an account.
• Click on the button for registering, it is usually found in the top-right corner of the betting site.
• After that, the casino will ask you for personal details. This can be anything from your name and address to your phone number. You will also be asked to create a password.
• After this, your account is created.

As you can see, it is very easy to create an account at a Kenyan betting site. The process works in a similar way on mobile as it does on desktop. At a later stage, you will also be required to submit some KYC documents. These are documents that further verify your identity and are standard at all betting sites and online casinos. It can be frustrating but what they do is technically ask you for a copy of your passport and for you to send proof of address, which can be in the form of a utility or phone bill.

How to deposit at a Kenyan betting site

After you have created an account you need to fund it. Depending on the betting site, there are different payment methods available. Many Kenyan players prefer depositing with Mpesa, and the following methods are also common at online betting sites in Kenya:

• Bank cards (VISA/Mastercard)
• eWallets (Skrill/Neteller)
• PayPal
• Mpesa

Many Kenyans also like to deposit with cryptocurrency and there are quite a few Bitcoin casinos and Ethereum casinos on the market. For more information about this, we recommend that you read our guide about Kenyan crypto casinos.

To deposit at a Kenyan betting site you just need to follow these steps:

• Login to your account. This is usually done with your phone number and password.
• After you are logged in you need to go to the cashier.
• From there you click “deposit”.
• After that, you need to choose your casino deposit method and how much you want to deposit. Different casinos have different minimum deposits.
• Sometimes you can already choose your bonus at this stage but at certain casinos, you do it later.
• After that, you follow the instruction

For more information about how to deposit with different methods, you can read our guide on deposit methods for Kenyan online casinos.

Understanding Casino Odds

Before we go to the part where you learn how to place bets on a Kenyan betting site we need to talk about what odds and betting are. Every betting market has odds which are what you as a player win if you predict the right outcome of a game. At the most basic level, we can take a football game. These games have separate odds depending on if the home team wins, the away team wins or the match finishes in a draw.

• Example: 1 (home win) has odds of 2.00. X (draw) has odds of 3.35. 2 (away win) has odds of 2.50.

As you can see home win is notated by the mark 1, away win with the mark 2 and draw with the mark X. To calculate how much you will win from your bet you just need to multiply the odds with your wager. The below example uses the odds mentioned earlier in this paragraph.

• Example: You bet on the home team to win and the odds are 2.00. You bet 1000 KES and the home team wins. 2 times 1000 is 2000 so you get 2000 KES back. 1000 KES of this is your original bet, while another 1000 KES is your profit.

If the match ends in a draw or home win you lose your wager. The whole thing is pretty simple. Worth mentioning is that if you divide the odds with 1 you will get the probability that the bookmaker thinks this result will take place (including a small house edge).

Accumulator bets

It is also possible to bet on several betting markets on the same bet slip. If you do that then you will just multiply the odds from all these markets with each other. For example, if you bet on three results that all have odds of 2 (2*2*2=8), the odds of the coupon will be 8. If you bet 1000 KES on this bet slip, and you predict the results correctly, you will win 8000 KES. 1000 of this money is your initial wager and 7000 KES is your profit. What you need to know is that it is much more difficult to predict three games right than it is to predict one game right.

Different type of betting markets

Betting on which team wins the match is not the only betting option you have. Each game usually has many more options for you to bet on. For example, in a football game, you can usually bet on the following markets:

• Amount of goals in the game
• Amount of goals in the first half
• Amount of goals in the second half
• Over/under a certain amount of goals
• Who is leading after the first half
• If both teams score
• If goals are made in both halves
• Goalscorers
• How many corners

There are usually many more options than this and it varies depending on which sport you bet on. For example, betting on basketball has totally different odds than betting on football.

Bet on score

Another popular bet is to bet what the result will be at the end of the match. These bets are much harder to get right than trying to predict who wins the game. However, that also means that the odds are usually much higher. With these sorts of betting objects, you are usually looking at odds at around 10. Below you can see an example that we took from a random Kenyan betting site.

Asian Handicap

Asian handicap is another very popular way of betting on sports. This basically gives one of the teams an advantage in the shape of extra goals. For example, the away team can have a handicap of 2. That means the home team has to score two extra goals to compensate for the handicap.

That means if you bet X (draw) on a game where the away team has a handicap of two, the match result needs to be either 2-0, 3-1, 4-2, or any other 2-goal win for you to win your bet. If you instead bet on the home team to win, they need to win by at least 3 goals for your bet to be successful.

Outright bets

With outright bets you bet on a whole competition instead of single matches. For example, it can be betting on who wins the Kenyan Premier League. You can place your wager at the beginning of the season or in the middle of the season. The odds will change during the season but the fun thing about this is that you can place a bet early in the season and follow the results over many matches. In other words, you will get a lot of entertainment for only a bet or two.

How to Place a Bet

So now it is time for the fun part – how do you place a bet at a Kenyan betting site? First, you need to go to the section for betting. Many Kenyan online casinos have different sections for online slots, live casino, and betting. However, it is usually quite easy to navigate between these sessions, and usually, you get access to them from a menu on the top of the screen or on the left-hand side.

When you are in the betting section it is time for you to choose what you want to bet on. You just click on the betting object and it will be added to your bet slip. The bet slip can usually be seen on the right-hand side of the screen. You can choose to add only one betting object but it is also possible to add more than that. Some Kenyan betting sites give better odds the more object you add to your list. This is called an accumulator bonus or “acca” bonus and it is very popular among players. Just remember that you need to get all your predictions right or you will lose your wager.

After you have chosen all your bets you enter how much you want to wager in the field below. When you have chosen your bet you just need to click “confirm” and your bet slip will be approved. Then you need to wait until the game has finished and if you win your money will be credited automatically to your account.

Step-by-step guide on how to place a bet at a Kenyan betting site:

• Create an account and log in to the betting site of your choice.
• Deposit money through any of the available payment methods.
• Go to the sports betting section.
• Choose the betting options you would like to make.
• Choose how much you want to wager.
• Confirm your bet by clicking “confirm”.

Betting Strategies Kenya

You might ask yourself if there are any ways you can increase your chance of winning on betting. There are actually players that consistently get a profit through sports betting, but we have to be honest with you – it is not easy. The likelihood that you will be a profitable sports bettor is very little.

However, there are still quite a few betting strategies you can use to get the most out of your money.

• Understand the Odds: Odds reflect the probability of an outcome. For example, odds of 2.0 mean there’s a 50% chance of that event happening. Betting sites include their margin (vigorish or vig) in the odds, and you need to find miscalculated odds to increase your chance of winning. Finding genuinely good odds consistently is a challenging task but is vital for long-term profitability.
• Betting Timing: Betting when odds are first released can be beneficial because betting sites may not have complete information, leading to potential errors in odds. However, if you bet a long time before the game the betting sites will give lower odds to compensate for potential errors. If you bet closer to the game starting you get better odds because the house advantage is smaller but the odds are also more accurate which makes it harder to find miscalculated odds.
• Live Betting:  Betting during a live match can be dynamic and exciting. Look for patterns and trends in the game that may not yet be reflected in the live odds. Note that the house edge might be higher in live betting than in pre-match.
• Betting Bonuses: Using bonuses extends your betting funds. However, be cautious about wagering requirements, which can make it hard to profit from bonuses. Later in this article, we will explain more about how betting bonuses work.
• Free Bets and No Deposit Bonuses: Such offers can be a sure way to win, but they are rare. Always check terms and conditions, especially withdrawal limits and wagering requirements.
• Find the best possible odds: We recommend shopping around for Kenyan betting sites giving you the best odds for each game. In that way, you can maximize your winnings and lower the house edge.
• Use accumulator bonuses: It is difficult to predict the result of the many games needed for an accumulator bet but the odds boost these give the player will minimize the house edge.

Betting bonuses and accumulator bonuses

So now it is time to look at what bonuses at Kenyan betting sites can look like. Using a betting bonus can be a good idea to get more value for your money. There are several different types of bonuses on Kenyan betting sites and now we are going to take a look at the most common ones.

Deposit bonus

Deposit bonuses are one of the most common bonuses on betting sites in Kenya. These can come in the form of a welcome bonus or a reload bonus. The welcome bonuses are given on your first deposit (or first few deposits) after you have registered an account. Reload bonuses can come at any time of your playing adventure.

With a deposit bonus, the online casino or betting site will give you a little bit of extra to play for when you deposit money.

• Example: The betting site gives you 100% extra up to 100,000 KES. This means you can deposit up to 100,000 KES and you will get 100,000 KES extra in bonus funds.

It sounds too good to be true that a casino just gives free money. Well, there are almost always wagering requirements you need to fulfill before you withdraw money. The wagering requirement can, for example, be 5 times the bonus amount. If you use the previously mentioned betting bonus to its fullest that means you will have to wager a total of 500,000 KES before you can make a withdrawal. The lower the wagering requirements – the better. There can also be other bonus terms you need to know about but you can read about all of these in our reviews of Kenyan betting sites.

Betting bonus without wagering requirements

Som betting bonuses actually do not have any wagering requirements at all. These are quite rare and in today’s case, they usually come in the form of a free bet. The casino simply gives you a little bit of free money to place a bet after you have made a deposit. For example, it can be 1000 KES that you can use for one bet and if you win you get to keep the money. This is also sometimes called a risk-free bet.

No deposit bonus for betting

No deposit bonuses are getting quite uncommon today, because technically this is a betting site giving out free money. A betting no deposit bonus is usually given after you first sign up. After you have created your account there will be a bit of bonus money waiting for you. Because these bonuses technically are free money there can be strict bonus terms to avoid bonus abuse. This can include a limit on how much you can win or limits on how much you can bet with an active bonus.

What you need to think of when you use a betting bonus

When you use a betting bonus it is very important to read the bonus terms. We do write about them in our betting site reviews which makes it easier for you to find the best betting bonuses in Kenya. However, it is always good to educate yourself on what makes a good bonus and what to look for in one.

Here is a list of the most important things to check when using a new bonus:

• What does the bonus give you?
• Check the wagering requirements of the bonus. Smaller bonus requirements are better.
• Which payment methods can you use the bonus with?
• Can you wager the bonus on all slot machines? More often than not, there is a list of games that the bonus cannot be wagered on.
• Is there a maximum win you can withdraw from the bonus?
• How much can you bet with an active bonus?

Tips for Safe and Responsible Gambling

In the majority of cases the betting site has a house edge. That means they will win in the long run which is why you as a player shouldn’t try to earn money while betting. Because of this, we recommend that you always play for fun and not for winning money.

Here is a list of things that show that you might have a problem with your gambling:

• You have trouble limiting your playing.
• You constantly think about games, whether it is previous games or your upcoming games.
• You constantly increase the amounts you bet.
• You gamble to escape reality.
• You lie to friends and family about how much you are betting.
• You are committing crimes or fraud to have money for gambling.
• You borrow money to gamble.

To help keep your betting within reasonable limits you can follow these tips and tricks:

• Keep a limit on how much you can wager per day or week, and stick to it.
• Keep a limit for how long you can play per day or week.
• Don’t play for more money than you can afford to lose.
• Don’t drink alcohol while betting. Because of alcohol, you might make choices you otherwise would not have had.
• Seek help from Gamblers Anonymous or other similar organizations.

If none of this works, you can make a self-exclusion at your online casino or betting site so you won’t be able to play for a certain time.

Conclusion

On this website, we are trying to give you all the information you need for gambling online in Kenya. This is our basic guide about how to start betting but if you continue navigating our website you will find many more in-depth articles. On our website, we also have reviews of the best Kenyan betting sites so you easily can find a new one. We hope this guide to betting in Kenya has given you the necessary information to start playing and do not hesitate to contact us with any questions or suggestions you might have.

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