Gambling has always had a stigma to it. At the same time, it’s one of the oldest forms of entertainment in the world. Most governments have policies in place to protect the residents. Modern-day gambling, however, is very much streamlined and regulated.
BetZillion is a global brand that works for punters. It doesn’t matter where the punters are from. But for this very piece, our focus is on South Africa, the land of natural beauty as well as cultural diversity. Throughout this guide, we’re going to go over the legal aspects of the sports market in the country and how you can stay safe as a potential bettor.
Table of Contents
A BetZillion Take: Is Sports Betting Legal in South Africa?
The goal of BetZillion has always been to ensure a safe and legal gambling environment for the readers. And that always starts with going over the legality of betting in a country. As for SA, sports betting is completely legal and regulated.
The big cities like Johannesburg or Cape Town and smaller suburbs also have licensed bookies. Punters of legal age, which is 18 in the country, are free to place bets on football, rugby, horse racing, cricket, darts, MMA, or any other sport you can think of.
The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) is primarily tasked with overseeing the sports industry on a national level. It’s responsible for multi-coded events like the Olympics, Commonwealth, World Games, Zone VI games, and whatnot.
On the other hand, betting on these sports events is supervised by the National Gambling Board. The board keeps track of all the physical betting shops across the country based on the National Gambling Act 2004.
As for physical betting shops, Hollywoodbets is bound to come up. It’s based in Durban, SA, but not only operates in the country but also across Mozambique, the UK, and Ireland.
If you’ve been following BetZillion’s operations, chances are you already know that we deal with online rather than offline betting. Don’t worry about that aspect because online sportsbooks are legal in South Africa.
But that’s it. If a betting site turns out to offer poker or online casino games, it automatically belongs to the illegal wagering sites category.
How Does the Legality Paradigm Hold Up Compared to the Rest of the World?
By now, you’re up to date on whether sports betting in South Africa is legal or not. You also know that online casino games and poker are strictly prohibited, even if it’s from an offshore gambling site.
The question is, how does it compare with the rest of the world? In our Hollywoodbets examples, we’ve mentioned its operations in the UK. So, let’s start there.
- The UK is an ideal example of an online gambling jurisdiction. The UK Gambling Commission is the government’s wing to regulate both online and offline betting. From online sports betting to casino games to poker to bingo, you name it, the government has legalized and controlled it.
- The USA: The betting culture in the USA is very new. Not all the states are even done summarizing their betting legislation. New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Colorado, etc., are ahead of most other states by legalizing online casino games and sports betting. In fact, it also legalized single-game wagering!
- Nigeria: As we’re talking about South Africa, it only makes sense to bring in the biggest competitor for the continent. Nigeria is the biggest economy in Africa right now, and it’s dependent on online gambling to a certain extent. For cultural reasons, most gamblers go for sports betting. However, online casino games are also legal in the country.
What are the Most Popular Sports in South Africa?
We’ve already hinted how South Africa is one of the most diverse cultures on the continent. It also reflects the sports preferences among both the fans and the bettors. So, let’s go over the most popular sports in SA that you can bet on.
Cricket
It’s obvious why the punters are so obsessed with cricket in the country! The SA national cricket team is a force to reckon with on the international scene. Names like Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, and Dale Steyn have blessed the fans with hundreds of memorable moments.
The physical and online betting platforms available to South African punters offer cricket as a betting sport. You can expect all major tournaments like the ICC World Cup, ICC T20 World Cup, Tri-nation Series, and whatnot.
Football
Football may not get as much traction as cricket in SA, but it’s popular enough for all betting shops to offer markets for it. Football is the most popular sport for betting all over the world.
Domestic tournaments like South African premier Division, South African Football Association, National First Division, SAFA Second Division, etc., make it to the betting markets list when the time is right.
Canoe Racing
Maybe you didn’t see it coming. Or, perhaps you did. We’d be surprised if you didn’t know about the Dusi Canoe Marathon, often credited as the greatest canoe race on Earth! Although it’s unlikely that you’ll find this race for betting on international bookmaker sites, you’ll surely find it on local ones like Hollywoodbets.
What Roles Does BetZillion Play in All This?
You might be wondering, what does BetZillion have to do with anything? Well, we’re a team of sports enthusiasts. At the same time, we like to test our luck with betting. And most importantly, we want to share our cumulative experience with you.
Let’s look at what BetZillion does for the betterment of the punters in SA and the rest of the world.
|
Bookie Reviews |
Betting Guides |
Payment Methods |
Tips & Prediction |
Bonus Evaluation |
|
One of the biggest challenges for punters, especially newcomers, is finding the right online bookmaker. To help you, we review online betting sites that accept players from South Africa. You can choose South Africa by simply sorting the betting sites by region. Safety is always our primary concern, even more than the sports the website offers. |
Giving you options for online bookmakers isn’t the end of our duties. We also want you to utilize your time properly. Hence, we have created plenty of betting guides for all major sports as well as exciting betting strategies. We want BetZillion to be the one-stop learning platform for you. |
Online betting requires online payment methods, period. While you know all about international methods like Visa, Mastercard, E-wallets, and bank transfers, you may not learn about the local techniques only SA punters can use. We find them, review them, and share our opinion on them. |
Last but not least, our betting gurus are always on the hunt for the best tips and predictions for you. From tennis to MMA to auto racing to boxing to football, you name it, our experts got it. You can navigate to the BetZillion “Tips & Predictions” page anytime to find the latest events and their dissection available. |
Whether you’re particularly a fan of bonuses or not, there’s no way to deny that they play a major role for the majority of bettors. Hence, we have a dedicated section for bonuses where you go into the details of what each bonus means and how you can determine if it’s worth it for you. |
Wrapping Up
As you can see, South Africa still has a long way to go if it wants to compete globally through online gambling.
Thanks to all the regulations, South Africa is a very friendly jurisdiction for sports bettors. All reputed online betting sites accept players from the country. Once you sign up, you can get some of the most generous bonuses and promotions as well as the all high-voltage betting markets.