Gambling has become a part and parcel of the sports experience for sports fans in many countries across the world, including South Africa. Sports enthusiasts are no longer content with just watching the sports events unfold; they want to get extra entertainment by placing real money wagers on the sport. They rightly feel that sports events get more exciting if one has a financial stake on them. In other words, betting on game outcomes adds to the excitement of the event.
Online sportsbooks make it easier for sports enthusiasts to place bets on their favorite sports events. Some of them even enable bettors to wager on live sports events as well as providing anonline casino experience. Since no two online sportsbooks are alike, it is up to bettors to carefully research the sportsbook or sportsbooks that interest them. South African players can choose from two major varieties of online sports betting sites-those based in South Africa and those based in the UK or European countries.
Sports Betting Legalities
South Africa is quite friendly to gambling. The country is divided into 9 provinces, each of which has a racing and gambling board. These boards grant licenses to operators of sports betting services after first reviewing their eligibility for the same. If a bookie, bookmaker, or sports betting operator wants to operate in a particular province, they need to get a license from the respective board. Bettors can use the services of any sportsbook as long as it is licensed, irrespective of the province they live in.
The nine racing and gambling boards are Gauteng Gambling Board, Free State Gambling and Racing Board, Eastern Cape Gambling and Betting Board, Mpumalanga Gambling Board, KwaZulu-Natal Gambling and Racing Board, North West Gambling Board, Limpopo Gambling Board, Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board, and Northern Cape Gambling Board. South Africa also has two more authorities when it comes to gambling, the National Gambling Board (NGB) and the International Association of Gambling Regulators (IAGR).
Popularity of Sports Betting in South Africa
South Africans are fond of watching and betting on sports events and horse races. They also love the national lottery game and casino games. Horse betting and sports betting were the first gambling activities to be legalized in South Africa. However, sports betting and horse betting are today not as popular as the national lottery game and slots games. And sports betting activities are more popular than horse betting.
Perhaps one of the reasons players prefer to bet on sports is the fact that the former is tax free. Bettors don't have to pay any taxes if they are betting on different sports events. On the other hand, horse betting is associated with a tax rate of 6%, a factor responsible for its steady downfall.
Top Legal Sportsbooks in South Africa
Sports betting, and that includes online sports betting, is a 100% legal activity in South Africa. When it comes to sportsbooks, one has to take a number of factors into consideration before deciding to actually register. As previously mentioned, no two sportsbooks are alike, but the best of them are licensed and well-regulated, offer a wide range of betting markets and the best odds, run lucrative promotions, and welcome players with generous bonuses.
Here is a list of the best legal sportsbooks for the residents of South Africa:
Sportingbet South Africa
Sportingbet South Africa offers the largest betting lineup on 90+ sports in the world. Bettors can choose from sports such as tennis, cycling, ice hockey, rugby, football, and others. They can also bet on leagues, matches, and tournaments.
One of the oldest South African Sports Betting Sites!
Established in 1998, the online sportsbook is among the leading providers of online sports betting services in the world. It has an active community of over 700,000 bettors from 26 countries. In addition to 8000+ betting opportunities embracing 30+ sports such as cricket, rugby, basketball, tennis, and football, Sportingbet SA offers 300+ live betting markets. Sportingbet SA has obtained a license from the Western Cape Gambling & Racing Board.
Hollywood Bets
Hollywood Bets started as a Winning Form, a publishing company based in South Africa. In 1986, it used to publish and distribute horse betting cards. In 2000, the company established its first brand in Durban. In 2006, it launched HollywoodBets.net, its first online sportsbook. Three years later, it launched its mobile sportsbook. Today, it has 80+ branches across six provinces in South Africa.
The online sportsbook features a wide range of markets and sports events, international and local horse betting, and covers a wide range of sports. In addition, there are options such as an international lottery game called Lucky Numbers, Betgames Africa, and in-play betting.
BetSA
BetSA is a registered bookmaker in South Africa and is licensed by the Mpumalanga Gambling Board, the Gauteng Gambling Board, and the Limpopo Gambling Board and Betting Board. It offers sports betting services seven days per week.
Applying for a betting account is absolutely free of charge and can be done online. Bettors can deposit money into their accounts through cash, bank transfer, and credit cards. Bets can be played over the counter or through telephone as BetSA does not offer online sports betting services.
Some of the highlights of BetSA include best prices on fixed win bets, anti post bets on all races in South Africa, and a variety of other betting options such as course doubles, yankees, place accumulators, and pick 6 bets, to mention a few. BetSA is not a totalizator, which means that your bet is not placed in a tote pool system and does not affect dividends. Bettors can enjoy a variety of sporting event markets such as total score, winning margins, winner, half time second half totals, second half result, and much more.
The BetSA official website is quite friendly and easy to navigate and has all the information bettors will ever need to get started.
Betway South Africa
The founders of Betway, which went live in 2006, aim to provide high quality online sports betting sites, which include services such as live casino, live betting, esports, poker gaming, and online casino games. The operator of Betway South Africa is Betway UK, which enjoys a lot of popularity in the UK. Bettors can access the sportsbook not just on their PCs, but also on their smartphones and tablets through a native app for Android. Betway is currently the chief sponsor of West Ham United Football Club.
Betway Africa – 125% First Deposit Offer Up to R1,000!
The highlights of Betway are its generous welcome bonuses, exciting promotions, and a rewards program called Betway Plus. The online sportsbook offers competitive odds for in-play betting as well as pre-game betting. Bettors can choose from markets on sports such as football, cricket, golf, horse racing, and others.
To get the best sports betting experience, experts suggest signing up at multiple online sports betting sites. This enables them to compare odds, betting markets, bonus offers, promotions, and rewards for loyalty and get the best out of all the sports betting sites they have registered at.
Further Reading
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