Sun International considers M&A and expansion outside of SA in SunBet growth drive

Sun International remains committed to improving its SunBet product after the product produced strong H1 earnings for the wider online business.

The operator yesterday reported that Rrvenue from SunBet surged 35.5% year-on-year to R1.18 billion ($73.6 million) across H1, outpacing the 19% overall growth of South Africa’s online market during the period.

Online growth drove Sun International’s group income up 7.4% to R6.58 billion during H1 when excluding the Table Bay Hotel (TBH), which the company is running under a management agreement with IHG.

At the company’s Capital Markets Day in March, Sun International outlined plans to double SunBet’s share of the South African online market from its 4.5%.

While the company did not comment on how its market share had progressed since then, on Sun International’s post-H1 earnings call on Mondat, Bengtsson reiterated that product was key for its next phase of expansion.

He also hinted at opportunities to expand both within and beyond its core market of South Africa.

On the earnings call, Bengtsson said Sun International viewed “plenty of inorganic opportunities” around the business.

“We have said that many times before,” he added. “I think it consists of multiple aspects. We are still open to and keen on consolidating minorities if there is opportunity that is being presented.

“In terms of the SunBet business, there might be opportunities to consolidate locally, but there might also be opportunities outside of South Africa. We are looking at all of it, but we have a very high bar for what we deem to be good investments.”

SunBet launched in Namibia in May, with Bede Gaming powering its platform.

SunBet also utilises Bede Gaming’s platform in its other two markets of South Africa and Botswana, the latter of which it entered in 2024.

At Sun International’s Capital Markets Day, the company also revealed it was assessing expansion opportunities in Zambia, Kenya and Ghana.

Next phase of product development

The company recently launched a new user interface for SunBet in both South Africa and Botswana, and Bengtsson said there was more to come.

“That work is ongoing,” Bengtsson commented. “We had a very strong World Cup, which shows that our sportsbook can handle and can have the capacity to handle larger volumes.

“We’re very encouraged with the trajectory of that, but we’re still not where we want to be. But a lot of the work, or some of the work has been done, and we have a lot more planned for the rest of the year. So bear with us. It is happening.”

Opportunity in sports betting

Bengtsson said the split between casino and sports betting for SunBet was roughly 90% to 10% in favour of casino, with Sun International “under-indexing on sportsbook”.

But Sun International views that as an opportunity, with Bengtsson stating: “We think the market overall is probably somewhere around 35%-40% sportsbook.

“So that is the delta we have to close by delivering a better product and better operational intensity in our sports business.”

Bengtsson said momentum from the summer’s World Cup had continued into the second half of the year.

“The World Cup, as you know, is largely a customer acquisition opportunity, and it was also combined with a good turnover period for us,” he outlined. “Yes, that has continued.

“Now, having said that, we’ve also been in a low sportsbook activity environment during July when most football leagues have been closed. But we have that underlying improvement in momentum, and we continue that now throughout the rest of the year.”

Investments aid return to land-based growth

Beyond SunBet’s growth, another highlight of Sun International’s H1 was a return to growth for its land-based casino segment, for the first time in three years.

Revenue from land-based casinos increased 1.5% to R3.42 billion, while Sun International’s market share in South Africa grew 2.3% to 49%.

Land-based gross profit dipped 0.7% to R2 billion, however, with the company’s investment in the segment increasing over the period.

Bengtsson said the revenue gains from recent investment efforts should translate into improved operating leverage as the casino business continues to grow.

“The sustainability in the operational improvements and in our market share gains are clearly there,” he said. “Those are real, and they are happening right now.

“Our ambition, as we outlined in March, has always been to change the trajectory of our land-based business, which I think we now have done. Our ambition is now to continue to take market share in the land-based casinos.”

The CEO highlighted the synergies between Sun International’s land-based and online operations, with the potential of capturing more of its existing customers’ online activity.

“We look increasingly at our business as one customer ecosystem or one customer platform, if you will,” he added. “I keep saying that SunBet probably wouldn’t be where it is today without a land-based business, and a land-based business probably wouldn’t be where it is today without SunBet.

“We continuously leverage off one another. Now, having said that, we know that almost all of us, or at least the vast majority of our land-based customers are playing online, but not all of them are playing with SunBet, so we see that bit as the opportunity.”