SunBet chief details plan to close gap on South African rivals

SunBet chief executive Simon Gregory has set out how the operator intends to chase down market leaders Betway and Hollywoodbets in South Africa, with heavy investment in technology and product positioned as the main lever, iGaming Business reports.

The ambition stems from Sun International's Capital Markets Day earlier this year, when group chief executive Ulrik Bengtsson told investors the business wanted SunBet's share of the South African online market to reach roughly double its then level of 4.5%, with a five-year window to get there. The scale of that goal drew scepticism from some observers at the time.

Since then, SunBet has expanded into Namibia, and parent company Sun International reported in September that its online brand had grown revenue by 35.5% year-on-year in the first half of 2026.

Gregory told iGaming Business he regards the doubling target as "super ambitious" but is comfortable with that kind of stretch goal. "I don't have any problem with setting out big targets and big ambitions," he said. "And if you can get some way towards that you'll have done nicely. It's a journey, not a target, right?"

Measuring progress precisely is difficult, Gregory noted, because Sun International and Super Group's Betway are the only publicly listed online operators active in the South African market. Even so, he believes SunBet has moved forward since the target was announced, despite trailing both Betway and Hollywoodbets, which he described as the market's two dominant incumbents.

"We've got small [online] market share, somewhere in the region of 3% to 5%, so there's plenty to go after," he said, placing SunBet third or fourth in the market. He added that a long tail of smaller rivals is likely to struggle against bigger operators on reach and product quality over time.

Technology as the route to growth

Echoing Bengtsson's pledge at the Capital Markets Day to pursue growth more aggressively through tech and product spend, Gregory said an easy-to-use, scalable and technically efficient product would be decisive in winning share in any market SunBet operates in. He said the company intends to bring more of its technology stack in-house so it controls its own development roadmap, rather than depending on third parties, and described the required investment as spanning UI, UX, product range and functionality. "It's everywhere," he said.

Gregory also drew a distinction between being good and being popular, arguing SunBet needs to achieve both, starting with product quality.

Sportsbook under-indexed

Bengtsson had told investors following Sun International's half-year results that SunBet's revenue split was roughly 90% casino to 10% sports betting, reflecting the brand's casino origins. Gregory said the business is now working to grow that sports share, including rolling out StatScore products and a programme of UI and UX upgrades. He said a refreshed sportsbook look and new features are due by early December.

Expansion kept cautious

SunBet's move into Namibia followed earlier entries into Botswana and South Africa, and the operator also holds licences in Ghana, Zambia and Kenya that it has not yet activated. Gregory said SunBet remains wary of further greenfield expansion across Africa, pointing to European operators that spent heavily on the continent without gaining traction before exiting.

Bengtsson has previously said Sun International sees "plenty of inorganic opportunities" both in and outside South Africa, while insisting the group applies a "very high bar" to any potential acquisition. Gregory said M&A could offer a route into new territories, provided targets meet criteria such as internet penetration, mobile money adoption and underlying propensity to wager.