Sun International’s online betting brand Sunbet has officially launched in Namibia, making it the third African market the brand now operates in.
The Namibian rollout continues a long-standing partnership with platform provider Bede Gaming, which has supported Sunbet’s digital operations since 2017.
Bede Gaming currently powers Sunbet’s platforms in South Africa and Botswana, and will now extend that infrastructure into the Namibian market.
Sunbet entered Botswana in 2024, and the performance there has provided strong justification for the brand’s continued continental expansion strategy.
During the H2 2025 reporting period, the Bede-powered Botswana platform recorded a 189% increase in registrations and a 239% rise in unique players.
Total wagering and gross gaming revenue in Botswana surged by 370% and 350% respectively over the same period, underlining the platform’s commercial momentum.
Sunbet CEO Simon Gregory said the company intends to use Sun International’s established brand recognition across Africa to drive growth in new markets.
“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,” Gregory explained.
“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.”
Sun International reported its FY2025 financial results in March, with group income rising 7.1% to R12.9 billion when excluding the impact of the Table Bay Hotel lease cessation.
Sunbet proved to be a standout performer within the group, with full-year income from the digital division climbing 75.9% year-on-year to R2.1 billion.
Sunbet’s adjusted EBITDA also rose sharply, coming in 109.6% higher at R744 million for the full financial year.
Sun International CEO Ulrik Bengtsson has outlined plans to double Sunbet’s current 4.5% share of South Africa’s competitive online betting market.
Bengtsson told iGB that investment in personnel and product capabilities forms the foundation of the plan to achieve that ambitious market share target.
“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,” Bengtsson said.
He added that a largely new executive team has been assembled, though significant internal work remains across various parts of the business to align with the stated strategy.
Bengtsson described Sun International’s preferred path as a “mostly organic strategy” while acknowledging that acquisitions could become viable further down the line.
“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,” he added.
“We’re not quite there yet, but that’s a potential scenario once we get a little bit further down the road.”
