Betika Kenya Review

The Kenyan sports betting market has been open for a few years now and bettors have massively found their locally owned sportsbooks. With a population of over 55 million, Kenya is one of the most interesting Anglophone countries in the world when it comes to online betting. This has resulted in both international operators acquiring a Kenyan gaming licence and local companies opening their business in East Africa. Betika is owned by Shop and Deliver Ltd, a Nairobi based company with Kenyan shareholders. In this Betika Kenya review we will share our thoughts if this operator has what it takes to compete with international brands looking for market share.

We have done so by taking all the factors into account that influence both a new and experienced player’s gaming experience. This means that we’ve gone through the bonuses, the website’s user friendliness, banking methods, and game offer at Betika. Like always, we’ll be straight to the point and won’t have any problems addressing weaker points that need to be improved. We’re here to help punters in Kenya understand Betika’s betting service and it’s up to you to decide whether this is the gaming website you’re looking for.

Betika welcome bonus

We have to say, Betika’s bonuses aren’t straightforward at all and we haven’t yet seen other operators being so vague about what their welcome package looks like. The way the promos are presented are in fact a bit mysterious, to say the very least. We therefore went ahead and contacted Betika’s support desk, hoping their assistance would clarify some things here. Contacting support was far from efficient and their very slow customer support agents didn’t seem very confident about their answers, but here’s what we’ve been told:

No-deposit Registration Bonus

This is indeed a welcome bonus awarded to new customers of 20 KSH, but this promo is not listed anywhere on the website. You’ll only find the promo if you go to the help centre which is basically a separate web page. The good thing about this bonus is that it doesn’t require a deposit which is usually the case at other casinos or sportsbooks we come across.

First Deposit Cash Bonus

This is a bonus for customers making their first deposit of 99 KSH or more where Betika will refund the transaction charges as a bonus. The first deposit cash bonus has to be used to place a bet with total odds of 9,99 KSH or more. If the bet is won, cash prizes can be redeemed and withdrawn. No wagering requirements are mentioned.

Terms & Conditions

• The bonus is only available for customers with a Safaricom telephone number.
• To check the bonus amount you are entitled to, send BONUS to 29090 or dial *644# and select the My Account option.
• The other terms and conditions mentioned on the website are inconclusive.

About Betika

Betika is a Kenyan bookmaker that started its business in 2016 in Nairobi and expanded its gambling services to other Anglophone countries in Africa like Ghana and Nigeria. Across the African continent, Betika is a very well known bookmaker and with English speaking countries like Tanzania being added as new markets, it has managed to quickly expand its services. Reaching out to customers via their website, mobile app, and betting offices have turned out to be a very successful formula for this Nairobi based gaming company.

Licenced by the BCLB

Betika is owned by Shop and Deliver limited and licenced by the Betting Control and Licensing Board of Kenya. Betika can be found under the Betting, Lotteries and Gaming Act, Cap 131, Laws of Kenya with licence number 784. Betika also sponsors the Kenyan national football league and is the main sponsor of Sofapaka, a football club from Wundanyi.

Betika Builder

Bet builders are getting a hold on African punters who highly enjoy the opportunity to combine different elements and build their own bets. This is certainly the case for Kenya and with Betika’s so-called Shikisha Bet, customers can easily create a multibet. Shikisha Bet will let you decide to choose one match and bet on elements like which players will score, how many yellow and red cards or corners the game will have, if there will be a penalty kick and which team will score first. You can bet on these markets in one or multiple games. This comes in very handy when there are not enough games to wager on. The maximum bet is 20,000 KSH and the maximum number of selections you can make in the bet builder is set at 20.

Via the website

The online option is probably the one a lot of punters would go for, but there are still a lot of players in Kenya that prefer to save some data and opt for the mobile channel instead of going to the website and building their bets there. We find the online form to be a lot more straightforward as it can be accessed by going to the Shikisha Bet-option that you will find in the header menu. In order to place multiple bets you’ll just need to select the games and elements you want to bet on and add them to your bet slip. Make sure to check all the odds before you confirm your real money bet. Works pretty well, we have to say.

Via mobile

At Betika you can also bet offline by using your mobile phone and dialing *644#. This option will make you bet live on both live matches or before a match has been kicked off. The mobile feature comes in handy if you’re low on data. Betika Kenya also works with a convenient SMS platform that provides you with pretty much the same services as found on the website. From signing up to, staking, depositing, withdrawing, checking the sports calendar and odds, to placing jackpot bets; they’re all there. This is definitely something we highly enjoy as Betika shows some alternative, but easy to understand options of building a bet.

Cash out feature

The Kenyan betting firm also offers a Cash Out feature that allows punters to settle their bets before the sports event has finished to either secure profits or mitigate further losses. The Cash Out feature gives you the opportunity to request an early payout on your bets before they are settled, meaning you will be able to cash out even before the sports event has been concluded. Of course this will mean that any profits you want to lock in will be a bit lower than usual. Cash out features have become increasingly popular in recent years and we find it very positive that Betika lets players choose to make a cash out if they feel the need to.

Mobile Betting App

We’ve got some good news for mobile users wanting to bet online. In addition to the mobile website and the sms services, there are also dedicated mobile apps for both Android and iOS users. The Android app isn’t available in the Google Play store, but can be downloaded via the site, as Android is a lot stricter with gaming related apps than iOS. This also means that iOS-users can download the app directly from the Appstore. Both apps are optimised for mobile usage to offer players the same services such as the ones on the web platform.

Depositing Money

Once you sign up with your mobile phone number, the next step would be to deposit your funds. Bear in mind that the minimum amount you can deposit is 50 KSH and there are a few ways of going about this. After your registration at Betika Kenya has been confirmed, you can easily top up your Betika account by selecting Safaricom’s M-Pesa and following the steps shown in your screen. This Nairobi based betting company has a pay bill number for both deposits and withdrawals. The same holds for Airtel Money which is basically the same service as M-Pesa, but for another provider, Airtel. A lot of African players use their mobile phone number for both betting and depositing money and this without a doubt the most efficient way for most punters in Kenya to sign up, deposit money, and start playing.

Live streaming

Punters who want to boost their betting experience will need a live streaming service as this will make betting even more interactive. Betika is one of the few sportsbooks in Africa that offers a live streaming service although it failed to load as we were trying to watch a live match. The live streams are a bit hidden and can be found by going to More > Betika TV. Hopefully other players will have a better experience with their Betika TV service.

Why should you place bets with this bookmaker?

Betika sportsbook has been active in Kenya since 2016 and they’re considered the number two of the Kenyan market. With about 5 years of experience in the Kenyan sports betting market they are considered one of the most competent bookmakers in the country.

• Large assortment: Betika’s sportsbook gives players in Kenya all the options they would want to bet on sports, including both domestic and international sport events.
• Live streams: although it didn’t work at the time of our review, the live streaming service gives players the opportunity to enjoy the best of live sports action.
• Bet builder: Betika’s sportsbook allows its players to build their own bets by following either the mobile steps or heading to the Shikisha bet option on the website.
• Easy deposits and withdrawals: payments can be made by both M-Pesa or Airtel Money. These are the two most popular payment methods in Kenya.
• Kenyan licence: Betikabet’s owner Shop and Deliver Limited is fully licenced by BCLB and has been around since 2016.
• Cash out feature: this feature will make you get a portion of your initial bet back, which gives players the opportunity to secure at least a part of the stake.

Online Casino

You’ll only find 55 games in the online casino which is quite a disappointing number for players that are looking for both a sportsbook and online casino under one roof. Interestingly, the quality of the casino games listed in the casino lobby aren’t too bad. In addition to a few table games like Baccarat and Blackjack, you’ll find well-known games like Pragmatic Play’s Wolf Gold, John Hunter and the Tomb of the Scarab Queen, and Big Bass Bonanza. We would clearly like to see some more games to be added here as you’ll probably understand.

Live Casino

Betika doesn’t offer a live casino which isn’t a big surprise as their online casino is very limited as well. This website is mainly focussed on sports betting and casino products are a sideshow for this operator. Before thinking of adding online and live casino products they will need to enhance their sportsbook first as their main business product lacks the quality one would hope for. Maybe someday they will have a platform that can also handle a live casino.

Poker

There are no poker rooms available at Betika Casino and you won’t find any poker games or video poker games in the online casino lobby. Poker fanatics will need to look for other options if they want to find games that suit their poker related needs.

Betika Bonuses: what to expect?

Although Betika Casino works with really strange bonuses that we haven’t seen before, it has quite a few jackpot choices and is arguably the most affordable option for players in Kenya. We’ll take a closer look at some of the bookmaker’s jackpots:

Weekly jackpot

Betika’s 100,000,000 Grand Jackpot is the biggest jackpot in Kenya which explains its major popularity across the country. The Grand Jackpot is a weekly jackpot with a 100,000,000 Kenyan Shillings jackpot prize for correctly predicting the scores of 17 selections from different leagues across the world. In order to play for this jackpot you will need to make wagers of at least 99 KSH. In addition, Betika also offers:

• A 15 million midweek jackpot for 15 KSH and 15 games.
• A 1 million daily Sababisha jackpot for 20 BOB or a 500,000 jackpot for 10 BOB.

How it works and terms & conditions

• Predict the score of 17 selections correctly with 99 KSH and play along for the jackpot.
• You can bet on as many jackpot bets as you want.
• You can’t cancel any jackpot bets once they have been placed.
• Unfortunately, the other terms & conditions aren’t very clear and the customer support service didn’t have any clear answers either. The help centre does answer most questions and we recommend you to check this page out for more info.

Customer Support

Betika’s support desk is available via email, live chat, рhоnе, social media, and at the land based betting office in Nairobi. Those are the exact options we were hoping for and it doesn’t get any more complete than this. We enjoyed that the Betika is also very open about its social media channels, including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. We contacted the customer support desk via the live chat service to ask them some questions about the bonus terms and conditions, but we didn’t find them to be very professional. Unfortunately, the live chat box wasn’t working well as it was slow, giving us some error messages. The customer support agent with the user name “AC” (really?) joined the chat, started typing, to leave us waiting for another 5 minutes before giving us incomplete answers without even saying “Hi”. The same customer support agent also left the chat several times, without notifying us or asking if we had other questions. Unfortunately this happened a few times, making this probably the worst experience of our casino review team with an online customer service desk so far. We haven’t tried email nor have we gone to their shops.

Payment Options

Both deposits and withdrawals can be made with M-Pesa and Airtel Money, which should

be enough for most Kenyan bettors as these are the payment methods nearly everyone uses in the country. This also means you won’t be able to use credit cards or other e-wallets like Paypal or Trustly. In order to use M-Pesa (Safaricom) or Airtel Money (Airtel) you will need to have a local phone number and open either a M-Pesa or Airtel Money account. Once you’re set up it works pretty straightforward although small transaction fees can occur.

Summary

100% first deposit Cash backup

Visit Website! >Visit Website!

T&Cs apply