ANALYSIS: MultiChoice striving to rule Africa’s sports betting sector
R1.1-trillion was wagered in the country’s gambling industry in 2023/24 — 40.2% more than in the previous financial year
27 December 2024 - 10:33
by Mudiwa Gavaza
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SA’s online betting market has been helped by recent World Cup sport events, online betting, mobile betting apps, better regulation and increased internet casino activity. Picture: 123RF
MultiChoice continues its push to dominate Africa’s betting market for sport and other activities, having grown its business by a tenth in Nigeria while launching one of the world’s top gambling games in SA.
The SA opportunity
According to the National Gambling Board of SA, at the end of the 2023/24 period, R1.1-trillion was wagered in the country’s gambling industry, 40.2% higher than the turnover generated in the previous financial year. Gross gambling revenue (GGR) amounted to R59.3bn, a 25.7% increase from the previous year.
Of the total, betting generated 60.5% of industry GGR at R35.9bn, with casinos leading the charge, at R17.4bn, about 29% of the pie. Sports betting stood at just under R2.1bn in the period.
The local market is dominated by Betway, Hollywoodbets, PlayaBets and Easybet.
While having a big focus on the sports part of the market, MultiChoice has offerings beyond this.
In July 2024, the group launched the Aviator casino game in SA through its KingMakers unit. The game, created by Spribe, now has more than 5-million monthly active players worldwide and is growing in popularity locally.
KingMakers
In June 2021, the group paid $281.5m to increase its stake in BetKing, a digital and sports entertainment platform that focuses on Africa, to 49%. It initially bought a 20% stake in October 2020. Blue Lake Ventures, which traded as BetKing, subsequently changed its name to KingMakers.
Overall, KingMakers delivered “strong underlying momentum in its operations, despite a challenging macro and FX environment” for the half year to September.
Net gaming revenues declined by 48% to $48.3m (about R900m) for the period due to the weaker naira vs the US dollar but were up 10% on an organic basis, which excludes foreign exchange movements.
Global trends
Globally, betting and gambling activity, particularly in sport, is on the rise.
In the US, the industry has seen a major boost as the market has become more liberalised. Betting on sport is now legal in 38 states, with Missouri set to become the 39th state in 2025, as well as the District of Columbia.
US legislators are now mulling how to regulate the sector at a national/federal level given the increased uptake in what is now estimated to be a $10bn industry.
Policymakers on the African continent are also expected to start contemplating the same issue as more people take up betting, driven by the internet on the continent.
SA performance
In January, DStv’s parent company officially entered SA’s sports betting market with a new platform, using its tie in with SuperSport, Africa’s largest sports broadcaster, to stand out in an already crowded, but growing, market.
The group, which uses sport as a big drawcard to its DStv and Showmax platforms, is employing the same strategy to boost the betting business through programming and other efforts that increase awareness of betting, helping to push up users for SuperSportBet.
“It remains early days for SuperSportBet in SA, with the focus for KingMakers and SuperSport on establishing a market presence in a competitive field through leveraging the SuperSport ecosystem, as well as the SA football club partnerships, and ensuring a competitive offering, tactical promotions, the recent introduction of the popular Aviator game and a focus on key sporting codes and leagues,” said MultiChoice.
“The business has grown stakes consistently on a monthly basis since launching in January 2024 and has seen further acceleration since launching Aviator in July 2024.”
Nigeria performance
The business is still bigger in Nigeria, but the macroeconomic picture in the West African nation continues to be a drag on MultiChoice overall, with the betting business unable to escape this reality.
The weaker naira, down 42% against the dollar in 2024, negatively affected earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) by $6m, and due to the investment behind the SA launch, KingMakers moved from positive earnings of $10m in the first half of the 2023 calendar to negative $6m in the same comparative period in 2024, while net income followed the same trend.
“Given its focus on online betting, which has stronger economics than its agency business, BetKing Nigeria has moved to number two in the online betting market. A focus on the quality of its agency network over quantity has also resulted in improved profitability through higher average wagers and revenues per agent,” said the group.
“With the weaker naira, BetKing is managing costs carefully, including more tactical marketing and customer acquisition spend (given that it is typically USD-denominated) and moving the group engineering function to more affordable locations.”
As at end-June 2024, KingMakers held $96m in cash on its balance sheet to fund its product and market rollout plans.
The group valued its investment in KingMakers at $209m at end of September.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
ANALYSIS: MultiChoice striving to rule Africa’s sports betting sector
R1.1-trillion was wagered in the country’s gambling industry in 2023/24 — 40.2% more than in the previous financial year
MultiChoice continues its push to dominate Africa’s betting market for sport and other activities, having grown its business by a tenth in Nigeria while launching one of the world’s top gambling games in SA.
The SA opportunity
According to the National Gambling Board of SA, at the end of the 2023/24 period, R1.1-trillion was wagered in the country’s gambling industry, 40.2% higher than the turnover generated in the previous financial year. Gross gambling revenue (GGR) amounted to R59.3bn, a 25.7% increase from the previous year.
Of the total, betting generated 60.5% of industry GGR at R35.9bn, with casinos leading the charge, at R17.4bn, about 29% of the pie. Sports betting stood at just under R2.1bn in the period.
The local market is dominated by Betway, Hollywoodbets, PlayaBets and Easybet.
While having a big focus on the sports part of the market, MultiChoice has offerings beyond this.
In July 2024, the group launched the Aviator casino game in SA through its KingMakers unit. The game, created by Spribe, now has more than 5-million monthly active players worldwide and is growing in popularity locally.
KingMakers
In June 2021, the group paid $281.5m to increase its stake in BetKing, a digital and sports entertainment platform that focuses on Africa, to 49%. It initially bought a 20% stake in October 2020. Blue Lake Ventures, which traded as BetKing, subsequently changed its name to KingMakers.
Overall, KingMakers delivered “strong underlying momentum in its operations, despite a challenging macro and FX environment” for the half year to September.
Net gaming revenues declined by 48% to $48.3m (about R900m) for the period due to the weaker naira vs the US dollar but were up 10% on an organic basis, which excludes foreign exchange movements.
Global trends
Globally, betting and gambling activity, particularly in sport, is on the rise.
In the US, the industry has seen a major boost as the market has become more liberalised. Betting on sport is now legal in 38 states, with Missouri set to become the 39th state in 2025, as well as the District of Columbia.
US legislators are now mulling how to regulate the sector at a national/federal level given the increased uptake in what is now estimated to be a $10bn industry.
Policymakers on the African continent are also expected to start contemplating the same issue as more people take up betting, driven by the internet on the continent.
SA performance
In January, DStv’s parent company officially entered SA’s sports betting market with a new platform, using its tie in with SuperSport, Africa’s largest sports broadcaster, to stand out in an already crowded, but growing, market.
The group, which uses sport as a big drawcard to its DStv and Showmax platforms, is employing the same strategy to boost the betting business through programming and other efforts that increase awareness of betting, helping to push up users for SuperSportBet.
“It remains early days for SuperSportBet in SA, with the focus for KingMakers and SuperSport on establishing a market presence in a competitive field through leveraging the SuperSport ecosystem, as well as the SA football club partnerships, and ensuring a competitive offering, tactical promotions, the recent introduction of the popular Aviator game and a focus on key sporting codes and leagues,” said MultiChoice.
“The business has grown stakes consistently on a monthly basis since launching in January 2024 and has seen further acceleration since launching Aviator in July 2024.”
Nigeria performance
The business is still bigger in Nigeria, but the macroeconomic picture in the West African nation continues to be a drag on MultiChoice overall, with the betting business unable to escape this reality.
The weaker naira, down 42% against the dollar in 2024, negatively affected earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) by $6m, and due to the investment behind the SA launch, KingMakers moved from positive earnings of $10m in the first half of the 2023 calendar to negative $6m in the same comparative period in 2024, while net income followed the same trend.
“Given its focus on online betting, which has stronger economics than its agency business, BetKing Nigeria has moved to number two in the online betting market. A focus on the quality of its agency network over quantity has also resulted in improved profitability through higher average wagers and revenues per agent,” said the group.
“With the weaker naira, BetKing is managing costs carefully, including more tactical marketing and customer acquisition spend (given that it is typically USD-denominated) and moving the group engineering function to more affordable locations.”
As at end-June 2024, KingMakers held $96m in cash on its balance sheet to fund its product and market rollout plans.
The group valued its investment in KingMakers at $209m at end of September.
gavazam@businesslive.co.za
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