M-Pesa betting sites in Kenya: deposits, withdrawals and limits

Which betting sites accept M-Pesa in Kenya?

Sixteen of the eighteen bookmakers in the Scout Report list M-Pesa, and for most Kenyan punters it is the only payment method they will ever use. The two exceptions, Megapari and GoldPari, publish no Kenyan payment details at all on their public pages. With acceptance close to universal, the useful question is how each bookmaker handles M-Pesa money once it arrives, and that is what the rest of this page compares. Being in the ranking is not the same as being licensed: GoldPari, HelaBet, KessBet and Megapari print no licence number that could be found.

The ranking above weighs payments at a quarter of each score, alongside licence, offers, markets and mobile. A bookmaker can rank highly overall and still be a poor fit for a punter whose priority is withdrawing large sums, which is why the withdrawal limits further down are worth reading before choosing.

How M-Pesa deposits compare across bookmakers

Every ranked bookmaker takes M-Pesa by paybill, and most also offer an STK push, where the punter types an amount on the bookmaker’s site and M-Pesa sends a PIN prompt straight to the phone. The table shows the route and the published limits for each one.

#	Bookmaker	Paybill / reference	Deposit	Withdrawal
1	Betika	290290	Min KSh 10	Min KSh 50
2	betPawa	290020	Paybill (account PAWA) or STK push, min KSh 2	Not stated
3	Mozzart Bet	290059	Paybill (account: your phone number) or STK push; no M-Pesa minimum in T&C	Not stated
4	SportPesa	955100 or 5212121	Paybill (account: your phone number), USSD *790# or online	Not stated
5	OdiBets	290680	Paybill (account ODI) or STK push	Min KSh 100
6	1xBet	290011	KSh 40	KSh 100
7	SportyBet	590555	Paybill (account: your phone number) or STK push, min KSh 1	Min KSh 11, up to KSh 250,000 per transaction
8	Shabiki	290063	Paybill; account name SHABIKI in current FAQ; use registered M-Pesa number	Not stated
9	Radabet	4966000	Paybill (account: your phone number) or STK push, min KSh 10	KSh 11 to KSh 70,000 per transaction
10	ChezaCash	290030	Paybill (account: your mobile number), STK push or SMS D#Amount to 29030	Min KSh 50
11	Pepeta	779900	Paybill (account Pepeta) or USSD *457#	Min KSh 50, no withdrawal fee
12	22Bet	Not stated	KSh 100 general figure; cashier method limit applies	Minimum not confirmed
13	Yellowbet	Not stated	Min KSh 50	KSh 50–300,000
14	Melbet	Check cashier	Check cashier	Check cashier
15	KessBet	Not stated	Listed; method not stated	Min KSh 100
17	HelaBet	Check cashier	Available on Kenya homepage; limits in cashier	Check cashier

The STK push is the better route wherever it exists, because the bookmaker fills in the business number and account itself. The paybill is the fallback that works on any phone, with or without data. The paybill guide lists every number together with the account format each bookmaker expects, which is not always the phone number.

One rule applies across the board: the money should come from the M-Pesa line registered on the betting account. SportPesa, Radabet and Shabiki all state it on their own pages, and deposits from a second line or a family member’s phone are the ones most likely to go unmatched.

What is the minimum M-Pesa deposit at Kenyan betting sites?

The lowest published minimums are KSh 1 at SportyBet and KSh 2 at betPawa, followed by KSh 10 at Betika and Radabet. 1xBet asks for KSh 40 by M-Pesa (but only KSh 10 by Airtel Money), Yellowbet for KSh 50 and 22Bet for KSh 100. Mozzart’s terms say an M-Pesa deposit “has no limit”, and Pepeta’s pages show two different figures, KSh 10 and KSh 50. OdiBets, SportPesa, Shabiki, ChezaCash, KessBet, Melbet, HelaBet, Megapari and GoldPari publish no general minimum, and several of them point to the cashier instead.

A tiny minimum is less useful than it sounds. The 5% excise duty is taken on arrival, so KSh 10 sent leaves KSh 9.50 to bet, and bookmakers such as Mozzart and Radabet set a minimum stake of KSh 10, which means a KSh 10 deposit cannot cover a KSh 10 bet there. In practice the working minimum is closer to KSh 11 for a single KSh 10 stake, or KSh 52 for a KSh 49 jackpot ticket.

Low minimums do help one kind of punter: the one who wants to test a new bookmaker’s deposit and withdrawal before trusting it with real money. Depositing a small amount, placing one bet and withdrawing the balance shows how the bookmaker actually treats M-Pesa money, and it costs very little.

How to withdraw betting winnings to M-Pesa

Withdrawals go back to the M-Pesa number registered on the betting account, and they are requested from the bookmaker’s side, never from the M-Pesa menu. The usual route is the Withdraw option in the account menu on the site or app, where the punter enters an amount and confirms.

Three bookmakers in the Scout Report also take withdrawals by SMS, which suits basic phones. OdiBets accepts “W#Amount” sent to 29680, SportPesa “W#amount” sent to 79079 and Shabiki “W#Amount” sent to 29063, in each case from the registered number. Pepeta lists its USSD code, *457#, for withdrawals as well as deposits.

Each withdrawal loses 5% to withholding tax, and that 5% is worked out on the whole amount, stake included. Many small withdrawals therefore cost the same in tax as one large one, but they can cost more in carrier fees, which the section on charges covers.

How much can be withdrawn to M-Pesa at once?

Published ceilings on a withdrawal range from KSh 30,000 at Pepeta to KSh 300,000 at Betika and Yellowbet, and the gap between bookmakers is far wider than most punters assume. Only nine of the eighteen ranked bookmakers publish any withdrawal limit at all, and the table below sets out every one of them.

Bookmaker	Minimum	Maximum	Applies to
Betika	KSh 50	KSh 300,000	A withdrawal, from its site settings
Yellowbet	KSh 50	KSh 300,000	Not stated whether per transaction or per day
SportyBet	KSh 11	KSh 250,000	A transaction. Paid instantly up to KSh 70,000 a day
KessBet	KSh 100	KSh 150,000	A day, in total
Radabet	KSh 11	KSh 70,000	A transaction
Pepeta	KSh 50	KSh 30,000	A withdrawal, and KSh 200,000 a day
1xBet	KSh 100	Not published
OdiBets	KSh 100	Not published
ChezaCash	KSh 50	Not published

From each bookmaker’s own pages, its site settings or its record on this site (30 and 31 October 2026). M-Pesa itself caps a single transaction at KSh 250,000. The other nine bookmakers in the Scout Report publish no withdrawal limits.

Pepeta’s limits are the tightest of the ranked bookmakers: KSh 30,000 per withdrawal, KSh 60,000 an hour and KSh 200,000 in a day. Radabet allows up to KSh 70,000 per transaction. SportyBet allows KSh 250,000 per transaction, but its own FAQ says withdrawals are paid instantly only up to KSh 70,000 a day, which suggests larger amounts take longer. Betika’s site settings allow KSh 300,000 per withdrawal, and Yellowbet publishes the same ceiling, both more than M-Pesa itself will carry in one transaction. KessBet caps M-Pesa withdrawals at KSh 150,000 a day in total.

What M-Pesa itself allows

M-Pesa has its own ceilings, and they apply whatever the bookmaker allows. Safaricom caps a single transaction at KSh 250,000, daily transactions at KSh 500,000 and the M-Pesa balance at KSh 500,000. That last limit is the one that catches people out, because a punter cannot receive money into an M-Pesa wallet that is already close to full.

Withdrawing a big win

Large wins are rare, and most stakes return nothing, but it helps to know how the money would come out. Take a KSh 1,000,000 payout. After the 5% withholding tax, KSh 950,000 is left to withdraw. At Pepeta that means at least 32 withdrawals spread over five days. At Radabet it means 14 withdrawals, at KessBet at least seven days, and at SportyBet four withdrawals. At every bookmaker, M-Pesa’s own KSh 500,000 balance and daily limits mean the money takes at least two days, with some of it moved from M-Pesa to a bank account in between.

SportPesa handles this differently. Its terms say there is no set daily maximum, that withdrawals are limited only by the mobile operator, and that larger amounts are paid by bank transfer after identity checks. Awards above KSh 200,000,000 may be paid in four quarterly instalments. A jackpot winner at any bookmaker should expect an identity check before a large payout, and having a national ID and a bank account ready shortens the wait.

How fast are M-Pesa withdrawals?

Four of the ranked bookmakers make a published promise on speed. OdiBets says it processes withdrawals instantly, SportyBet says withdrawals are paid instantly up to KSh 70,000 a day, Yellowbet describes most payouts as instant subject to network delays and verification, and 1xBet puts mobile-money withdrawals at about 15 minutes. The others make no specific claim on their own pages, so any figure in hours quoted elsewhere for them is guesswork.

When a withdrawal is slow, the cause is usually one of three things: an account that has not finished verification, a withdrawal above the bookmaker’s instant limit, or an M-Pesa wallet that is near its KSh 500,000 cap. A withdrawal that stays pending for hours is worth raising with support, quoting the time and amount of the request.

Are there charges on M-Pesa betting deposits and withdrawals?

Tax is the main cost: 5% excise duty on every deposit and 5% withholding tax on every withdrawal, both deducted by the bookmaker. The betting tax guide works through what that does to a bet at different odds.

Transaction fees on top of tax vary by bookmaker. Radabet says its deposits are free, and Pepeta says it does not charge withdrawal fees. OdiBets says “additional carrier fees apply” on withdrawals, SportyBet says carrier fees may apply, KessBet says its withdrawal charges follow the mobile operators’ tariffs, and the rest publish nothing either way. The M-Pesa confirmation message shows any charge on each transaction, so a punter who wants to know the true cost of a bookmaker’s withdrawals can read it off the first one.

Why an M-Pesa deposit or withdrawal fails

Most failures come down to a handful of causes, and each has a simple fix:

• The STK prompt never arrives. The phone may be off the network or another M-Pesa request may still be open. Waiting a minute and then paying by paybill is quicker than retrying the prompt.
• The deposit came from the wrong line. Money sent from a number other than the registered one is often left unmatched until support traces it.
• The account number was wrong. If the money came from the registered number, it usually arrives anyway. The paybill guide covers what to do when it doesn’t.
• The withdrawal is above a limit, either the bookmaker’s or M-Pesa’s own.
• The account is not verified. Some bookmakers hold withdrawals until identity details are complete.

Whatever the cause, the M-Pesa confirmation message is the evidence support needs, so it should be kept until the money has arrived.

M-Pesa betting FAQ