Sunbet rolls out in Namibia, continuing its African expansion

(AsiaGameHub) –   Sunbet, the online brand of Sun International, has launched in Namibia—marking its third market across Africa.

This latest rollout is a partnership with Bede Gaming, which will power the operator’s platform.

The collaboration extends a relationship dating back to 2017; Sunbet also uses Bede Gaming’s platform in its other two markets: Botswana (entered in 2024) and its home market of South Africa.

Simon Gregory, Sunbet’s CEO, stated that Sun International will leverage its extensive brand awareness in Africa to support growth in additional markets on the continent.

“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.”

During the H2 2025 reporting period, the Bede-powered platform in Botswana saw registrations surge by 189%, unique players rise by 239%, and total wagering and GGR increase by 370% and 350% respectively.

Online focus for Sun International

Sun International released its FY2025 results in March, with group income climbing 7.1% to R12.9 billion ($794.7 million) when excluding the impact of its Table Bay Hotel lease cessation.

Sunbet was a key highlight: full-year income from Sun International’s digital arm jumped 75.9% year-on-year to R2.1 billion, while its adjusted EBITDA rose 109.6% to R744 million.

Sun International CEO Ulrik Bengtsson announced plans to double Sunbet’s market share in South Africa’s online sector from its current 4.5%.

In a follow-up interview with iGB, Bengtsson shared that the company has invested in personnel and product development to hit its ambitious target of doubling 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.

“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.”

Bengtsson noted that Sun International is pursuing a “mostly organic strategy,” though he hinted M&A could be an option 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.”