NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 20 – The National Lottery Board has appointed a consortium led by RSM Eastern Africa and Sweden-based QLOT Consulting as transaction adviser for the establishment of Kenya’s first National Lottery.
Board Chairperson Dr Farida Karoney announced the appointment on Thursday during a media briefing in Nairobi, saying the consortium had emerged as the highest-ranked bidder following an open and competitive international tender.
Karoney said the procurement process was conducted in accordance with the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, with bids evaluated using the Quality and Cost Based Selection method, which considers both technical quality and cost.
“The consortium we are announcing today emerged as the highest-ranked and most responsive bidder,” Karoney said, describing the process as rigorous, transparent and competitive.
RSM Eastern Africa will provide expertise in transaction advisory, governance and institutional strengthening, as well as knowledge of Kenya’s public-sector, legal and fiscal environment. QLOT Consulting, an associate member of the World Lottery Association, will bring international lottery-sector expertise, including experience in national lottery procurements.
The consortium will advise the Board through the planned procurement of Kenya’s first National Lottery operator. Its mandate will cover concession structuring, legal advisory, financial modelling, technical and cybersecurity standards, market engagement, bid evaluation, contracting and financial close.
Karoney said the engagement would also prioritise knowledge transfer and strengthening the Board’s internal capacity.
“We are not buying advice; we are building capability,” she said, adding that expertise acquired during the engagement should remain within Kenya after the advisers complete their assignment.
She said the future National Lottery operator would be licensed and supervised under Kenya’s regulatory framework while remaining contractually accountable to the Board for the integrity and performance of the lottery, as well as compliance with good-causes obligations.
Karoney said proceeds from the lottery, after payment of prizes and operating costs, would be channelled into the National Lottery Fund to finance public-benefit programmes.
The programmes are expected to support charitable and humanitarian causes, economic empowerment, sports, arts and culture, national heritage, health and education, emergency response and transformative national projects.
The Board plans to introduce rules-based allocation, independent auditing, competitive assessment and public reporting to promote accountability in the management of the Fund. Karoney said the framework would also seek to ensure geographical equity so that communities across the country benefit from lottery proceeds.
Responsible gaming will also be incorporated into the design of the National Lottery. Proposed safeguards include age verification, play and spending limits, self-exclusion mechanisms, transparent advertising, disclosure of odds and prizes, as well as public education and research on gambling-related harm.
The Board will now work with the transaction adviser to structure a transparent and competitive process for selecting a credible National Lottery operator.
It said details of the operator-procurement timeline would be published in due course but did not provide a launch date or disclose the expected contract value. The Board also did not identify potential bidders for the operator contract.
