How to bet on SportPesa: register, pay 955100, text 79079

SportPesa registration is free, and your phone number becomes your username. A bet needs real money in the account, so the deposit comes straight after sign-up.

Register by SMS or on the website

1. SMS the word GAME to 79079. A reply links to the SportPesa terms and conditions.
2. Send ACCEPT to 79079 once you have read them.
3. Two messages follow with your username, a 4-digit PIN and the paybill numbers.

On the website, tap Register Now, fill in the form and request a registration code. Enter your phone number and the code sent to it, and the account opens. SportPesa runs in Kenya as Milestone Games Limited, listed by the GRA for the 2025/26 financial year under bookmaker licence BK 0001193.

Deposit with M-Pesa or Airtel Money

The M-Pesa paybill is 955100 or 5212121, and the account number is always your registered SportPesa phone number. Airtel Money uses 955100 or the business name SPORTPESA. Dialling *790# and choosing option 4 sends an M-Pesa prompt for your PIN instead.

SportPesa accepts deposits only from the line, M-Pesa or Airtel Money, that you registered, never from another number, a paybill or a till. Each deposit carries the 5% excise explained in the betting tax guide.

SMS betting on SportPesa uses one short code, 79079, and a message built from the game ID, your pick and your stake, separated by the # sign. The game ID is the number printed next to each match on the SportPesa site.

• Single bet: 1234#1#200 backs the home side in game 1234 with KSh 200. A 2 backs the away side and an X backs the draw.

The confirmation from 79079 shows your bet ID, the possible payout and your balance. SportPesa works the possible payout as stake times odds, minus 20% withholding tax on the part above the stake.

A KSh 200 single at 2.50 therefore shows a possible payout of KSh 440: KSh 500 back, less KSh 60 tax on the KSh 300 profit. Keep the bet ID from that message, because you need it to cancel the bet.

Betting on the SportPesa app or website starts with a login: your phone number is the username and the web password is the password. The Android and iPhone apps use the same account.

1. Pick a sport, such as Football, and find the match.
2. Tap the home team for 1, the away team for 2, or the middle of the two for X (draw).
3. Open the extra markets, shown as a number such as +25 next to the match, for DOUBLE CHANCE, BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE or TOTAL GOALS OVER/UNDER.
4. Enter the amount on the betslip. It lists the stake, the excise tax, the odds, the possible payout and the withholding tax.
5. Tap PLACE BET, then OK when SportPesa asks you to confirm.

Each pick you add joins the same betslip, which turns it into a multibet, and REMOVE ALL clears it. Placed bets appear under Bet History.

The betting terms glossary explains each market name before you add it to a slip.

Both SportPesa jackpots cost KSh 99 per entry, and the stake is filled in for you, so a jackpot bet is only your predictions.

The Jackpot covers 13 pre-selected matches. By SMS, the midweek coupon starts with JP# followed by your 13 picks, sent to 79079. Thirteen correct picks win the jackpot, and 10, 11 or 12 correct earn a bonus.

The Mega Jackpot Pro covers 17 matches with five prize tiers, for 13, 14, 15, 16 or 17 correct out of 17. The SMS starts with MJP# and still lists 17 picks; a 0 marks each game you leave out of the tier you are playing.

Combinations let one entry carry two or three picks for a match. Each extra pick multiplies the entries, so doubles on three games make 2 x 2 x 2 = 8 entries and cost KSh 792.

Doubles reach up to 7 games on the Jackpot and 10 games on the Mega Jackpot Pro, while triples on the Mega Jackpot Pro stop at 5 games.

A SportPesa bet can be cancelled within 10 minutes of placing it, and only before any match on it kicks off. By SMS, send Cancel#, then the bet ID, to 79079, for example Cancel#2345.

Online, open Bet History, select the bet and choose the cancel option. SportPesa allows three cancellations a day, and jackpot entries can be cancelled only by SMS or USSD.

Withdrawals use the same short code: W#1500 asks for KSh 1,500, and the money lands in your M-Pesa or Airtel Money wallet with a confirmation from your mobile network. SMS BALANCE to 79079 shows what is left, minus any withdrawal still pending.

For a first slip, a single on one match is the simplest bet to follow from SMS to payout. Once the confirmation and payout make sense to you, compare SportPesa with the other best betting sites in Kenya.