Super Group sees opportunity in the chaos as the UK betting industry braces itself for the meteoric financial hit next week when a new tax regime comes into effect.
Neal Menashe, CEO of Super Group, the parent firm of prominent UK and international online bookmaker Betway, commented on the new 40% rate on online gaming on the latest episode of iGaming Daily – the first edition of the podcast in full video format.
Overall, Menashe takes the same view of most other UK betting stakeholders – the tax raises the sector will face from April onwards will be overwhelmingly negative. This will not just be for the market, but for the wider economy, he believes.
“We see a lot of that when you over-tax an industry so no one can make any money, the countries end up losing all the taxes they would have collected and it goes to these illegal unregulated operators,” he said.
The trick, for Menashe, is finding a balance – in his view, the ideal tax rate on gross gaming revenues (GGR) should be between 15%-25%. Coincidentally, this is where the UK’s remote gaming duty (RGD) of 21% and General Betting Duty of 15% currently sit.
Regardless, Super Group, like all other UK stakeholders, will feel the brunt of the tax burden. However, Menashe is more confident than most that the firm will come out the other side in one piece, perhaps even in a better position than before.
“We caught out in Q4 earnings that we thought that the hit in the UK will be about $50m pre-mitigation,” Menashe explained.
“Obviously we believe marketing rates will come down, we’ll become more efficient. The smallest operators now cannot afford to operate in the UK, so there’s less competition.
“We’ve obviously put a lot of effort into our product in the UK. So we’ve seen a lot of up-lifts.”
Africa – Super Group’s growth engine
For all the talk of the UK, and the significance of the market to the Betway brand in particular, Africa is where the future lies for Super Group. This would be true regardless of the April tax hikes, as Africa has been on the firm’s agenda for some time.
Betway is one of the biggest brands in South Africa, which is in turn one of Africa’s biggest betting markets – to the point where government statistics now list betting and gaming as a substantial segment of the national economy.
Around 40% of Super Group’s overall revenue comes from Africa, according to Menashe, who also shared estimates putting the Total Addressable Market (TAM) across African iGaming at $11bn in 2025 and $22bn by 2030.
“This growth is underpinned by population growth, mobile money penetration, smartphone adoption, and rising casino engagement,” he said. “South Africa is probably the most mature market and we are the top operator there. It’s well regulated, with record casino volumes in quarter four.”
He continued: “A market we launched in February 2025 was Botswana. We’ve seen great growth there, sustained growth, great numbers, customer numbers, and we’ve put in position there as well.
“One that we’re not doing so well in is Nigeria. We are redefining our strategy in Nigeria, which is totally different to the rest of Africa. We do see lots of upside and it’s obviously a large market and we are mobile first, so we’re honing our product there, but we’ve got lots of other countries coming online.”
All about the brand
Super Group’s approach to African iGaming has seen some more unique, out-of-the-box ideas. The launch of its own stablecoin is one example, done in response to the fragmented African payment landscape – Super Group alone has 150 payment integrations across the continent, Menashe shared.
Africa is catching the attention of many other iGaming operators, however, including both domestic firms and those with European heritage like Super Group. Kaizen Gaming’s Betano, UK-based giant bet365, and Sweden’s Betsson being a few examples.
Super Group is more than confident that it can stand out from this crowd, and is already doing so in many cases. Menashe reflects that the firm has ‘learned lots of lessons’ in recent years, not least from its experience of the US, which the firm fully withdrew from last year.
The same way FanDuel and DraftKings now dominate the US, Menashe is confident that Super Group is achieving the same in Africa. “We are them in some of these African countries”, he told iGaming Daily.
“It’s all about the brand, but a great brand with a no-good-product is no good,” Menashe asserted.. “A great brand with an unbelievable product and then unbelievable back office, this is nirvana. And this is what we, we, are striving to do.”
