During Sun International’s Capital Markets Day presentation in March, group CEO Ulrik Bengtsson revealed that its SunBet online brand held a 4.5% share of South Africa’s online gambling sector.
This puts it fourth in a market that Sun also expects to roughly double in size to approximately R100 billion ($5.98 billion) GGR by 2030.
This growth would largely align with the latest data from H2 Gambling Capital, which estimates South Africa’s total interactive market will rise from a gross win of $3.3 billion in 2025 to $5.88 billion by 2030.
Bengtsson also announced the company planned to double its online market share.
Bengtsson joined Sun International as CEO in July 2025, following a long career in gaming in Europe and the UK, where he was CEO at Evoke’s William Hill and Betsson before that.
“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 tells iGB when asked how Sun International planned to achieve its goal of doubling online market share.
“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.”
As part of this strategy, Leslie Peters joined Sun as chief technology and product officer to lead its digital turnaround in November last year. Peters had a strong background in software development, before becoming CTO at iGaming infrastructure platform Derivco in 2017.
Product improvements needed
In terms of specific areas Sun International needs to improve on to reach its online goal, Bengtsson says it’s “all about product”. He admits the Sunbet product is currently “nowhere near as good” as those of the leading operators in South Africa.
Part of this product focus will centre around bringing the tech in-house, rebuilding much of Sun International’s stack. “In order to be a serious contender for a top position in the market, you really need to have a product that is close to best in class,” Bengtsson explains. “And so that’s really mostly where the focus is, building a better online product supported by technology.”
Asked specifically what about the Sunbet product needs addressing, Bengtsson looks beyond the basics of speed, stability and payment methods, and into how Sun International actually leverages its product, particularly through front-end improvements.
“Products are so many things,” Bengtsson says. “If you think about the casino space, the first things we’re working on are an entire new front end and a new lobby for our casino [to improve] that whole experience around finding, navigating and accessing the games.”
Turning to sportsbook, Bengtsson notes the product uses Kambi but again points to front-end changes. “The interface, the homepage and the lobby need improvements in terms of the look and feel and speed,” he says.
“But then it’s also how we work with the products. In sportsbook, for example, we have very much worked with sportsbook as if it was a casino. And, you know, casino is quite static. It changes, but it doesn’t change by the minute and by the day [like a sportsbook]. So it’s also a way of working and operationalising a different mindset.”
Organic growth first, M&A later
Bengtsson currently views Sun International’s route to meeting its market share goal as being a “mostly organic” strategy, although acquisitions may follow. While the focus is on updating its tech in-house in the near term, there could also be an opportunity for M&A activity in the future.
“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,” Bengtsson says.
“We’re not quite there yet, but that’s a potential scenario once we get a little bit further down the road.”
Trust in the brand
Sun International’s transition to becoming a digitally-led business is supported by an extremely strong land-based proposition. The company, which operates 11 casinos across eight of South Africa’s nine provinces, accounts for nearly half of the nation’s land-based market.
Sun increased its market share by 0.7% in 2025, taking its total to 46% in FY2025 despite the sector’s GGR dropping 6.3% across the same period.
Bengtsson believes Sun International has a “very reliable, trustworthy brand”, which supports its target to grow in line with the online market by 2030. “We’ve been around for 60 years,” Bengtsson continues. “People can trust that things work at some establishment or at Sunbet.
“And then it’s product again, making sure that the product is competitive. The market can grow at an incredible pace, but if you’re not positioned with your product to capitalise on that, it’s not going to happen. It comes back to product again, and of course to some extent, also the brand.”
Sun International’s edge
Bengtsson highlights the importance of Sun International’s land-based proposition in growing its online offering – but stresses the relationship works both ways. “I don’t think that Sunbet would be where it is today without the land-based business,” he says. “And I also don’t think our land-based business would be where it is today without Sunbet.”
Bengtsson describes it as a competitive edge that Sun International intends to keep hammering home. “Increasingly we’re talking about one proprietary customer ecosystem where we sort of help each other with various sort of offers and manage the customer within that platform or ecosystem, if you will.
“I mean, we can offer things for some of our online players that no one else can offer, experiences at Sun City [casino] or live tournaments. So there is a lot to be said for our land-based business to support Sunbet. But also, Sunbet attracts new customers that we then can bring to our properties and expose them to the phenomenal experiences that we provide at our properties.”
Fragmented regulatory system and potential tax pressures
Sun International operates in Africa’s largest and most mature market. But while from a regulatory perspective, South Africa has been largely stable, it is lacking a national gaming framework.
In late 2025, a discussion paper on the introduction of a 20% national tax on GGR for online gambling was published by the National Treasury. The deadline for public submissions closed on 27 February.
South Africa is made up of nine provinces, with online gambling in each of those overseen by their own regulator. While national legislation sets the overall framework, aspects such as licensing and enforcement are handled at provincial level. However, Bengtsson notes this differs from jurisdictions like the US, as operators licensed in one jurisdiction are able to offer their online services to players in a different province.
Bengtsson views the proposed 20% national tax as the “cart before the horse”, stating South Africa must first find a path to national regulation, something Sun International would support. But overall, he is positive about the possibility of harmonised national regulations.
“If you’re going to put a national tax on this or find a way to tax this on a national level, you need a national legislation first,” he says. “I think there are a lot of things that need to happen before anyone is in a position to implement a national tax of that magnitude.
“Now, having said that, I’m hopeful that we will get to a place where there is that national regulation at some point, and we welcome that. We are a big proponent, and we think that’s important to be very clear on what the rules of the game are. And then of course, we’ll see what the tax base is going to be.”
Tax rise could harm channelisation
Although Bengtsson is bullish on South Africa’s regulatory future, he remains concerned by channelisation and how high tax rates could impact that, as seen in Europe today. “I think if we end up with a tax level that is 40% plus, it’s not good, right? We know that from the UK. But I’m very hopeful that we can avoid that scenario,” he explains.
“It’s not a massive problem in South Africa at the moment because there is some sort of regulatory framework. It’s large, but it’s not as bad as in the Netherlands, or some of those really dysfunctional places. But yes, we are worried that any major intervention into taxes or regulation will have a negative effect and create a much larger offshore market that is not healthy for anyone.”
South African growth solid but not unique
After years of leadership experience in Europe, Bengtsson doesn’t view South Africa as a unique growth opportunity in the global gambling industry, believing it still has areas to catch up on.
He laments the UK’s trajectory, following an almost doubling of remote gaming duty in April. “I don’t think anyone in the right frame of mind would enter the UK with a new brand in today’s environment. But there are a few other markets that might still be attractive. Of course, those markets are more competitive. They’re further advanced when it comes to technology and product and growth rates have probably tapered off.
He forecasts a 15% CAGR for South Africa over the next five years. “It’s not astronomical,” he admits. “But that’s a pretty good growth rate compared to many other places. The world is full of markets that are attractive. It’s not only South Africa that has a level of attractiveness to it. It’s not unique in that sense, I wouldn’t say.”
While Bengtsson concedes he didn’t have full visibility of how chaotic the South African provincial regulatory system could be before he joined the operator, he believes his extensive experience can drive Sun International to its ultimate goals.
In his experience, regulation pans out largely the same across varying markets, as does the sector’s approach to product and players. “Many things [about the South African Market] are less different [to Europe] than people would think,” Bengtsson concludes. “We pretty much know how regulation is going to evolve. We’ve seen it in so many places around the world. And the online product we also know how that’s going to evolve. There are some local nuances always, but broadly speaking, we know what’s important.”
Kyle Goldsmith
Kyle has been with Clarion since December 2023, joining from the world of sports journalism, subsequently becoming a LatAm-facing senior reporter with iGB.
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/strategy/sun-international-ulrik-bengtsson-south-africa/
