SportPesa is without a doubt Kenya’s biggest and most successful sport betting company.
It is also tipped to be Kenya’s first company to go global, after signing a shirt sponsorship deal with English Premier League side Hull City, and a partnership deal with Southampton FC.
This was on top of another partnership deal with Arsenal.By signing the deals with English clubs, SportPesa is preparing the groundwork for their entry into the UK betting market.
By signing the deals with English clubs, SportPesa is preparing the groundwork for their entry into the UK betting market.
According to CEO Ronald Karauri, they will also be starting operations in several African countries later this year, hoping to be on 4 continents in the next few years.
According to sources who spoke to the Business Daily on condition of anonymity, SportPesa grosses a daily average of one million users placing bets averaging Sh100.
This is besides the 300,000 gamblers who play the jackpot daily. By that calculation, SportPesa has a daily revenue of about Sh130 million.
Not too bad considering their initial investment in 2014, into the then startup was just Sh400 million.
According to the Wall Street Journal and other research, between 70 and 90% of gamblers lose their money in any one bet.
So, on the lowest side, SportPesa keeps Sh91 million daily. That translates to over Sh2.7 billion a month.
Since their business is largely online, they do not need a large number of permanent staff, leaving the bulk of the money to be used in marketing.
That explains why they sponsor virtually all major sporting tournaments in Kenya and have now ventured into the UK.
So, who really owns SportPesa?
9 people have individual shares in the betting company. 5 Kenyans, 3 Bulgarians, and 1 American.
The top shareholders are American Gene Grand, Bulgarian Guerassim Nikolov, and Kenyan Asenath Wacera. Each of them holds 21%.
Guerassim Nikolov was the brains behind First Lotto Ltd which ran the Toto 6/49 competition. He served as SportPesa’s first CEO.
This is also not Asenath’s first attempt at betting. She was the brains behind Shinda Smart 6969 – 90 Millionaires in 90 Days.
Businessman Paul Wanderi Ndung’u owns 17%, while current SportPesa CEO Ronald Karauri – son of former Tigania MP Mathew Adams Karauri and ex-Kenya Airways pilot owns 6%.
Paul Wanderi is a big investor in the NSE. He is among the top 10 investors in several listed companies among them Kenya Airways, Housing Finance and Olympia. He is also the top Uchumi individual shareholder.
Mr. Wanderi also owns a series of Forex bureaus, phone dealerships (Mobicom), construction equipment and investment firms.
Two other Bulgarians own less than 5% each.
Here’s the full list.
In 2014, PriceWaterhouseCoopers estimated the total revenue from gambling to be Sh1.98 billion. Fast forward two years later, SportPesa alone has annual revenues exceeding Sh30 billion.
With many players in the industry, the total annual gambling revenue in Kenya is expected to reach Sh50 billion soon.
Source: Nairobi Wire
