Betting app notifications in Kenya: the advertising rules and how to switch them off

A banner slides down from a betting app with news of a jackpot or boosted odds. Kenyan law treats that banner much as it treats a billboard or a radio spot: as an advertisement. This guide sets out the rules that apply, what such a message may not say, and how to stop it on Android and on iPhone.

The store rules sit on top of Kenyan law. The listing side is covered in the guide on whether betting apps are allowed on Google Play in Kenya.

Is a push notification an advert under Kenyan law?

The Gambling Control (Advertising) Regulations, 2026 are Legal Notice No. 114 of 2026, made under sections 87(3) and 119(2)(j) of the Gambling Control Act, 2025. Regulation 2 defines an advertisement as any form of communication that promotes or is intended to promote participation in a gambling activity, whether by print, broadcast, outdoor, electronic or digital media. A push notification is a digital message, so whether it is an advert depends on what it says.

The Regulations as gazetted never use the words "push notification". On their plain wording, a message about odds, a jackpot, a new game or an offer promotes participation, so it is an advertisement. A message that only confirms your own withdrawal, a password change or a login code promotes nothing and sits outside that wording.

Section 87(1) of the Act adds the approval rule. No person may, without the approval of the Authority, promote the advertisement of a gambling activity on an electronic medium or any other form of communication. Regulation 5 repeats the rule and requires the application at least seven days before the advert is due to start.

What a betting push message may not say

Regulation 9 lists what no gambling advertisement may do, whatever the medium. Regulation 6(1)(a) adds that a licensee's adverts must be directed only to classes of persons the Authority approves, including verified adult audiences. The table sets the main content rules against a typical phone notification.

Regulation 9(h) keeps gambling adverts off television and radio from six in the morning to ten at night, except during a live sporting event. Regulation 9(i) keeps them off billboards close to learning institutions. Neither placement rule names phones or apps, so for a push message the content rules carry the weight.

Section 74(1)(b) of the Act separately stops a licensee from making an offer designed to induce people to gamble or to gamble more. Section 74(3) still allows free bets and bonus bets in the ordinary course of business, so an offer in a notification is not banned as such. It still has to meet every rule in the table.

What an approved advert has to show

Regulation 8(c) lists the details every approved advert must carry. They start with the licence number, a responsible gambling message that includes "gambling is addictive" or "play responsibly", and the licensee's name and address. The advert must also show a customer-care number, a toll-free helpline or counselling website, and the words "authorized and regulated by the Gambling Regulatory Authority".

The Regulations make no exception for short formats such as a lock-screen banner. A promotional push that carries none of these details is a reason to check the app before you act on it. The guide to the signs of a fake or clone betting app walks through that check.

Approval, monitoring and penalties

Under regulation 7(1), a licensee forwards approved adverts in electronic form to the Kenya Film Classification Board for classification before any distribution. Under regulation 13, the Authority monitors all media channels and may direct a licensee to withdraw or amend non-compliant material immediately. Licensees must keep copies of all adverts and their approval records for at least three years.

Regulation 14 makes publishing an unapproved or prohibited gambling advert an offence, with a fine of up to one million shillings, up to six months in prison, or both. A breach of section 87 of the Act carries a fine of up to KES 20 million, up to 20 years in prison, or both, under section 87(4).

Self-exclusion and marketing messages

Self-exclusion is meant to end the marketing. Section 115(4)(b) of the Act requires a licensee, as soon as practicable, to take all reasonable steps to keep marketing material away from a self-excluded customer. Section 115(4)(c) requires it to remove your name, contact information and other details from its marketing databases within two days of receiving the completed self-exclusion notification.

Regulation 70(5)(c) of the Gambling Control (Conduct of Gambling Operations) Regulations, 2026 covers people entered in the Authority's self-exclusion register. A person on that register may not receive promotions or marketing material from a licensee. The responsible gambling page explains how self-exclusion works and where to find help.

What Apple and Google add

Apple's App Review Guideline 4.5.4 allows promotional push notifications only after you explicitly opt in through consent language shown in the app. The app must also give you a way inside it to opt out of those messages. The wider rules for betting apps on iPhone are in the guide to App Store rules for betting apps in Kenya.

On Android 13 (API level 33) and higher, an app needs a runtime permission called POST_NOTIFICATIONS to post most notifications. Google's developer documentation says that when you install an app on such a phone, its notifications are off by default until the app asks and you tap Allow. What the other permission requests mean is set out in the guide to betting app permissions.

How to switch off betting app notifications

Both systems let you silence one app without touching the others. Google's help page notes that settings can vary by phone, so the menu names on your device may differ slightly from the table.

If an Android app splits its messages into categories, you can turn off some and keep others, such as alerts about your own account. On iPhone, the same Notifications screen lets you set Show Previews to Never for one app, so its text stays off the Lock Screen.

Turning off an app's notifications controls only what that app posts on the phone. Promotional SMS or e-mail from the same operator travel by other channels, so the phone setting does not reach them. For those, use the operator's marketing settings or self-exclusion.

What this guide does not cover

This guide does not assess any operator's messages, and it does not cover the general rules on SMS and e-mail marketing. It reads the Regulations as gazetted and the Apple and Google pages as published in October 2026. If an advert looks non-compliant, regulation 13(1) names the Authority as the body that monitors gambling advertising.