Best Online Casinos - South Africa

Online gambling activity in South Africa is prohibited by a series of laws, of which many iterations have arisen over the past decade or so. The gambling landscape in South Africa is controlled by a governing body known as the National Gambling Board, which was subsequently established in 1996. The responsibility of the NGB is to oversee all regulations and integrity of the gambling industry within South Africa, this includes the acts of evaluating and issuing of national licenses, compliance monitoring of these licenses, and the monitoring and detection of any unlicensed gambling activity. It was too in 1996 that 9 separate provincial gambling boards were established to help regulate activities in their respective jurisdictions as well.

Online gambling activity in South Africa is prohibited by a series of laws, of which many iterations have arisen over the past decade or so. The gambling landscape in South Africa is controlled by a governing body known as the National Gambling Board, which was subsequently established in 1996. The responsibility of the NGB is to oversee all regulations and integrity of the gambling industry within South Africa, this includes the acts of evaluating and issuing of national licenses, compliance monitoring of these licenses, and the monitoring and detection of any unlicensed gambling activity. It was too in 1996 that 9 separate provincial gambling boards were established to help regulate activities in their respective jurisdictions as well.

According to the Wiki-timeline of disputes in local courts, South Africa's first real form of legislation regarding gambling came with the introduction of the Gambling Act of 1965. The act stated an official ban on all types of games of chance, leaving out only betting on horse racing because it was considered a sports activity, not one of gambling.

In 1996 the then democratic government introduced the National Gambling act of 1996, and with it a clause that stated all online interactive, or online gaming, was now officially deemed illegal within the borders of South Africa.

The modern era presented the final changes to the stance of online gambling in South Africa which still govern the country to this day. Certain clauses and sections stated in the National Gambling Act of 2004 were modified by way of the National Gambling amendment bill of 2018. The summary of the bill states that only sports betting is deemed to be legalised in South Africa, this includes horse racing.

Government at this stage also then took a decision to also allow legalized and regulated land based gambling in South Africa, given that the operator upheld the relevant license documentation.

In terms of interactive gaming (online gambling) however, section 11 of the gambling act 2004 issued by the NGB still remains firm, it states that:

“A person must not engage in or make available an interactive game except as authorised in terms of this Act or any other national law”.

As mentioned, those who would like to bet on games of chance, play slots, poker or roulette, can visit around 40 authorized land-based venues with gambling licenses issued by local legislations. As to the online sphere, today, only Sportsbook and Racebook are still officially allowed. Income tax does not apply to sports betting wins. However, winnings from horse racing wagers are subject to 6% VAT.

In our database, over 600 brands offer real money gaming for South Africans and allow players to register. To make the search easier, we put a list of top 10 destinations to visit:

Springbok online is a targeted brand with ZAR as the main currency, and cards and e-wallets as ways to deposit and withdraw. Out of 100% returned traffic, more than 80% comes from SA.

7Spins lists ZAR as one of many accepted currencies. Reportedly, over 60% of its regular customers are from SA. Players can use an array of convenient cards and e-wallets.Yebo is targeted and collects over 30% of incoming traffic from South Africa. It is also highly rated online.

Punt is regulated by the Curacao jurisdiction. In addition to ZAR, it also accepts digital currency, which allows players to safely deposit and withdraw regardless of the country of residence and local legislation.

Silver Sands exists since 2002, has a permit issued by Kahnawake, and has an online poker room in addition to a standard list of slot games. Its selection of promotions covers no-deposit bonuses and cash back.

Thunderbolt is powered by RealTime Gaming and has over five years of experience. Welcome bonuses and cashback are listed here among promotions.

DesertNights is another Curacao-authorized location, which turned into a convenient place to head to for everyone living in countries with challenging legal regulations of gambling. The managing company here has solid experience in the industry.

Superior brand was established in 2006 to provide gaming services in a number of languages. Among its bonus propositions are no-deposit free spins.Box24 belongs to a reputable Celicorp Limited network, has and array of crypto-currencies, and supports multi-software library.

Spartan Slots was launched nearly a decade ago and collects positive feedback ever since. Online slot machines and games here come from such popular creators as Microgaming, Pragmatic Play and BetSoft.

We also need to mention Winner because it has high searching rates online, but we do not recommend it due to a vague Antigua and Barbuda license and a trail of complaints and issues that do not characterize it as a safe choice.

Currencies

South African rand is the official currency in the country. It is widely spread in the online gaming industry and appears in banking sections of up to 19% of online operators. In our database alone, over 100 titles accept ZAR.

In addition to your local currency, you can also pay and withdraw in other popular options. Among them are:

- Euros

- Us dollars

- Digital cash

Payment Methods

Among the most popular ones are e-wallets, including PayPal and Skrill. Two of the most common cards are Visa and MasterCard. Neither of these have high fees, and all allow for high cash-out limits. In the case of e-wallets, payouts are also processed rather fast.

Among the most popular options for this country are mono-software lobbies with entertainment from the following studios:

- RealTime Gaming

- Playtech

- Rival

When it comes to multi-software lobbies, their most common participants are Microgaming, Net Entertainment, Play’n GO, NeoGames, and Next Generation Gaming, just to mention a few.

Slot machines remain the most popular cohort regardless of the provider. Mega Moolah predictably leads all ratings as the iconic progressive release. It also becomes especially popular in this country due to its Savannah theme. By the time we were ready to publish this review, the machine just paid another record-breaking reward of USD 8,332,554.01!

Players also appreciate football themed reeled machines. This is because in 2010, the country hosted the World Cup. Among releases that are requested online are Top Trumps by Playtech and Soccer Safari by Microgaming. The list of other popular releases can be continued with such titles as Raging Rhino, Tarzan, Monkey King, African Simba, and Legends of Africa.

Almost all of these can be played as free slots, except for some machines hosted in mono-software lobbies. Also, practically all studios already adapted their content for mobile play. The average RTP of slots is 95-97%. An assortment of features covers all types of bonuses, from free spins and bonus rounds to Wild modifications.

Aside from online slots, among other games for real money preferred in South Africa are poker, roulette, and blackjack.