Betting giant SportPesa has quietly ceded ownership following a recent transaction that has altered the ownership structure of Milestone Games Limited, the Kenyan holding company that operates the SportPesa brand.
At the center of the change is Commtech Consortium Ltd, a UAE-registered company that has acquired a 25% stake in Milestone Games, making it the company’s second-largest shareholder.
Business Registration Service records show that companies registered in the United Arab Emirates now hold a majority stake in Milestone Games, according to Business Daily.
That includes Ronald Karauri and Robert Macharia, the two men who founded SportPesa in 2014 and steered it through its rise to become Kenya’s best-known betting company.
Once firmly in control, the pair now hold just a sliver of the business they created, diluted to the margins as offshore entities have moved in.
Who Owns SportPesa Now
| Shareholder | Stake | Background |
| Techglow Ltd | 54.0% | UAE-registered (Ras Al Khaimah), holds shares through Nob Five Ltd |
| Commtech Consortium Ltd | 25.0% | Kenyan-registered, incorporated March 2023; owned by Dadson Wahagi Mugo (80%) and Elvis Charo Kitsao (20%) |
| White Hart Ltd | 11.6% | Owned by businessman Tom Waireri Thuo |
| Ronald Karauri | 3.0% | Co-founder and CEO; down from 13.4% |
| Robert Macharia | 0.75% | Co-founder and legal officer; down from a peak of 71%, and at one point 84% through holding companies |
Techglow Ltd, which controls a majority stake through an investment vehicle called Nob Five Ltd, has no website, no local presence, and no social media footprint.
Since Ras Al Khaimah’s free zone rules keep shareholding and directorship records private, it is currently impossible to establish who ultimately stands behind either Techglow or Commtech Consortium.
The SHA Connection
The story doesn’t stop at betting. Commtech Consortium, now SportPesa’s second-largest shareholder, was also a stakeholder in the KES 104.8 billion Social Health Authority (SHA) digital health platform.
It previously held 22.5% of Konvergenz Network Solutions, the company building and leasing that platform to the government.
Commtech has since quietly exited Konvergenz, transferring its stake to yet another UAE-registered firm, Starway Trading Ltd.
The overlap between a betting company and a major state health contract, both funneled through opaque offshore vehicles, has raised questions about whether these are genuine sales or a way of masking who really benefits.
How We Got Here
SportPesa’s ownership saga began in 2019, when a tax dispute with KRA over an alleged multi-billion shilling offshore transfer led regulators to revoke the license of the original operator, Pevans East Africa.
In a 2020 backroom deal, the SportPesa trademark was moved to a UK entity for just £100,000, then licensed to the newly created Milestone Games, sidelining minority shareholders like Paul Ndung’u and Asenath Wachera.
Years of lawsuits, including a forged court order scandal, followed.
What’s Next
SportPesa’s finances remain under pressure. In April 2026, KRA tried to freeze KES 1 billion in the company’s bank accounts, saying it owed unpaid excise and withholding tax. Milestone Games fought back and won at the Tax Appeals Tribunal.
Meanwhile, Kenya’s betting market keeps growing, with KES 330.5 billion wagered in the year ending June 2026.
The industry is also facing a shake-up following July’s new Gambling Control Act that replaced the old regulator with the Gambling Regulatory Authority, which has stronger powers to police licensing and financial risk.
As scrutiny of offshore ownership grows, the people behind Techglow and Commtech Consortium may not stay anonymous for much longer.
