Simon Gregory, CEO of SunBet, emphasizes that enhancing technology and product quality will be critical for the operator as it aims to double its online market share in South Africa. This ambitious goal was first presented by CEO Ulrik Bengtsson earlier this year during Sun International's Capital Markets Day, where it was revealed that SunBet plans to increase its market share from the current 4.5% over the next five years.
Since this announcement, SunBet has expanded its operations to Namibia, and Sun International reported a 35.5% year-on-year revenue increase from its online brand in the first half of 2026. Gregory acknowledges that doubling market share is a "super ambitious" objective but remains unfazed by the challenge. "I don’t have any problem with setting out big targets and big ambitions," he stated in an interview with iGB. "And if you can get some way towards that you’ll have done nicely. It’s a journey, not a target, right?"
While precise details on SunBet’s progress are not entirely clear, Gregory mentioned that as of now, only Sun International and Betway, part of Super Group, are publicly traded online operators within the South African market. Nevertheless, he believes SunBet has made meaningful progress despite competition from the two dominant players, Betway and Hollywoodbets, which command a significant market share.
"We’ve got a small online market share, somewhere in the region of 3% to 5%, so there’s plenty to go after," he explained, noting that they currently rank third or fourth in the market. He is optimistic about the potential to capture market share from the frontrunners. "There is opportunity to take market share from them. And I think there is a long tail of smaller operators that will find it more challenging to compete with the bigger guys in terms of market reach and product offering."
At the Capital Markets Day, Bengtsson indicated that SunBet's strategy would involve being "more aggressive" in its market acquisition efforts. When queried about how SunBet plans to achieve its goal of doubling its market share, Gregory reiterated the importance of product excellence and technical efficiency. He believes that achieving a world-class standard in technical capabilities is crucial for winning in the competitive market.
"Technically, it requires us to be world-class. Those technical innovations always take time, but we’re going to need to invest heavily in our technology and product to make it better," Gregory mentioned. He further elaborated, saying, "Someone said to me, there’s a difference between being good and being popular. But we need to be both. So first, we need to get good, and then we need to get popular."
Gregory outlined that investments would focus on enhancing SunBet’s technical infrastructure and integrating more operations in-house, which would facilitate quicker advancements and more control over their development strategy. "We need to be fully scalable, efficient, have an outstanding UI, UX, and offer a great range of products, features, and functionality," he added.
In discussing sports betting, Gregory acknowledged that SunBet has traditionally been stronger in casino offerings, with a split of about 90% casino to 10% sports betting. However, he indicated that they are now channeling resources to advance their sportsbook segmentation. "We’re certainly under-indexed on sport, and that’s probably due to the growth in our casino business," he noted. SunBet is currently upgrading its sportsbook, with plans to enhance customer appeal through improved software and user experience, expecting to unveil changes by early December.
SunBet’s recent entry into the Namibian market marks its third operational locale after Botswana and South Africa. The operator is also licensed in Ghana, Zambia, and Kenya, although operations in these countries remain undeclared. Gregory stated that SunBet is proceeding thoughtfully with future expansions, focusing on growth within Namibia.
"We’re cautious about other greenfield African expansions," he reflected, pointing out that several European companies have struggled in Africa after heavy investments. Bengtsson previously remarked on the availability of potential acquisitions both within and outside South Africa, stressing a stringent evaluation of investments to ensure they align with market growth strategies.
Gregory explained that mergers and acquisitions may provide avenues for entering new markets, contingent on thorough assessments related to internet penetration, mobile financial services, and betting behavior. "We’ve been pretty clear in our public statements that we would be interested in high-quality M&A that would provide us with critical mass in certain geographies," he noted, adding that partnering with a top three player in specific African areas would be appealing.
Regarding balancing the goal of doubling market share in South Africa with opportunities for expansion elsewhere, Gregory emphasized that the two objectives can coexist. "We can do well in both. It’s just a matter of resourcing," he concluded.
