{"id":967,"date":"2025-04-15T10:25:57","date_gmt":"2025-04-15T13:25:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/?p=967"},"modified":"2026-04-19T17:46:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T20:46:27","slug":"sunbet-ups-the-ante-aiming-to-introduce-online-multiplayer-poker-as-revenue-soars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/sunbet-ups-the-ante-aiming-to-introduce-online-multiplayer-poker-as-revenue-soars","title":{"rendered":"Sunbet ups the ante aiming to introduce online multiplayer poker as revenue soars"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After a record-breaking year, Sun International’s online gaming arm sets its sights on multiplayer poker to drive its next wave of digital expansion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Johannesburg, South Africa – In a bold move to expand its already thriving digital footprint, Sun International <\/strong>has announced plans to roll out multiplayer online poker<\/strong> on its fast-growing gaming platform, Sunbet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The announcement comes hot on the heels of a stellar 2024 performance<\/a>, with Sunbet emerging as one of the standout stars in the group’s financial results. The platform recorded an explosive 60.6 per cent surge in income, climbing to R1.2 billion ($63.6m) and delivering a record adjusted EBITDA of R363 million ($19.2m), a clear sign that Sun International’s online gamble is paying off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A serious player in digital betting<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Once known primarily for its glitzy resorts and iconic casinos, the hospitality giant has steadily evolved into a serious player in the digital betting arena. Sunbet, launched in 2013, began as a strategic foray into online sports betting. Fast-forward to today, and it’s become one of the fastest growing online gaming brands in southern Africa.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We believe that there are good synergy opportunities between this form of gaming, our existing business and the possibility of online gaming in the future,” Sun International’s<\/a> Michael Farr<\/strong> was quoted as telling the Daily Investor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Sunbet provides the group with the ideal platform to allow us exposure to the online environment and accelerate our entry into the online gaming market.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Originally built on the back of sports betting<\/strong> including rugby, cricket, tennis and US sports, Sunbet has diversified its portfolio to offer slots, crash games like Aviator and live dealer games<\/strong>, all backed by a slick new website design and a brand refresh that draws on the Sun City legacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest evolution? Online poker. While details remain under wraps, the company confirmed the project is in the pipeline.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\n

See also:<\/span> Sun International’s online gambling surge powers record growth in South Africa<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After a record-breaking year, Sun International’s online gaming arm sets its sights on multiplayer poker to drive its next wave of digital expansion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2396,"featured_media":986,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"Sun International's online gaming division, Sunbet, achieved a record 60.6% income surge to R1.2 billion and R363 million adjusted EBITDA, signaling successful digital expansion. Following this strong performance, the company plans to launch multiplayer online poker, further diversifying its gaming verticals beyond sports betting, slots, and live dealer offerings. This strategic move aims to leverage synergies and accelerate Sun International's presence in the competitive online gaming market.","focusai_entities":"Sun International, Sunbet, Michael Farr, Daily Investor","focusai_location":"Johannesburg, South Africa, Southern Africa","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), operator_casino (0.9), affiliate_publisher (0.7), product_ux (0.7), marketing_crm (0.8), investor_analyst (0.95), supplier_vendor (0.8), journalist_researcher (0.9)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Poker Vertical ROI","query":"What is Sun International's projected return on investment and market share target for the new multiplayer online poker vertical within its first 12-18 months of operation?"},{"label":"Regulatory Impact","query":"How will the expansion into multiplayer online poker impact Sun International's B2C licensing obligations and responsible gambling governance frameworks in South Africa?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[60021,60011],"tags":[60130,60131,78],"class_list":["post-967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-igaming-news","category-south-africa","tag-online-gaming","tag-online-poker","tag-sports-betting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2396"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=967"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/967\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":989,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/967\/revisions\/989"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}