Sun International Launches Sunbet in Namibia.
Sun International’s online brand Sunbet has launched in Namibia, marking its third market in Africa.
The operator partnered with Bede Gaming to establish in Namibia. Bede Gaming will power the operators platform in the country. Sunbet has worked with Bede Gaming before, back in 2017, where they partnered in Botswana and South Africa.
Simon Gregory, CEO of Sunbet, said Sun International would leverage its vast brand awareness in Africa to support growth in additional markets on the continent. He said, “We experienced significant success after our debut in Botswana, so rolling out Sunbet to the Namibian market was the natural next step for us, especially given that Namibia is one of South Africa’s strongest trading partners.”
“We look forward to building a strong presence in Namibia and bringing the same trusted Sunbet experience that customers have come to expect across our other markets.” He added.
As of the H2 2025 reporting period, the Bede-powered platform in Botswana saw registrations increase by 189%, unique players rise by 239%, and total wagering and GGR go up by 370% and 350% respectively.
Sun International reported its FY2025 results in March, with group income rising by 7.1% to R12.9 billion ($794.7 million) when excluding the impacts of its lease cessation for the Table Bay Hotel.
Sunbet was a particular highlight, with full-year income from Sun International’s digital arm rocketing 75.9% year-on-year to R2.1 billion, while its adjusted EBITDA was 109.6% higher at R744 million.
Sunbet Share in South Africa Gambling Market
Sun International CEO Ulrik Bengtsson announced plans to double Sunbet’s market share of South Africa’s online sector from its current 4.5%. Bengtsson has affirmed that the company has invested in personnel and product to achieve its ambitious target to double Sunbet’s market share.
“It starts with strategy and the actions we are taking to drive towards our economic goal, which we also outlined on the Capital Markets Day,” Bengtsson said. The CEO added, “But then it comes quite quickly down to people and capabilities and making sure that across the organisation we have the right set of capabilities to take us in the direction we need to go. The executive team, so the people around me, we have mostly put a new team in place. But of course, there’s a lot of work still to be done in various parts of the business to be ready to go in line with that strategy.”
Read Also: Hacksaw Gaming Expands its Reach in South Africa Through a Partnership with Sunbet
Bengtsson believes Sun International eyed a “mostly organic strategy”, though he also hinted that M&A could be an option down the line.The company is open to new advances and strategies in future as they look to enter into more than the three countries they are already in in Africa.
He concluded by saying, “Of course, once we have some of the components in place that we should have in place in terms of technology, that opens up the opportunity to do acquisitions in a different way. We’re not quite there yet, but that’s a potential scenario once we get a little bit further down the road.”
