SportPesa CEO Ronald Karauri as cleared the air in terms of the proposed 50% tax on the gaming firms, saying it doesn’t affect winners at all.

Karauri who was speaking at the Unveiling of the Winner of the SportPesa Mega JackPot at Carnivore said that the proposed 50% tax only applies to betting firms directly and not the winners.

“We understand that the government proposed a 50% tax on all gaming firms but we appealed because the amount is too high for us. If the government kicks of the proposal's tax on January 18 many of us will suffer and therefore we don’t want to reach that point. Also, the 50% applies directly to the betting firms and not winners,” said Karauri.

He added that the tax does not affect winners as it is directly imposed on the gross profit of the betting firms.

Read Also:SportPesa unveils the winner of Sh221 million Mega Jackpot (VIDEO)

Karauri was happy that they have the first winner of the Mega Jackpot since it was started last year in September.

The winner Samuel Abisai revealed that he plays the mid-week JackPot games and he used two hundred to place a bet that gave him the Sh221 million.

Abisai advised those who are in the betting industry not to give up, as their time will also come.

However, Karauri said they have appealed to the government to review the heavy tax so that they can continue to support Kenyans at different levels.

Read Also:The winner of SportPesa Meja Jackpot reveals what he will do with the Sh221 million

Currently, SportPesa is the Sponsors of the Kenya Premier League, The Rugby sevens team, the SportPesa All Stars plus the Kenyan boxing team.