Ronald Karauri, a retired pilot and now Member of Parliament for Kasarani, has become one of Kenya’s most successful businessmen, thanks to his co-founding of SportPesa, a betting giant that has redefined the gambling industry in Kenya and beyond.
However, Karauri’s rise to becoming a gambling billionaire came from an unlikely beginning—his own passion for gambling, particularly poker.
In a recent podcast with fellow pilot Eric Mutiso, Karauri opened up about how his personal interest in poker led him to co-found SportPesa, a company that has since made billions of shillings annually. ]
The now-billionaire reveals that he was initially drawn to poker by watching ESPN shows and playing the game casually at home. His growing fascination led him to visit a casino in Nairobi, where he frequently played poker and, in the process, befriended the owner.
“That’s where it all began,” Karauri recounted during the podcast. “The casino owner mentioned that he was planning to start a sports betting company, and I immediately took an interest in it. I told him I wanted to be part of it, and that’s how the conversation around SportPesa started.”
Karauri’s deep understanding of gambling, particularly poker, became crucial as he ventured into the sports betting industry. He explained that playing poker had given him insights into human behavior, which became valuable in understanding the world of gambling.
“The beauty of poker is that you can immediately tell the character of people by how they play,” he said. “It helps you understand how they react to winning and losing, and this insight helped shape my approach to the business.”
However, the journey to establishing SportPesa was not without its challenges. To get the company off the ground, Karauri needed substantial capital.
The only asset he could use to raise money was a piece of land he owned. Without hesitation, he sold the land for Sh25 million to invest in SportPesa, despite the fact that it was a new and untested idea in Kenya at the time.
“When you’re starting a company, it’s always about investment,” Karauri explained. “We had conversations about shares and how much each of us would invest. At that point, all I had that could raise money was my land, so I sold it.”
Even though this significant investment could have raised eyebrows, Karauri chose not to disclose too many details about the venture to his family, especially his wife Ruth, who is also a pilot.
“Of course, there were big conversations with my family, but it was a matter of trust. I didn’t share all the details, and because of that trust, it never became an issue,” he said.
SportPesa initially launched as an SMS-based betting platform in 2013, an innovative idea at the time. Back then, smartphone apps were not widely used, and many Kenyans didn’t have reliable access to mobile data.
This simple yet accessible model allowed the company to reach a wide audience, and SportPesa quickly grew in popularity.
While SportPesa was in its early stages, Karauri was still working as a Boeing 737 captain at Kenya Airways. For over a year, he was not involved in the company’s daily operations but received updates from his business partners.
However, in 2015, his partners urged him to take on a more active role in the business, which led to his decision to resign from his job at Kenya Airways after 11 years of service.
Karauri’s leadership as CEO played a crucial role in SportPesa’s rapid growth. The company generated Sh12.6 billion in its first five years, establishing itself as a dominant force in the Kenyan betting industry.