It is unclear how many employees will be affected by the retrenchments.
The Lost City resort in Sun City. Picture: iStock
As South Africans continue to grapple with rising living costs and tighter household budgets, discretionary spending is coming under increasing pressure.
Against this backdrop, Sun International has launched its Casino Lite project, a cost-cutting and restructuring initiative that will see the casino group streamline its operations, with some employees now facing the prospect of losing their jobs.
Sun International owns and manages a prominent portfolio of casino, resort, hotel, and digital gaming brands across the country, with its flagship resort being Sun City, located in the North West province.
Downsizing casinos
Sun International released its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2026 on Monday, revealing that the group has already begun retrenchment consultations.
The group’s Casino Lite project is expected to improve profitability at its underperforming properties.
“During the period, the group implemented a low-cost gaming and operating model to improve profitability at smaller, underperforming properties,” said Sun International.
“The initiative focuses on enhancing adjusted EBITDA and operating margins through optimising gaming operations, growing revenue through insourcing food and beverage outlets, and implementing cost optimisation initiatives including workforce rightsizing and productivity improvements.”
Retrenchments at Sun International
Sun International said the project will result in some job cuts, while, where possible, some employees will be redeployed to other areas.
“Following the implementation of the Casino Lite project and productivity initiatives to centralise certain functions, the group has embarked on a formal consultation process in terms of section 189A of the Labour Relations Act (section 189A).
“Management continues to engage and consult with staff to ensure that the process is conducted fairly and transparently and, where feasible, will retain and redeploy employees to other areas of the business.”
The group did not disclose how many employees were affected by the retrenchments. It previously confirmed to Moneyweb that the underperforming casinos affected by retrenchments are the Golden Valley (Worcester), Meropa (Polokwane), Windmill (Bloemfontein) and Flamingo (Kimberley) properties. These are the group’s four smallest casinos.
Online gambling delivers results
According to the financial results, the group’s online gambling platform, Sunbet, remained the group’s most significant growth opportunity.
Income increased by 35.5% to R1.2 billion, supported by a 32.3% increase in unique active player days and a 17.5% increase in first-time depositors.
During the period, the group made further progress on enhancing customer engagement capabilities and sportsbook functionality, implemented in the back end of the first half of the year.
“Sunbet is expected to benefit from its new customer-facing interface launched in South Africa and Botswana in August and July 2026, respectively,” said Sun International.
Land-based casinos performance
The group’s results showed that its land-based casinos portfolio was up 2.3 percentage points to 49.0%, “despite broader market weakness”.
The portfolio increased income by 1.5% to R3.4 billion, driven by the launch of 876 new slot machines and new stadium games, a focus on table game execution, and improved capabilities built during the period.
However, gross profit declined marginally by 0.7% to R2.0 billion, driven by higher investments in marketing and capabilities.
“Land-based casinos contributed 51.9% of group income, maintaining our position as the leading land-based gaming operator in South Africa. The group continued to leverage its integrated entertainment offering, including flagship venues such as the Sunbet Arena and Grand Arena, to increase visitation and strengthen the overall customer experience,” said the group.
