Sun International has announced plans to double its online market share in South Africa, setting its sights on aggressive growth as the country’s digital gambling sector prepares for substantial expansion. Currently holding 4.5% of the market through its SunBet brand—the fourth-largest position nationally—the group is positioning itself to capitalise on an online GGR market expected to reach approximately R100 billion by 2030. That’s roughly double its current value.

Speaking to analysts during the company’s Capital Markets Day presentation, group CEO Ulrik Bengtsson outlined a strategy centred on product improvement and development rather than simply throwing marketing spend at the problem. It’s a measured approach that reflects confidence in the underlying business fundamentals, frankly.

“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 said. He identified what he described as a “tremendous value creation opportunity” in the digital space.

Sports Betting Shows Room for Growth

The company’s sports betting vertical currently commands around 30% of South Africa’s total online market. Yet it accounts for less than 15% of SunBet’s own online GGR. That imbalance presents a clear development pathway, and the group expects this percentage to grow as product enhancements take effect.

The strategic focus comes alongside the release of Sun International’s FY’25 results, which showed group income rising 7.1% to R12.9 billion ($771.1 million), excluding the impact of lease cessation for the Table Bay Hotel. The Cape Town property closed for renovations in February 2025. It reopened in December as the InterContinental Table Bay under a management agreement with IHG.

Digital Performance Offsets Land-Based Decline

SunBet delivered exceptional performance across the financial year. Income rocketed 75.9% to R2.1 billion. The second half proved particularly strong, posting income 79.8% higher year on year, while adjusted EBITDA more than doubled to R744 million, representing growth of 109.6%.

This digital surge compensated for weakness in the land-based casino segment, where income fell 2.7% to R6.5 billion and adjusted EBITDA dropped 8.7% to R2.1 billion. The decline reflects broader sector challenges. South African land-based casino GGR fell 6.3% during the period. Despite the headwinds, Sun International gained approximately 0.7 percentage points of market share, bringing its total to 46% of the land-based market.

Group adjusted EBITDA declined 1.7% to R3.4 billion when including the Table Bay impact. Excluding this one-off effect, though, EBITDA actually rose 2.8%.

Building Digital Capabilities

Bengtsson characterised 2025 as a “transition year” as the business works toward becoming a “market leading omnichannel gaming company”. Significant investment has gone into building digital and technology capabilities, including strategic hires such as former Games Global CTO Leslie Peters, now serving as chief technology and product officer. Former Genting Casinos Managing Director Mark Sergeant joined as COO of the gaming segment.

“2026 has started well across the group and we are making good progress on our value creation plan, and green shoots have emerged which confirm that our strategy is gaining traction,” Bengtsson said. He noted that the new financial year had begun in line with the growth rates seen in H2’25.

The company pointed to FY’25 as its fourth consecutive year delivering continuing strong income and growth across all key metrics. That track record provides a solid foundation for the ambitious digital expansion ahead. With the South African online market set to double by decade’s end, Sun International’s bet on aggressive growth may prove well-timed.