John Power, sponsors of the 2010 Kenyan Derby, today announced a major innovation in Sports Betting in Kenya, with the release of its MPESA betting system, which now allows clients from all over Kenya to place bets on international football events using only their mobile phone. Previously sports fans would have to have visited a licensed betting premises, now it can be done by phone, from anywhere in Kenya. John Power, Managing Director of John Power Kenya said "We believe this system will revolutionise sports betting in Kenya, and takes the market to new heights. We are very much looking forward to providing Kenyans opportunities to support their teams".
The system has been specifically designed for the Kenyan market, and utilises Safaricom's MPESA system. Customers simply MPESA their stake to the dedicated number, and then make their bets from advertised coupons using a simple code. For example, Manchester United against Liverpool is advertised as Match number 101. A home win (i.e. Manchester to win) is identified as #1, an away win (i.e. Liverpool to win) as #2 and a draw as #0. Following this the client identifies how much they want to stake with a * and the sum they want to stake. Thus, 100 shillings on Manchester to win becomes in this example 101#1*100. Reference numbers are issued via SMS and the bet is trackable. To collect their winnings, winner simply text W and the amount they wish to withdraw, which is settled via MPESA.
On opening an account with John Power, customers also get access to their account over the internet, using a PIN number to identify themselves. John Power said "This system integrates the internet, the SMS network and the simple practice of sports betting like never before, MPESA really opens up new opportunities for betting across Kenya". Mr Power also said that if MPESA sports betting becomes as popular as he hopes, that John Power will be supporting community sports projects acoss Kenya: "Kenyans love football, we'd really like to see Kenya taking a team to the next world cup".
John Powers dedicated number for accepting bets is 0719 315 108 and the website is www.johnpowerkenya.com. Otherwise John Power can be found in Mombasa at Bora Bora Arcade on the Malindi Road, North Coast, or the Ngong Racecourse.
