How we rate the betting sites
The competition on the online betting market has never been as intense as it currently is. There are new bookies joining the market almost on a monthly basis therefore we are constantly updating our reviews and rating of the bookies. We are a team of betting experts that take the time to rate every legal bookie in South Africa.
We use stringent criteria which we will discuss in more detail later in this article. You can be assured that all the reviews are unbiased as the writers are not directly affiliated to any sportsbook.
Legal Status
South Africa had very strict laws against gambling with horse racing the only legal form of gambling for many decades. In 2008 all this changed when online gambling was legalised in the country. Every sportsbook needs to have a licence before they can trade.
All the locally owned sportsbooks need to be licenced by one of the provincial gambling boards. One of the easiest ways to check the legality of a betting site is to check their homepage as they will have their licence number at the footer of their home page.
Reliability
One of the most important factors in choosing a bookmaker is their reliability and trustworthiness. Things like the withdrawal times and ability to result matches timeously are taken into account.
All betting sites have Facebook pages and this is a good place to check what players on their sites are saying about the bookie. You can also read our web pages as we offer excellent reviews on all the major legal bookies in the country.
Odds
The odds of a bookie is arguably the biggest factor when you choose a sportsbook as this directly affects your winnings. We have taken the time and researched the online betting market in South Africa to find which bookie has the best odds.
This task is not easy as there are bookies that may have great odds on football but have poor odds on cricket. It all depends on which sport you enjoy betting on the most and check our reviews for the best bettings odds for that particular sport:
Markets
Since football in particular is played in every corner of the globe, you would expect to find betting markets on every one of these matches. This is not always the situation as many bookies may not cover the smaller football leagues.
The very best bookies have in depth betting markets for football from all the major football leagues as well as the lesser known leagues.
A sport like rugby will be covered in depth by most local bookies as the sport is hugely popular in South Africa while an international bookie may not have good coverage for rugby as the sport may not be popular in the bookies country of origin.
Once again it’s important to look out for your specific betting needs.
Bonuses
This is the single biggest attraction to new players as this is the first thing a punter will check out for when they are looking for a betting site.
It is true the size of the welcome bonus attracts punters but all that glitters is not gold. We say this because a bookie can offer a huge welcome bonus of R10000 but the roller over is 7 times the first deposit amount which means that you will need to bet R70000 to meet the wagering requirements which is not easy.
We also investigate the terms and conditions of all bonuses so you can make an informed decision if the bonus is worth the while.
Apps
Most punters use their mobiles to bet so it’s no surprise that bookies have invested heavily in designing mobile betting apps that are state of the art and literally place a bet shop in the palm of your hand.
The speed of the app and the usability are major factors in us rating the app as good or poor. Some bookies have chosen not to have mobile apps but have instead upgraded their mobile versions so that players can seamlessly bet on their phones.
These mobile versions are of great quality and can sometimes easily match the mobile apps.
Payments
Payments or deposits were a very frustrating aspect with online bookies in the past but in recent years there has been a massive improvement in this area.
Most of the bookies now offer instant payments methods like OZOW and the voucher system. The vouchers have proven to be hugely popular as no banking details are required and the minimum amount starts as low as R10.
The traditional payments like debit and credit card are still available at all bookies but these methods could take up to 24 hours before they reflect in your account.
The more payment options a bookie has the better as sometimes some of the methods can be offline.
Online Broadcasts
Bookies are constantly coming up with innovative ways to attract customers therefore they launch huge marketing drives via their social media pages. We are always on the lookout for new offers from the bookies and are constantly updating the information on this website.
It is an excellent idea to keep checking out our website in that way you will never miss out on any new offers.
Other games availability
The most popular sports like football, rugby, cricket and tennis are well covered by all bookies but some betting sites have over 40 different sports that you can bet on.
There are also some bookies that have decided to offer a maximum of 20 sports but have a wealth of betting markets for each sport. You should rather go with the bookie that has the best odds and coverage for the sport that you bet on the most.
Support
Betting has become a 24/7 business and customer support should be available day and night. There are of course bookies that provide assistance 24/7 which is great but some operate limited hours.
This is most frustrating when you have a technical problem and no one is available to assist. We personally make contact with every bookie we review to find out the response time and if the consultant is well informed.
We are always honest in our assessment of the bookies customer support whether good or bad.
Casino and betgames.
Live casino games being offered by the online betting sites have proven to be a masterstroke as the number of players using this facility has gone through the roof. No longer do players have to go to physical casinos as the casino is in the palm of their hand.
All the popular games from the casino are now available along with 100s of slot games. Another big addition to the betting sites range is Betgames. Punters are going crazy over games like Lucky Numbers, Dice and Wheel of Fortune.
These games are tailored specifically for the local punter which is brilliant news.
Indran Naidoo
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