BangBet to continue operating as fight over trademark persists

At the centre of the legal dispute are allegations of the government's betting regulator issuing parallel licences to the rival entities.

Justice Francis Gikonyo dismissed Rabow's application for an order to temporarily suspend or revoke the licence issued to Lucky Bus and Afreeken to trade under the name BangBet and further restraining them from engaging in the business of betting.

The licence was issued on January 21, 2025, by the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB). Rabow had also applied for a temporary order restraining the BCLB from issuing the two companies (Lucky Bus and Afreeken) with a parallel licence to engage in the gambling business under the name BangBet.

But Justice Gikonyo found that since the underlying dispute was with regard to the ownership of a trademark “BangBet”, the same had been addressed by Justice Alfred Mabeya through a ruling dated September 26, 2024.

In that ruling, the court had found that the trademark “BangBet” was registered in favour of Lucky Bus DMCC. Hence, the court at that time declined to issue an injunction to Rabow Company Ltd because it had not established a strong case.

"Other than claiming that they are holders of a licence to trade under ‘BangBet’, there are no fresh materials which may prompt the court to depart from the findings made on September 26, 2024," said the judge while declining to issue injunctive orders.

"In the absence of changed circumstances, it is not plausible to find that a right has been infringed and issue injunctive relief sought by the plaintiffs. Let the dispute on the trademark be fast-tracked so that the rights of the parties thereto are ascertained," said Justice Gikonyo.

Asking for the injunctive orders, Rabow stated that it holds a valid non-transferable license to trade under the name "BangBet" which remained in force until June 30, 2025.

Rabow said the issuance of another license to the two defendants for the same trade name was unlawful.

It said the decision of the BCLB to issue the defendants another license reeks of malice, compromise, and undue influence.

However, in its statement of defence BCLB confirmed that the defendants were previously operating illegally and that their proceeds constituted proceeds of crime.

BCLB said it was advised by the Attorney General that there was nothing in the court’s ruling and orders preventing it from considering the defendants’ application and issuing them with licenses if they complied with the requirements.

The court heard that the two companies had written to BCLB seeking to have their licenses amended to read “BangBet” and their public gaming license to be changed from "Bang Casino" to "BangBet Casino".

Rabow sought orders to stop the alleged illegal trade by the defendants on the basis that they were operating under the name "BangBet" without a valid license.

It stated that though on January 16, 2025, the court had barred the defendants from engaging in betting activities under the name "BangBet" and further froze their paybill numbers, on January 21 the BCLB allowed the two companies to trade under the said name.

In response, Lucky Bus and Afreeken argued that the court lacked the powers to deal with the application because the matter was not an appeal and that the court could not upset the BLCB's decision to issue a license.

Through the managing director of Afreeken David Kabue Gichuhi, they argued that the application was an attempt to re-litigate issues already determined by Justice Mabeya in the previous ruling.

They stated that the contested license was issued lawfully and transparently.

In addition, that Rabow had not demonstrated an illegality, malice, or impropriety. They said BCLB sat and deliberated on their application and issued the license under the Betting, Lotteries and Gaming Act.

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