Betting firm SportPesa on Tuesday took the State to court demanding compensation for the losses incurred since its pay-bill numbers and SMS short codes were suspended.
SportPesa also demanded reactivation of the two services whose closure has crippled its operations.
“Honourable court be pleased to award the petitioner damages for the lost business and breach of fundamental rights,” the company petitioned the court as reported by Business Daily.
However, High Court judge Weldon Korir dismissed their demands but directed telecommunication service providers and the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) to issue a response to affected gaming companies.
“The order to unfreeze paybill numbers will amount to determining the contempt application without giving a hearing to the betting board; I will therefore not issue any of the orders sought, it’s only just that BCLB, Safaricom and Airtel are given time to respond,” said Justice Korir.
The betting giant expressed its disappointment with how the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) has handled the tax tussle.
In a statement by Chief Executive Officer Ronald Karauri last week, the company expressed disappointment over the decision to block the shortcodes for deposit and withdrawal despite exiting court order.
"We are tax compliant and we will work with key stakeholders to ensure everything is back to normal," said the statement published on SportPesa's official Twitter handle.