Sun International is aiming to increase its online market share in South Africa, where its Sun Bet brand holds a current share of 4.5%, placing it fourth in the market. The online gross gaming revenue (GGR) in the country is projected to nearly double, reaching around R100 billion by 2030.
During the Capital Markets Day presentation on Monday, Group CEO Ulrik Bengtsson stated that the company intends to adopt a "more aggressive" approach to expand its market share, emphasizing improvements and development in its product offerings.
Approximately 30% of South Africa's total online market is made up of sports betting, according to the company. While sports betting constitutes less than 15% of Sun Bet's online GGR, the firm expects to enhance its performance in this area alongside product improvements.
"The good news is we’re doing really well without being best in class in some of these areas, so we are pretty confident that we have a good chance to reach those targets," Bengtsson expressed.
Bengtsson pointed out a "tremendous value creation opportunity" for Sun International.
In financial news, the group also reported a 7.1% increase in overall income during FY25, driven by a strong second half for the Sun Bet online brand, which helped offset decreases in its land-based operations. Sun International’s total group income rose to R12.9 billion ($771.1 million) when excluding the effects of its lease cessation for the Table Bay Hotel.
The Table Bay Hotel in Cape Town temporarily closed in February 2025 for renovations, reopening in December as the InterContinental Table Bay, managed under an agreement with IHG. Sun International cited an adjusted EBITDA of R3.4 billion, a 1.7% decline from the previous year; however, excluding the lease cessation impact, adjusted EBITDA increased by 2.8%.
Fueled by a remarkable performance from Sun Bet, the online brand's second half income surged by 79.8% year-on-year, while overall annual income for Sun Bet saw a significant increase of 75.9% to R2.1 billion. Its adjusted EBITDA also more than doubled, reaching R744 million, marking a 109.6% rise.
Bengtsson characterized 2025 as a "transition year" as the company advanced its plans to become a leading omnichannel gaming provider. He remarked, "As part of our vision to be a digitally-led organization, significant work has gone into building our digital and technology capabilities."
Looking ahead, 2026 has begun positively across the group, and good progress is being made on the value creation plan. According to Bengtsson, improvements are evident, confirming that the strategy is taking hold.
While Sun Bet thrived, the land-based casino segment of Sun International experienced declines. Income from land-based casinos in FY25 decreased by 2.7%, totaling R6.5 billion, with adjusted EBITDA also dropping to R2.1 billion, an 8.7% fall.
Despite these declines, Sun International managed to gain about 0.7% of market share, culminating in a total of 46% of the land-based market, due to overall sector declines. Reports indicated that GGR from South African land-based casinos fell by 6.3% over the past twelve months.
In Q4, Sun International demonstrated a 4% increase in GGR, the highest rate of growth since Q2 2023. For the fourth consecutive year, Sun International reported continued strong income and overall growth across its key performance metrics.
To enhance its capabilities, the company has invested in personnel, appointing ex-Games Global CTO Leslie Peters as chief technology and product officer, and former Genting Casinos Managing Director Mark Sergeant as COO of its gaming segment.
