Online Sportsbooks

The Best Online Sportsbooks For South African Players

We all know that sports betting has come a very long way over the past few decades in South Africa, changes that have seen many pros and of course a few challenges to the landscape of sports betting in the country. Of course, with South Africa being the market that it is, traditional betting shops, particularly in the more populated areas, are still very much a thing, especially amongst the traditional punters, however, a new type of punter is on the rise, and taking the South African gambling space by storm.

With the phenomenal rise in not just the capabilities of mobile phones, but also affordable accessibility in South Africa, it was only a matter of time before pretty much all people began to own some or other type of mobile device. Of course, as with any mobile phone around the world, incredibly easy, fast, and convenient access to the internet helped skyrocket the appeal.

So what did traditional sports betting shops need to do? well, like most businesses looking to survive the modern-day, they needed to get themselves online, and available for players to access when they wanted. As a result, the online sportsbook was born, and with it, the next decade of online gambling popularity

What Is Sports Betting?

Sports betting in its purest form is a very simple activity to understand, it of course starts with a sports event or competition, and with every sporting event, there are 3 basic outcomes, a winner, a loser, or a draw. Sports betting is essentially the activity of placing a sum of money on what you feel is going to be the outcome of that contest, if you bet the outcome correctly, you will win, if not, you will lose your bet.

The art of placing a bet on the outcome has changed drastically over the past few decades, and as a result, sports betting is not just limited to simple, win, loss, draw outcomes. Today players have a plethora of amazing outcomes on which to place their bets, the selection is so vast that it has gotten to a point where any moment within a fixture, event, or competition can be wagered on. From the team who scores first, to the exact game outcome, winning the toss, top bowlers, the man of the match, and in some cases, even the method of victory.

The evolution of modern-day sports betting does not stop with the types of bets you can now place, it has expanded so much that most sportsbooks now offer hundreds of different sporting events, competitions and fixtures. From the traditional sports like soccer, cricket, rugby, players can now place bets on sports such as MMA, darts, floorball, handball, Gaelic hurling, and so much more.

History Of Sports Betting

The history of sports betting dates as far back as one can imagine, well at least as far back as the first known forms of any competitive sports event involving a winner and loser at least. It is very hard to place an exact date on when sports betting was actually started, this is simply because of the very nature of sports betting, from the time it was practised by man, and of course, still to this day, various between what we call, formal and informal sports betting.

On the informal side is the process of placing a bet on an event that involves no 3rd party to conduct or control the bets, this can be done between two friends, for example, the alternative is obviously the formal route, whereby bets are placed using a licensed middle man or sportsbook. So because of earlier informal betting days, it makes pinpointing the exact origins and beginnings of sports betting very difficult.

What we do know from historical records though, is that the first recorded forms of sports betting began in ancient Greece some 2,000+ years ago, this was predominantly athlete based with the many greek games held at the time. The art of sports betting quickly cascaded to the roman empire, where the likes of chariot racing, and of course infamous gladiator duals took place, it was common practice for spectators to place wagers on the outcomes of these events.

Fast forward to medieval times and sports betting was very much gaining its shape, so much so that the then, very present religious organisations and leaders sought to ban its existence. Of course, this did not stop people from continuing to bet amongst themselves. This behaviour led to new problems in the form of underground gambling, where crime, death and often massive personal debts by would-be punters were rife.

There were a few forward thinkers amongst the crowd who saw the income possibilities in the form of tax as a result of sports betting, so around the late 1100s, the kings of England and France looked to put in place some formal laws around sports betting, the crux of these laws was to limit who could gamble, and how much you could gamble.

Horse racing was considered to be one of the first mainstream betting activities, and its huge popularity continues to this day. Particularly in the UK, horse racing was considered a very noble and wealthy sport, so naturally betting on the outcome went hand in hand. In 1700, A wealthy chap by the name of Harry Ogden noticed something that would change horse betting forever, he identified that there were consistently winning, and consistently losing horses, as a result, the odd was created to help even the betting playing field, lower odds for horses who showed continuous winning, higher, but more risky odds for the underdogs.

Since then the modern day world of online sports betting spreads across both physical and online means, players can place their bets on hundreds, if not thousands of outcomes, pretty much anywhere they want, and at any time.

Online Sports Betting In South Africa

When it comes to Gambling in South Africa, sports betting is amongst the very few activities that has always received more favourable nods, gambling in South Africa has been heavily restricted since 1673, with the South Africa’s Gambling Act of 1965 officially banning all forms of gambling except betting on horse racing.

Up until 1996 when the National Gambling Act was officially introduced, it was only on-track betting on horse races that were considered to be legal in South Africa. Post 1996 though, the newly introduced Gambling Act brought with it a far more structured gambling landscape in South Africa. For starters, all 9 of South Africa’s provinces would create their own national gambling and racing boards, there role was to distribute around 40 legalised gambling licences to applying operators, as well as to regulate and oversee good gambling practise within their respective provinces, these 9 provincial boards would then feed into the main National Gambling Board or NGB.

Todays laws are governed by the National Gambling Act of 2004, which was designed and put in place to establish certain uniform norms and standards, which will safeguard people participating in gambling and their communities against the adverse effect of gambling. The act states that sports betting of any kind is legal within South Africa as long as the operator posses the require gambling license to do so.

Choosing The Right Online Sportsbook For You?

Whether you are a complete beginner or a seasoned punter, choosing the right online sportsbook for you can be a daunting task, especially considering that there are hundreds, if not thousands of different new online sportsbooks entering the market daily. So the question is, what is the best approach to choosing the right online sportsbook to suit your playing needs?

Below is our checklist of some of the key points we recommend you investigate when reviewing any new online sportsbook, of course all of this information can be found in our detailed reviews, so you shouldnt have to look to hard to find the one best suited to you:

Accepting of South African players – First things first, the most obvious thing you need to do from the very first minute is identify whether the online sportsbook you are looking to play at actually allows for, and caters to South African players. Sportsbook who don’t allow South African players will restrict you from registering, so make sure you are aware of the online sportsbooks that allow South African players so you don’t end up frustrated and disappointed.

Accept ZAR as a currencies – Back in the earlier days of the online gambling world, South African players who had access to online sportsbook only really had the opportunity to play and withdrawal in foreign currencies. Now as we all know, when it comes to the South African Rand, the exchange rate with foreign currencies has always left us on the back foot, so you never really had the full benefit. Fortunately things have progressed since then, and many operators have now made it possible for local players to deposit and withdrawal using our beloved South African Rand. Make sure that you are choosing sportsbooks that cater to ZAR.

The Gambling License – As mentioned in the history of gambling in South Africa, the license that a sportsbook holds can make or break its operations. Be sure to identify a sportsbook that carries with it a clear sign of one of the 9 provincial gambling and racing board licenses.

Payment Methods – Banking methods are a major component of any punters online experience. To have the deposit and withdrawal payment methods that you are actually familiar with, and that are available to South African players specifically, makes all the difference when it comes to the player experience. Make sure you pick those sportsbooks that cater to your preferred payment preferences, as well as ensure safe and secure payment means when you are depositing or withdrawing online

Sports fixture Selection – There is nothing worse than entering a sweet store or car dealership that doesn’t offer the selection that you would actually like, so why do it with an sportsbook. The software providers chosen by sportsbooks are essentially the key to firstly, the sports available, secondly the types of bets you can place, and thirdly, and very importantly, the odds at which each bet is sitting.

Remember that you don’t need to settle with your first sportsbook, get to know the ones that offer a nice variety of sports you enjoy at odds that are fair and attractive.

Bonuses & Promotions – Competition amongst sportsbook is high, so in order to not just attract but retain new players, sportsbooks really on great sign up and ongoing bonus offers. As a player you can grab some great No deposit and deposit bonuses which will really help you on your playing journey, visit our bonus section to find out which ones are available.

Terms & Conditions – The finer details that players sometimes choose not to read, rightfully so of course considering these are often very lengthy and complicated. The key things when it comes to T’s & C’s you want to look out for, and again you will find these in our detailed reviews is, Fair wagering requirements, acceptable player terms when it comes to min and maximum deposit amounts, odds on fixtures, and full transparency of game outcomes.

Customer Support – The final key factor you want to know about when choosing a sportsbook is, how reliable are their support team? If you are having difficulty placing a bet, depositing, or even making a withdrawal from your account, you want to know that the support team are available 247, 365.

Mobile Sportsbooks

Because South Africa is a predominantly mobile market, it makes a lot of sense that the sportsbook you register with has the ability to render correctly across many different devices, whether you are a player who is looking to place a bet on your computer, your cellphone, or even your tablet, you need the user experience to adapt to suit your playing preference

What is a responsive sportsbook? If a website is responsive, it simply means that it has been designed and created in such a way that its structure and content can quickly adapt to fit the sizes of multiple screen sizes and resolutions. What a player can expect no matter what device they may be using is website text that is easily readable, button surface areas that are big enough to click, a sign up process that is easy and conducive to smaller screens, and lastly images that fit the right scale of the page.

Non responsive website, even some mobi sites will exhibit disproportionate image sizes, slow loading times, reduced features and options, and overall just a difficult and poor user journey.

Ensure that you look out for sportsbooks that cater to mobile first players.

How To Spot An Illegitimate Sportsbook

The growing demand of sports betting, particularly online within South Africa has brought with it many positives, these can be seen in better overall standards of sportsbook offerings, greater variety of sports fixtures, better odds, and of course more attractive bonus incentives.

As with all things in life, the increase in the demand for great sports betting options has brought with it a number of overnight hopefuls looking to prey on the inexperienced and misinformed.

To ensure that you are aware and equipped to identify a possible illegitimate or blacklisted sportsbook from the outset we have compiled a checklist for you to scan through when reviewing any new or unfamiliar offering.

It’s important to note that there is no centralised blacklist that players can simply reference, and many times a listed blacklist offering will be judged based on a providers own criteria, with this being said though we do recommend you take note of these.

1. No Visible Gambling License

You need to be very cautious of any online sportsbook who has not visibly made their legal gambling certificate with one of the 9 provincial gambling boards known, this is a straight flag in our book. Remember by law, Gambling operators within the borders of South Africa are required to obtain a gambling certificate in order to operate, without this in place there are no legal means protecting you from possible fraudulent activities.

2. The Sportsbooks Reputation

Reputation in life is everything, and it couldn’t be more true when it comes to online sportsbooks. One of the best ways to identify the trustworthiness of any online sportsbook is to look to see what players have to say about it in reviews and forums, the second thing is to also find out what other well known operators have to say about it within the industry.

Reputation includes aspects such as payout terms and conditions, none payments, drawn out payment processes, incomplete deposits, unfair bonus terms, and of course changing terms

With the power of the internet and its ability to connect us, we are pretty confident that if a sportsbook is misinforming or scamming players, something will be known about it very quickly.

3. Customer Support

Before committing to any online sportsbook we recommend you first investigate what type of support channels they offer, this says a lot about the operator and the possible future experience you may have with them. We understand this can be quite tricky and time consuming, so to help, our team of experts have not only listed each of the sportsbooks support channels on our reviews, but we have also physically made use of each and everyone to test its responsiveness and the level at which it is responded to.

Sportsbooks with poor response times, or those who don’t respond at all are earmarked as a red flag to players.

A great Sportsbook will have an email, a toll free number you can call, as well as 24/7 live chat available, additional to this, not only are you looking out for easy and convenient ways to reach the sportsbook support team, but you also want them to have a proven track record of responding to players timelessly and accurately.