South African online betting giant shoots the lights out

Sunbet continued its winning streak in its parent company’s latest half-year results, with unique active players up 70.6% over the six-month period

This was revealed in Sun International’s results for the six months ended 30 June 2025, which revealed an overall mixed performance for the group.

Sun International operates resorts, hotels, and casinos nationwide. Its most well-known resort is Sun City in the North West.

The company also operates the popular online betting platform, Sunbet, which has seen tremendous growth over the past few years.

The company’s latest results showed a 3% increase in income to R6.19 billion compared to the first half of its 2024 financial year.

However, Sun International’s profit and earnings took a major hit from the termination of Table Bay Hotel’s lease. 

Table Bay Hotel is one of the company’s biggest resorts and is currently undergoing a substantial refurbishment under its owners.

The hotel is set to re-open in December 2025 as The InterContinental Table Bay Hotel, Cape Town. The hotel will be managed by Sun International under a hotel management agreement.

As it was undergoing refurbishment over this reporting period, Table Bay Hotel saw its income decline by 77% to R57 million.

Therefore, excluding the impact of the Table Bay Hotel lease cessation, Sun International’s continuing income increased by 6.7%.

Sun International’s basic earnings declined by 9% to R745 million in the first half of 2025, but its continuing basic earnings grew by 56% to R737 million.

The company’s adjusted operating profit declined by 6% to R1.14 billion.

From a segmental perspective, Sun International saw a varied performance across its Sunbet, Urban Casinos, Sun Slots, and Resorts and Hotels divisions.

The Urban Casinos division saw its income decline by 1% to R3.24 billion, while Sun Slots recorded a modest 2% increase in income to R701 million.

The Resorts and Hotels division saw slightly stronger income growth of 4% to R1.32 million.

However, a standout performer in these results was Sunbet, which has seen incredible growth over the past few years.

Sunbet’s income grew by 70.7% to R874 million, primarily driven by a 128.7% increase in slots income.

The company attributed this to increased customer activity and deposits, which helped deliver an adjusted EBITDA of R292 million.

Sunbet reported that unique active players were up 70.6% over the six-month period, first-time depositors were up 43.5%, and deposits were up 105.2%.

On the back of these mixed results, Sun International declared an interim dividend of 172 cents per share, up 6.8% from the previous year.