The National Lottery Board today announced the appointment of a Transaction Advisor to guide the procurement of Kenya’s first National Lottery Operator.
Led by RSM Eastern Africa in partnership with QLOT Consulting of Sweden, the consortium will work with the Board from transaction structuring through to operator onboarding and launch readiness.
Making the announcement, National Lottery Board Chairperson Dr. Farida Karoney assured Kenyans that the Board is going to deliver a national lottery that meets the internationally recognized standards.
“Today marks a defining milestone on Kenya’s journey toward a National Lottery of our own. A lottery built on trust. Run to the highest international standards. And dedicated, by law, to good causes for the Kenyan people,” said Dr. Karoney.
Noting that the appointment culminated from an open international tender conducted under the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015, Dr. Karoney said the consortium emerged as the highest-ranked and most responsive bidder.
“It was evaluated using the Quality and Cost Based Selection methodology — which means both technical quality and price were scored, and quality carried real weight,” she said, adding: “The process was rigorous, transparent and contestable.”
“Every bidder had access to the remedies the law provides. The consortium we are announcing today emerged as the highest-ranked and most responsive bidder. We took this care deliberately. The integrity of the National Lottery must begin with the integrity of how we build it,” she stated.
She said RSM Eastern Africa boasts of depth in transaction advisory and institutional strengthening across Kenya’s public sector.
An Associate Member of the World Lottery Association, QLOT Consulting brings internationally benchmarked experience from the world’s most sophisticated lottery procurements, she pointed out.
“The assignment includes a structured knowledge-transfer programme, so that expertise is retained within the Board,” she said.
“The appointment of a credible, multidisciplinary Transaction Advisor is a defining step in building a National Lottery that Kenyans can trust. It is a statement of intent— that our National Lottery will be structured transparently, governed responsibly, and built to international best practice, with every shilling raised channelled toward good causes that uplift communities across the country,” Dr. Karoney pointed out.
The Board is established under the National Lottery Act, No. 20 of 2023 with a dedicated mandate: to establish, oversee and safeguard Kenya’s National Lottery, to procure and contract its Operator, and to administer the National Lottery Fund.
The licensing and regulation of gaming in Kenya more broadly rests with the Gambling Regulatory Authority established under the Gambling Control Act, No. 14 of 2025. The Operator will be licensed within that framework while remaining contractually accountable to the Board — two mandates that are distinct and complementary.
At the centre of the National Lottery is not the games but what it funds, Dr. Karoney said.
After prizes and the cost of running the lottery, proceeds are paid into the National Lottery Fund and dedicated by law to good causes: charitable and humanitarian work, economic empowerment for young people and women, sports, the arts and creative economy, national heritage, health and education, emergency response, and transformative national projects.
In practice, that means backing grassroots sporting talent, helping young people earn from their skills and their creativity, and investing in community projects countrywide. Funds will be disbursed from the National Lottery Fund in accordance with published rules, shared fairly across the country, audited independently, and reported openly.
Responsible gaming will be designed into the National Lottery rather than added to it, with age verification, play and spend controls, self-exclusion, disciplined advertising and clear disclosure of odds embedded in the Operator’s obligations.
“I am conscious that many Kenyans have real concerns about gambling and its effects, particularly on young people. Those concerns are legitimate and we do not dismiss them. Responsible gaming will be a design principle of this lottery, not an afterthought,” she added.
The Board’s attention now turns to structuring a transparent, competitive process to attract a credible Operator. Timelines will be published in due course; the Board will not trade rigour for speed.
