KingMakers expands into South Africa as MultiChoice reports facing tough economic conditions

In a move to expand its footprint in the gaming and betting sector, MultiChoice recently signed a deal with Nigerian online betting giant KingMakers, which owns BetKing Nigeria.

As part of the agreement, MultiChoice holds a 49% non-controlling stake in KingMakers' holding company Blue Lake Ventures. The deal, valued at $281.5m (R5.1bn), is a significant step in MultiChoice’s growth strategy.

KingMakers has already achieved strong momentum in Nigeria, where BetKing has secured the second position in the online betting market.

The company is now looking to capitalise on this success by expanding into South Africa with its newly launched SuperSportBet, which has already shown a tenfold increase in net gaming revenue over the past nine months.

According to consolidated interim financial statements for the period ending September 30, the growth of KingMakers aligns with MultiChoice’s broader goal of diversifying its revenue streams beyond traditional pay-TV services.

“KingMakers reported a 27% increase in its online monthly active users in Nigeria and grew its revenue in Naira by 53%. We are also seeing positive early traction with SuperSportBet in South Africa,” the company said in its report.

MultiChoice reported that despite some setbacks, the group is on track to meet its increased full-year target of R2.5bn in cost savings, having already achieved R1.3bn in permanent savings.

One of the standout achievements for MultiChoice in the first half of the year was the acceleration of its cost savings programme.

According to the report, the challenging operating environment resulted in a loss of about R7bn in profits. To adapt, the company right-sized its operations, resulting in permanent savings of R1.3bn over the past six months.

MultiChoice CEO Calvo Mawela said despite these hardships the group's liquidity position remains strong.

“We are making good progress in addressing the technical insolvency that resulted from non-cash accounting entries at the end of the past financial year. We expect to return to a positive net equity position by the end of November, supported by a number of developments and initiatives. The group’s liquidity position remains strong with more than R10bn in total available funds,” said Mawela.

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