Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i has suffered another blow after the High Court lifted one of his directives.
In early May, the Betting Control and Licensing Board had directed that all gambling firms should avoid open-door advertising and prevented celebrities from endorsing the brands since they had a potential to become harmful to the consumer through addiction.
While delivering his ruling on Tuesday in a case file by a musician, Justice David Mativo declared the ban unconstitutional stating that it was tainted with illegality and unreasonableness.
“I hold that the applicant has satisfied the conditions for granting the orders sought,” Citizen Digital quoted Mativo.
The decision was also arrived at after the defendant failed to file a response and so the case went undefended.
The petitioner, Murugi Kamau Wanjohi, who goes by the stage name MC Moreydoc, argued that he earns a living by endorsing products, some in the betting industry.
Wanjohi further claimed that BCLB's directive was not preceded by public participation.
Defending its decision to suspend the advertisements, the board argued that it had a duty to regulate the betting industry and that all advertisers were to seek approval as well as carry warning messages in their ads.
“This board, therefore, a regulator has a duty to present its customers, members of the public, the young and the vulnerable,” the board explained.
The directive was to take effect on May 30, 2019.
