Botswana’s gambling market is booming, with over P150 million in legal bets placed in March 2025. Yet nearly half the market still belongs to illegal operators. The Gambling Authority is fighting back through public education, tech tools, and cross-border partnerships. As big global players seek licences, the shift offers major growth potential. For investors, it’s a classic case of money flowing from the impatient to the patient.
It’s common to see friends gather around a phone, putting together what they call “the slip”. This is a list of bets they hope will turn their shared P200 into life-changing money.
More and more dreams are placed like that in Botswana: on goals, corners, and comebacks.
Size of the market
Earlier this month, when Gambling Authority boss Emolemo Kesitilwe welcomed one of the betting companies into the country, he revealed that in March 2025 alone, more than 248,000 users had been brought into the legal gambling market. He said licensed betting companies handled more than P150 million in bets.
But that’s just half the story, literally.
Kesitilwe estimated that:
- About 48% of the gambling market still belongs to illegal overseas websites.
- If the entire gambling market moved to legal operators, he said, monthly betting could top P313 million.
- He estimated that could translate to up to P600 million a year flowing through regulated channels.
The CEO is now fighting to reclaim the grey market.
The Gambling Authority is:
- Blocking illegal websites,
- Collaborating with global regulators, and
- Rolling out a campaign called Motshameko o Phepha (Safe Gambling).
This has already reached over 100,000 people in nearly 200 towns and villages, according to Kesitilwe.
Numbers Matter For Investors
The engine behind online gaming profits isn’t luck, it’s numbers. This is why Numbers are very important for the betting companies. The more players join in, the more money flows to the house.
While Others Bet on Dice, Some Bet on the House
As more of the gambling industry becomes formalised by the Gambling Authority, some smart minds are putting their money behind the businesses enabling those bets. They are playing the long game, not the get-rich-quick one.
They’re investing in the companies running the casinos, sports books, and slot machines. These investors aren’t chasing jackpots. They’re collecting dividends. Some of this is from total amount of money a gambling company keeps after paying out winnings to players.
The House Always Wins — And You Can Own It
Sun International is a JSE-listed hospitality and gaming giant. It is behind the digital betting arm, Sunbet.
In South Africa, Sunbet has seen user numbers rise 35% in 2024, from 403,000 to 544,000, according to the company’s 2024 results. More customers, more deposits, more bets, more business for them and more rewards for shareholders and you if you are an investor.
- Sunbet has grown its income from R182 million in 2021 to R1.2 billion in 2024, according to its 2024 financials.
- That’s a more than sixfold increase in three years.
- Since 2022, Sam Sithole, Chairman of Sun International, said the group has returned R3 billion to shareholders.
Botswana Is the Next Betting Frontier
Until now, Sunbet has only operated in South Africa. But in December 2024, it became the first operator licensed by Botswana’s Gambling Authority and took the country’s first legal sports bet.
Sunbet’s Botswana site is now live.
According to Sithole, they are excited about gaining a significant share of the local market.
As mentioned, the key driver of revenue in online gaming isn’t luck. It’s scale. The more people playing, the more the house earns, provided there are fewer payouts.
- In 2024, Sunbet grew net gaming revenue by 60% to R1.2 billion, with slots alone up 53%.
- According to the results, the growth was helped by bettors placing fewer payouts.
Sun International also operates Sun Slots which makes limited payout machines (LPMs) available for public use and entertainment. The group chair said a new route operator licence is being secured in Botswana.
“The rollout of LPMs in this region will allow the business to expand into new markets.”
Betway’s Big African Bet
Sunbet is not alone. Super Group, the company behind global betting brand Betway and online casino Spin, is also in Botswana.
- Globally, Betway brings in 61% of the group’s money, and its biggest market is now Africa and the Middle East, where it made $203 million in the first quarter, the company says.
- Super Group Ltd is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).
Betting on the Dice vs Betting on the Casino
While most are placing bets on a quick win, a quieter group is placing a different kind of bet. On the house itself.
As investor Warren Buffett once said:
“The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient.”
- Patience pays. Sun International went six years without dividends. But long-term investors were rewarded when the business got back on track in 2022.
- Scale wins. In betting, revenue is tied to users. Companies that grow customer numbers often grow income faster than gamblers can spin.
