Best Sports Betting Sites in South Africa

Our reviews are unbiased and honest as the reviews are done by sports betting experts who are punters themselves. Using their vast gambling knowledge they are able to identify the best betting sites on the online gambling market in South Africa. We understand what attracts punters to a betting site and conversely we are aware what annoys punters when they gamble. We have the best interests of the punter at heart therefore we are not afraid to tell our readers the shortcomings of a particular betting site.

What bonuses do the various betting sites offer?

Punters are always keen to find the betting sites that offer the most lucrative bonuses. We have scoured the net to find the best sites in South Africa and the bonuses they offer.

• Playa bets Review– This betting site offers a 1st deposit match of up to R1000. They also have a reward program that gives you 5% back on your losing bets
• Betway Review– They have a great Daily Jackpot that could see you walk away with up to R10,000 daily. Predict the outcome of selected matches and you could win
• Hollywood Bets Review– Punters receive a R25 no deposit welcome bonus meaning once you register you receive R25 to start betting
• Gbets Review– They offer a bet boost on all your bets up to 30 %
• Sunbet Review – You get a first deposit match of up to R2000. Their loyalty program allows you to use their rewards at their hotels and casinos
• Supabets Review– Your welcome is extra special at Supabets as you net a first deposit match of up to R1000 plus you receive a R25 no deposit bonus upon registration
• Sportingbet Review– This bookie has a great 1st deposit match offer of up to R2000. They also have some market leading features like Edit My Bet and Bet Builder

Are there betting sites that offer rewards and Loyalty Programs?

In order to qualify as a great betting site, we ensure that the site has great promotions and bonuses that benefit the punter. Sunbet and Playa bets have great rewards programs each time you bet regardless if you lose your bet. At Sunbet you accrue points with Sun International MVG Program to use at their exclusive resorts. Playa bets returns up to 7% of all losing bets on a Tuesday of the following week.
Bet Boost- This is a novel incentive by Playa bets and Gbets to encourage punters to place a multibet. The more selections you have the higher your boost on potential winnings,
Welcome Bonus- Sportingbet has one of the best welcome bonuses offers from online betting sites in South Africa. They offer a first deposit match offer of up to R2000.

How to claim a free bet bonus at betting sites?

Claiming your free bet bonus is very similar on many of the best betting sites. After making your initial deposit you can contact the site either telephonically or by email and almost immediately your account is credited with the bonus. Some sites require you to only wager your bonus while on other sites you can wager on any type of bet. Terms and conditions do apply.

What coverage is given to football, rugby, horseracing and cricket?

Football undoubtedly is the most popular sport in South Africa and the local betting sites have a great range of markets available for each match but the odds of these matches are great at Betway and Playa bets. You could receive up to 30% more than you expected winnings with Bet Boost. The best betting sites in South Africa have taken the time to satisfy the gambling needs of the local punter by offering extensive markets on the most popular sports like football, rugby, cricket, and horseracing. Hollywoodbets is the best betting site for horseracing as they have intimate knowledge of the local racing scene having started in the 1990s with horseracing outlets. They are leaders in this field.
Gbets maybe the newest of these betting sites but they have recognized that South Africa is a rugby mad country and offer fantastic coverage and bonuses for oval ball punters. They have the one leg feature in rugby and also offer great promotions on all the Springbok games.

Are betting sites secure and legal?

Our first priority before we recommend a betting site to our readers is to check the legality of the site and the security. It’s of paramount importance that a site is secure as they will be storing personal information. We thoroughly investigate what security systems they have in place to prevent any breaches. All our reviewed betting sites have firewalls and encrypted software to keep your information safe.

Many of the betting sites in South Africa have subsidiaries and have started in overseas countries therefore we do all relevant background checks to make certain they are licensed and more importantly if they are licensed by one of our provincial gambling boards.

Which betting sites are best for specific sports?

Our best betting sites give you the most competitive odds and widest market coverage. Playa bets has incredible number of football matches covered in a single day with up to 1300 matches covered. All major football leagues from the around the globe are covered. The popular European leagues like the English Premier and Champion league are extensively covered. The Europa League has been given a lot of coverage purely from the number of matches that take place of matchdays.Supabets have the best betting odds for rugby matches while having an extensive coverage of major sport leagues from around the world. They have rugby betting available for all the Northern and Southern hemisphere leagues and competitions.

How to get help from customer service at Betting Sites?

We know that there is nothing more frustrating for a punter than having a problem with a betting site and not being able to timeously contact their customer support. Betting is a 24 hour operation for punters with markets from all around the world therefore customer support should be equally proactive and be available at any time. Hollywoodbets realizes the need to have help at any hour as they have customer support available 24 hours through a variety of channels that include telephone, live chat and social media.Once you complete your registration process all that needs to be done is fund our account. In the past there were very few methods to fund your account but these days betting sites have a multitude of ways to deposit funds. The best online betting sites in South Africa have seen the need to allow different methods to deposit cash into your betting account. They have all the usual methods like direct deposits, electronic funds transfer and credit card payments. Some of these methods can take up to 24 hours before they reflect in the betting sites account. Our top rated betting sites have other methods like the voucher system for those punters that don’t have bank accounts or prefer not to use their bank accounts. These vouchers instantly credit your account and start as low as R10 and are available at all retailers and even at the spaza shops. If you have a banking app you can use some of the newer payment methods like OZOW and UPAY which are also instant. When a punter wins they want to literally feel the cash in their hands and some betting sites have been exceptional in this regard. Gbets has the fastest payout time from any online betting site in South Africa with them guaranteeing payment in 60 mins. When we put them to the test with their Instant Money Withdrawal we received the money in 28 minutes.

Betting made easy with Mobile Apps

Most punters are using their mobiles to bet purely out of convenience and we have seen the mobile apps of the various betting sites improve tenfold in recent times. The best online betting sites now even offer a data free version of their mobile app although there are limited betting options available on this version. Most mobile apps are a replica of the main site and this is very important to increase the ease of navigation. One of the best betting apps is the Supabets app. They have done an excellent job with their mobile app as it is a faster version of the main site while still offering all the features of the website. The amazing part is how quick the user interface is and it makes betting on live games and live sports matches an absolute pleasure. We know that data is super expensive and Supabets has considered this when they developed a Data free version although Live betting and Casino games are not available on this version.

Special Features of betting sites

The betting sites that we reviewed have their own special features that make them different to their competitors but that is great news for the punter as we have taken the time to tell you which features we found to be the most relevant and hopefully most specific to your betting needs.

Build A Bet at betting sites

This feature is really cool for football punters as it allows you the opportunity to stake multiple bets on a single match. Eg. You could pick who wins the match and also choose who the first goal scorer will be. Some betting sites allow you to choose up to 10 selections in a single match. The betting sites that offer this feature are Betway and Sportingbet.

Cash Out Feature

The cash out feature was a novelty in the past but now most of the leading betting sites offer it. This feature allows you to Cash out your multi bet before all matches have taken place. It is particularly helpful when you feel your remaining selections may not win.

Edit My Bet

This is the newest of the features introduced by betting sites and this allows you to change a selection on midway through and not many betting sites offer this feature. We have found only Sportingbet that has this feature from the online betting sites in South Africa.

Fantasy sports betting

There has been a meteoric rise in the fantasy sports betting. In this form of betting, you don’t merely bet on the outcome of a match but rather you choose a fantasy team and pit yourself against other players that have chosen their fantasy teams. If the players in your fantasy team perform well in their real matches you are awarded points.

Esports betting

This is another form of betting that has taken off recently and has become very popular with betting site. Players from around the world can be followed with live streaming that increases the excitement and of course makes it more fun to bet on. All the leading online betting sites in South Africa have extensive markets for Esports.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup will be played in Qatar and will be played from the 21 November to the 18 December 2022. The tournament will comprise of 32 teams with 31 of the teams coming through the qualifiers and Qatar gaining automatic entry as the host nation. This will be the first time the tournament will be held in November and December but this has been done to counter the extreme heat in Qatar during their summer months of June and July. Five time winners Brazil and defending champions France start as favourites to lift the Cup with England and Spain also being fancied. Germany as always will feature as they have a tremendous record in football’s global showpiece.

Punters in South Africa have an affiliation to the most popular sports like football, rugby, horseracing, and cricket. These sports are widely played in our country and followed by the local punter and we will take a closer look at the best betting sites to use for these sports.

Football⚽

The most popular leagues that South African punters bet on are the English Premier League and our own local Premier Soccer League. These leagues are extensively covered by all betting sites but Playa bets and Betway stand out from all other betting sites when it comes to their football markets. They also have the most competitive football betting odds.

Rugby🏉

South Africa is home to the World Champion Springboks has a huge rugby following and thus the rugby betting market is immense. The bookie that stands out for us with their innovative rugby betting offers is Gbets. They always have super promotions before any big match. They offer promotional betting on all Springbok games. They include bonuses even if your team loses by less than five points

Horse Racing🏇

Sports betting has only taken off in South Africa in the last decade prior to that the only sports punters could bet on was horseracing. This has ensured that there is still a huge market of punters that fancy betting on the horse. While some betting sites have chosen not to cover horseracing and others have very limited coverage, Hollywood bets is certainly the leader from the online betting sites with its horseracing coverage. They found their footing in the gambling market in the 1990s specializing only in horseracing.

Cricket🏏

South Africans have always produced world class cricketers which assured a large following in both domestic and international cricket. Punters have shown their support by betting on the various competitions with the advent of T20 making cricket betting largely popular with punters.

What are the most popular football leagues

• English Premier League

Without a doubt, the most popular sporting league in the world is the EPL. It has the world’s best players and the best supported teams like Liverpool and Manchester United. South Africans love the EPL and betting sites recognized the need to offer in depth coverage of every single match. You can find hundreds of different betting markets within a single match.

• Premier Soccer League

The second most popular league to bet on is the local PSL. This is the top tier of South African football and features Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates. These two teams have dominated football in the country for many decades but the last decade has belonged to the new champions Sundowns. This has made local football betting all the more exciting and unpredictable and has ensured great payout for punters.

• Champions League

Europe’s elite football competition features the best teams from the various European Leagues which has made it hugely popular for football punters. We get to see the greatest players like Ronaldo, Messi, and Salah on the same stage and no other football league can offer this. Betting sites offer every conceivable betting market in a match from which a player will score the first goal to whether a team will strike a shot against the post.

• Europa League

This league has the 32 teams participating but is a punter’s delight as all teams play on one matchday so the betting matches and markets available are endless. Teams don’t always field their strongest teams so there are plenty of upsets in this league.

What is FICA?

FICA stands for the Financial Intelligence Centre Act. FICA is required by betting sites to ensure there are no illegal or fraudulent activities like money laundering taking place. The FICA verification process takes anything from an hour to 24 hours. Playabets have the FICA documents verified with an hour of submitting. The documents that is required for FICA registration is a copy of your Identity Document and Proof of Residence. This must not be older than 3 months.

FICA requirements for SA betting sites

As the FICA ACT is gazetted by the South African government every betting site in the country will need to FICA their new and old players. Beware if a betting site does not ask for FICA documents as this could mean they are not a licensed site and are operating illegally.

Gambling should be a fun hobby you do for entertainment and should never be something that you see as a cash cow that will make you wealthy. Just like any other addiction like alcohol and drugs, gambling can become an obsession that leads to addiction.

These are some simple tips on how to avoid becoming addicted:

Remember! Gambling is Entertainment

Gambling should never be considered a means to pay your bills or plan holidays with your winnings. This is the most important thing to remember, that you are playing for fun and entertainment and if you win then it is a bonus.

Set a Money Limit

It can be hard to keep track of money in the heat of the moment. That’s why it’s important to set a gambling budget, one that still gives you plenty of cash for your normal expenses, and stick to it. If you go through all the money, it’s time to stop.

Don’t Chase Losses

We think this is the most important point to follow. Some days you’re up and some days you’re down. Before you start gambling put aside a set amount that you would feel comfortable to lose. If you lose that money then do not take out more money to win the lost money back. Learn to accept that there will be losses, it ok to lose within your budget but once you start chasing your losses then it becomes a problem.

Don’t Play with Money You Borrowed

The money you use to gamble should be your extra cash or your entertainment money. Never borrow money from your friends or family to go and gamble. Taking loans on your credit card should be an immediate warning to you that your gambling is getting out of control.