Sun International enters online market with Voltbet.com acquisition

South African casino operator Sun International has made its first move into the growing South African online gaming market with the proposed acquisition of Powerbet Gaming, operator of online fixed odds sportsbook Voltbet.com.

Sun International has made an offer to acquire 100 per cent of the issued share capital and shareholder loan accounts of Purple Gaming, a division of Purple Capital which includes the Powerbet sports betting platform and licensed operator Voltbet.com.

Sun International will acquire the business for R30m (€2.5m) in cash, which will be settled subsequent to the signing of definitive agreements between the two parties.

In a trading update last week, Sun International said that it had identified online sports betting as a fast growing sector within the gaming industry and believed that there were synergistic opportunities between this form of gaming, its existing business and the possibility of online gaming in the future.

“To this end, the group is pleased to announce its proposed acquisition of Powerbet Gaming (Pty) Limited which operates Voltbet.com,” said the company. “Powerbet provides the group with the ideal platform to accelerate the group’s entry into the online gaming market.”

Purple Gaming’s interests comprise Powerbet Gaming, which owns and operates online fixed odds sports betting operator Voltbet.com, licensed by the Western Cape Racing and Gambling Board.

In addition, it includes Powerbet’s sports betting software and associated manufacturing licences (issued by the WCRGB), and Purple Capital Gaming, which holds a bookmakers licence in Tanzania.

Purple Capital said that Voltbet.com is in a rapidly expanding industry in South Africa, and requires capital and distribution capacity beyond what the company can offer.
 
“Sun International is ideally positioned to take Voltbet.com through its next growth phase,” said the company in a statement to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

The proposed disposal of Voltbet.com will allow Purple Capital to restructure its core business focus on its online brokerage business GT247.com and Emperor Asset Management.

The offer has been approved by Purple Capital’s board of directors but remains subject to a number of conditions, including a review exercise undertaken by Sun International, various regulatory approvals, and final approval of the offer by the Sun International board.