The government has issued a directive ordering Safaricom, Telkom and Airtel to withdraw all Paybill numbers and SMS codes of 27 betting companies.The affected sports betting companies are:  SportPesa, Betin, Betway, BetPawa, Elitebet, PremierBet, Lucky2U, 1xBet, MozzartBet, DafaBet, World Sports Betting, Atari Gaming, Palms Bet, Betboss, Kick-Off, Atari, Millionaire Sports Bet, Palmsbet, Chezacash, Betyetu, Bungabet, Cysabet, Saharabet, Easibet, Easleighbet, Sportybet and AGB Lottery & Gaming.Betting Control and Licensing Board Acting Director Liti Wambua sent a letter to the telecommunications companies saying that the licences of the betting firms remain withdrawn therefore their payment platforms should be suspended."We wish to inform you that the licenses for the following betting firms were not renewed until they meet the outstanding renewal requirements as well as outcome of ongoing due diligence to determine if they are fit and proper to hold a license from this board.""Consequently, we request you to suspend their pay bills and short codes until otherwise advised," he further added in the letter.The named firms allegedly failed to prove that they were tax compliant. A report from the multi-agency team indicated that the  companies made a cumulative amount of Ksh.204 billion last year but paid only Ksh.4 billion in taxes.All betting licences will remain suspended after a meeting between Interior CS Fred Matiang'i and stakeholders. New applications were to be sought from July 1st.