Hotels and resorts group Sun International is pushing to expand its digital casino offering, taking advantage of the growth in online casino gaming in the country. Over the past five years, gambling activity has steadily shifted from land‑based formats — including casinos, bingo, limited‑payout machines, sports betting and horse racing — to online platforms. While this trend was underway before the Covid-19 lockdowns, the pandemic accelerated the move to digital betting. According to Sun International, online betting now accounts for about 60% of the market. Operators offer a broad range of online products, from lottery and casino games to sports betting, with soccer and horse racing among the most popular. The group, which owns several resorts and hotels, including Sun City, The Maslow in Sandton and the Wild Coast Sun in the Eastern Cape, aims to continue capitalising on the trend. Read: Sunbet powers Sun International in strong second-half start“We remain committed to building a digitally led, market-leading omnichannel gaming company of scale that delivers sustainable long-term value for our shareholders and broader stakeholders,” said CEO Ulrik Bengtsson, as the group reported interim earnings to end-June. Sunbet, the group’s online gaming platform, delivered another strong performance, growing revenue by 35.5%. Bengtsson said this was ahead of the national online gaming market, which grew about 19%. “Growth continues to be driven by existing customers in slots and casinos, though we are starting to broaden our offering through our sport business where recent momentum has been building,” he said.South Africa’s gambling operators generated gross revenue of R75bn in the 2024/25 financial year in a country plagued by poverty and unemployment. In October 2025, the National Gambling Board (NGB) noted 60% (about R47bn) of the industry’s recorded gross gambling revenue was generated from legal online betting. Sun International spent R492m on capital investments under its five-year value creation plan, most of which went towards refurbishment at Sun City, growth and refurbishment projects at Time Square, GrandWest and Sibaya, and digital and platform investment across Sunbet.“During the period under review, we successfully launched the new Sunbet user interface in South Africa and Botswana, the rollout of the first component of proprietary in-house technology within the Sunbet tech stack,” said Bengtsson. “The new user interface provides a faster, more seamless user journey aimed at improving conversion rates and supporting future growth. The early signs are encouraging.”The group’s gross gaming revenue grew 4.4%, while the hospitality business continued to deliver solid growth with revenue, up 7.7%, despite Middle East tension and war-related cancellations of about R20m in the first half.While the likes of Sun International have done well through their digital channels, online gambling carries a large socioeconomic burden in South Africa, as in other countries. For instance, NGB acting CEO Lungile Dukwana has bemoaned the proliferation of advertisements to promote online gambling.“Online access through mobile phones and computers has led to an increase in illegal online gambling, posing challenges for regulation and enforcement,” Dukwana said at the time. “There is no firm policy position that has been adopted at a national level for interactive gambling.Meanwhile, industry research shows that illegal betting platforms comprise 62% of the market in South Africa, a situation that the NGB is trying to crack down on. Additional reporting by Linda EnsorBusiness Day