African Online Casinos
How we estimate South African online casinos
What is the best online casino in South Africa? Springbok Casino 2. Thunderbolt Casino 3. Europa Casino 4. SilverSands Casino. Reviewing the history of South African online casinos. South African gambling counts for soon-to-be 4 centuries of gambling history, which started in 1673. Since that year, all gambling was prohibited except horseracing, which was considered a sports event, not a gambling entertainment. South Africa is a haven for anyone that loves to play at online casinos. The country is home to many of the world’s finest casinos, many of which offer extremely GENEROUS NO DEPOSIT BONUSES. Yet, while having so much choice is a great thing, it can also make finding the. The Future Of Online Casinos In Africa. At present, the future of online gaming in Africa looks favourable. Considering the interests of African casino buffs, several software developers are concentrating on offering their services here. With this pace, the online casino gaming industry may see new developments in the coming years.
Our expert team has this article written specifically for lovers of on-line betting on sports and casino gambling. From it, a reader can become acquainted with many aspects of on-line gambling, finds out how to do it safely given the current legal conditions in the country & what to look for when seeking a nice gambling house. Let’s begin with the description of how our expert teams estimate online casino in South Africa.
Games choice
Every attractive place for online gambling in South Africa shall have a good selection of on-line games. Those new ones appearing on market usually have no less than a few hundreds of various games, from poker to roulette & from baccarat to craps and bingo. Our expert team has seen gambling facilities that offer over 1,000 slots – even that is not a limit. Obviously, you should opt for those South African online casinos that host more games – for the sake of diversity of your fun.
Customer support & service
The importance of customer support is high because newcomers to a gambling facility may have a lot of questions at first. The more channels in number are given to users, the better it is for them (as their questions are resolved promptly) and for the casino (as it keeps the loyalty of users high).
Bonuses, including welcome bonuses
Bonuses may be the most important part, what gamblers seek in new and old on-line gambling facilities. Those bonuses given to new players are often much more flamboyant than ones given to existing players because of the desire of every new and best paying online casino South Africa to attract more players through such promotion. So, such welcome bonuses may include money for the registration, money for depositing (this offer can be up to +500% to your initial deposit and some percent of addition to a few following deposits after), free spins in one of the specifically mentioned slots & periodic cashback for the money you’ve lost to the casino during one of the previous periods. Existing players also receive an opportunity to participate in tournaments, go through levels to reach the VIP level, have gifts for their birthdays & more. The generosity of bonuses of a new on-line facility for gambling is what makes people constantly search for new gambling houses like hunters.
Legality and general safety in online casinos
As you know, on-line gambling in South Africa is illegal although land-based casinos operate under licenses, which are issued officially. Today, no casino operating on-line in South Africa is thus legal. Also, gambling in them is illegal, too. Modern legal online casinos, which operate in the country, have found numerous ways of how to bypass this prohibition – like using alternative payment channels, not directly showing the connection of payments to on-line gambling houses & allowing users to play through proxy servers, amongst other precautionary measures.
But the issue of ‘gray’ legal scheme doesn’t mean the casino shall forget about players’ security – of their financial and personal data, namely. When our expert team tests the casinos for South Africa, it thoroughly investigates the issue of safety and security, scrupulously studying all pieces of feedback of users on the Internet, to find out whether to recommend or not this or that on-line gambling house. The biggest factors that matter to us are: 1) the casino’s official gambling license rendered by one of the recognized jurisdictions (like Malta or the UK) and 2) the availability of secure payment protocols during payments (including SSL protection).
Depositing and withdrawals in South African casinos
Minding the tricky question of the legality of on-line facilities for gambling in South Africa, banks don’t usually deal with sending money to accounts in on-line gambling facilities or with receiving money from them to bank cards. That’s why casinos either mask their purposes of payments, completely replacing them with something non-casino like ‘Payment for utilities online’ (or something like that) to avoid ban of money flows from them and to them. Also, clients are free to use alternative payment methods, such as BCashy, EasyEFT, EcoPayz, Neteller, Skrill, bitcoins and Apple Pay – that’s in addition to one of many existing electronic wallets, working with which raises significantly lesser questions from banking and regulatory bodies in the country.
Good gambling houses operating on-line should work ideally with all available payment channels listed above, which all contribute to your complete or nearly complete financial anonymity from the controlling bodies (including tax inspections) in the region. Ideally, look for a casino that offers fast depositing and withdrawal methods, especially withdrawal – it should not take week(s). The best online casinos showing much respect to their users shall allow withdrawal in a matter of days, if not hours (after the identity of the user is verified according to the casino’s rules).
What games are the most popular in South Africa?
South Africa is a place where people like betting on various sports (including virtual ones), racing & slots. Below, our expert team describes the list of casino games – the most popular games among South Africans. In addition to those described below, our readers have to know that there is a possibility to play with a live dealer (for those games that have a dealer). This raises the degree of fun, making it feel like in a real land-based casino.
Slot games
To play them, you really don’t need to know rules, as there are no hard rules of playing at all – simply spin the reel and rely on your luck. People are attracted to slots because of their fascinating beauty and the diversity of themes, from space to ancient Egypt, from treasure islands to monsters and bewitching vampire stories.
Blackjack games
This is one of the easiest games to play – where a player has to score 21 to win. As you can tell, there is no much sophistication and players compete against a dealer or with one another and a dealer (if a table accommodates many players).
Roulette games
Roulette is a pure game of chance and luck. People win and lose fortunes in roulette as the gameplay stipulates large bets with tremendous leverages (from 1:1 to 1:36 winning chances). There are two most widespread types of roulette games: European and American, differing with a number of zeroes on the circling part.
Bingo games
Bingo is one of the oldest funs for people of all ages but mostly for pensioners, as it provides tranquility of play yet the possibility to feel the adrenaline. You can’t really win super large money in Bingo but you also can’t lose much.
Lottery games
A lottery is one of the most profitable games for all participating parties – for organizers because a lot of players wish to participate & for players – because the sums of winning reach millions or even billions! Many play lotteries despite slim to none chances of winning super large for each individual participant.
Best developers of online casino games in South Africa
Below, our expert team is looking at the most known best developers of on-line games in South Africa: RTG, Playtech, Microgaming, NetEnt & IGT. These five are monsters of their business and their games are known by millions.
The RTG Company
RTG is also known as RealTime Gaming. It was established in 1998 in the US but at the end of 2008, it moved to Costa Rica. It was bought in 2007 by an HBM Group and now works under the flag of Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles. RTG produces slots and video pokers & its products are used by tens of thousands of online gambling sites.
The Playtech Company
Playtech is on the market since 1999. Its headquarters are in London. It provides software for all types of on-line games, including not purely games but also software for owners of on-line gambling houses, which is designed to help them do their business: accounting, anti-fraud, reporting, CRM & others. The company is so large that it has stocks rotating on London’s Stock Exchange and they are a part of an index called FTSE 250. The total cost of stocks is 1.7 billion dollars, which makes Playtech the richest company of all gambling manufacturers.
The Microgaming Company
This company was the world’s first on-line gambling software maker, as it exists since 1994. It is based on the Isle of Man (under the British crown). It is known for producing the largest-giving on-line slots of all times Mega Moolah, which gave out $6,374,434 in 2009 and then €17,879,645 in 2015. Up to now, it is still the biggest winning from an on-line slot. That’s the main reason for the choice of the company’s products by tens of thousands of gamblers.
The NetEnt Company
NetEnt is known for the provision of over 200 slots. NetEnt works for on-line and offline African casinos, whilst being on the market over twenty years. Their products have an easy interface, amazing graphics & large game customization opportunities for casino operators.
The IGT Company
IGT is the International Game Technology PLC, previously known as Gtech and Lottomatica. It is a public company with tens of millions of US dollars of quarterly revenues & it caters to such industries: iGaming, lottery, sports betting & digital play.
What features online casinos offer their users
Let’s look at what features on-line houses of play offer their users to keep their interest in gambling high.
Mobile apps
Mobile versions of websites and mobile apps for their mobile platforms (gadgets) are very widespread solutions in modern markets. In South Africa, people do not always have advanced mobile devices, so on-line gambling facilities often tune their websites for both mobile and PC gamblers to cover wider audiences. Playing from your phone makes it possible for you to stay connected 24/7 wherever you are.
Fast withdrawal
The possibility to take out of the online casino your winnings fast (in a matter of hours or days) is one of the cornerstones for many gamblers. Nobody wants to wait for weeks and (when winnings are large) months. The rules of many online casinos allow them to split amounts of winnings, which gamblers opt to withdraw if the amount exceeds some threshold. But many don’t want to wait until their balance comes to their wallet or card that long. For the reason for the attraction of new gamblers to their online casinos, many of their owners have established immediate withdrawals for sums not more than thousands of rands. These and smaller amounts are withdrawn immediately or close to that (after a gambler passes full identification) – minutes or, at max, up to hours.
For VIPs and for low-rollers
A certain share of gamblers distinctively discerns from others – they are able to bet large sums of money. They’re called high-rollers and VIPs. Low-rollers are, on the contrary, those people, who can’t afford to bet too much (sometimes, one rand is already a quite large amount from them to bet in a spin of a slot). Yet, they’re still interested in gaming on-line because they’d like to feel that rush of adrenaline in their veins. Those online casinos in South Africa that are capable of delivering gambling opportunities to all these categories of players will win the market by gaining a bigger client base.
Without registration
A possibility to gamble without registration is one of much sought-for features for tax avoidance. That’s why people are highly interested in online casinos providing this option. Also, they’ll be able to play for no money, exploring the games and finding their own interest in such a process.
Where is it better to play – in existing or new casinos?
A new casino is usually a place, which gives appealing bonuses to players, whilst most existing casinos aren’t that generous. If you feel that you aren’t having enough free spins, deposit additions, cashback & prizes for your participation in weekly tournaments or other events in your current gambling facility, this is a great opportunity to search for other places. Today, there are plenty of online casinos, which give real advantages. For instance, try Yeti Casino, Europa Casino, Tropez, Springbok Casino, Fun Casino, Yako & Caramba. Their bonuses and win rates in slots are positively impressive.
Reviewing the history of South African online casinos
South African gambling counts for soon-to-be 4 centuries of gambling history, which started in 1673. Since that year, all gambling was prohibited except horseracing, which was considered a sports event, not a gambling entertainment. First legal land-based casinos started to open in the 1970s, whilst the first global regulation of the area was made in 1996.
In 2004, the National Gambling Act put a prohibition on all on-line gambling, except horseracing, bets on sports & some other bookmaking. Up to today, despite several juridical attempts, the ban has not been removed, which results in the impossibility of legal play in online casinos. All of them working for the South African market today do it through gray schemes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it safe to gamble in online casinos in South Africa?
If you pick one of the casinos that our expert team recommends on this website, they are safe and sound to play – as they have our trust and trust of many users, which our expert team thoroughly investigates prior to placing casinos on our on-line catalog. But you should not disclose your identity or financial data to anyone except for the official website of a casino and its administration – to avoid your money or identity theft. This is especially true when you do large financial transactions from and in casinos.
The legality of online casinos in South Africa
The biggest awareness that you should know is that when you gamble on-line, you aren’t protected by South African laws. So, should anything happen like the casino’s denial to pay out your winning or even banning your account for no reason – you can’t legally protest against their actions or the absence of actions. With that in mind, our expert team recommends our readers to select only those gambling facilities that are reputable amongst players and don’t have such complaints spoiling their public image.
Is it possible to win real money in online casinos?
Yes – if you only deposit real money. Some sign-up welcome bonuses also offer you money for games but it is rather hard to win it not depositing some real money. Also, mind the requirements of wager for ‘welcome’ money coming for nothing but registration – withdrawing wagered money is actually rarely feasible.
Is it possible to play casino games from a smartphone/tablet?
Yes & that’s what modern gambling houses attract new users with. It is convenient for gamblers, so the apps for mobiles or mobile-optimal websites are frequent. You play on the go, during your leisure & rest time.
How bonuses of online casinos work?
Most welcome bonuses are given for registration and some specific first conditions like replenishing your account with real money. Others are action-bind, for instance, to receive a weekly cashback, you need to lose some money first. Or to have a better wager/lesser withdrawal times, you need to become a high-roller.
Ways of testing for gambling houses in SA
To find a good online casino in South Africa isn’t an easy task. There’re so many things to consider and check to make certain the resource is not just suitable and worthwhile but also safe and legal. Today we’ll talk about every detail concerning gambling houses and the ways of their testing.
The collection of games
Every punter wants to have access to a wide variety of gamble games. Besides, it’s vital for the majority of gamblers to be able to play modern games with good graphics, which are created by top developers. Thus, the selection of games for a gambling house is an essential thing when you’re choosing a platform for you.
First of all, open a website to look at the collection available. You will see variations of games and their developers on the main page in most cases. There are usually comfortable filters, which you can use to select the kind of game you want best. There’re platforms offering to choose not just the kinds of games but also their creators.
It’s not always advisable to select online casinos with the largest number of options. Note that there’re resources, which provide only a certain variation of games. That’s why when considering the collection of games provided, think about your own preferences.
Punters’ support
The users’ support’s a very important issue, which should be obligatory taken into account when selecting a platform for gambling. Always pay attention to the ways of contacting the administration and support team. The most popular ones’re email, live chat, and a phone number.
It’s important to make certain the support team gives fast responses. Besides, the support should be available 24/7 to help players from various parts of the world.
Sing-up rewards
African Grand Casino Bonus
Another important thing when you select a gambling house is rewarding, which you can get for the registration on the platform. There’re different variations of welcome bonuses, which can be provided by various online casinos. First of all, it’s necessary to know that a punter can get either credits or spins as a free extra. Let’s observe the essence of different bonuses:
- No-deposit extras. Such rewards are given just for the registration, there’s no need to make any payments. You can obtain extra funds immediately after signing-up, contact the administration to make a request for a bonus or use a special code (redeem it) to get extra money or spins.
- Deposit extras. Such rewards are given for deposited funds. The amount a punter can get depends on the sum of the deposit and the number of times a punter makes payments. It’s required to read the terms of a platform selected for gambling in order to know the bonus policy for sure. It always depends on a definite gambling platform.
Welcome extras are usually quite generous because they are created to attract and keep punters. Besides, they are necessary to motivate punters to make deposits. Another reason to give rewards is promotion.
When selecting an online casino, don’t forget to read the requirements concerning bonuses to take the most benefit of them.
Withdrawal issue
Payouts’re one of the key things for every punter, who plays not just for fun but for profit as well. It’s essential to make sure it’s real to make withdrawals at all. Besides, it’s required to check the security issue. It will prove the safety of transactions and allow punters to avoid fraudsters, who can steal your money and sensitive information.
It’s necessary to consider methods, which can be used for payouts. They are usually as follows:
- Bank cards (debit/credit)
- Bank transfers
- Electronic wallets (Skrill/Neteller)
- Cryptocurrency.
Punters should think about the time required for the transaction. The processing periods are different depending on the method selected. The longest time is usually required for transfers. It might take several days. Other methods are faster. However, it’s necessary to remember that the first transaction always takes more time due to the identification. The following ones will be faster.
The quickest way to turn your prize into real cash is to use cryptocurrency. What’s more, you can sometimes even get extras for the choice of such a payment option.
A security matter
It’s essential to make certain the platform a punter chooses is safe and it’s possible to feel secured to deposit & withdraw cash providing personal data. The first thing a punter’s to do is to check the variation of a license. Note that every South African online casino is to have at least one of the reliable licenses. Let’s look at their types:
- Curacao. It’s a Caribbean license with low rates, which makes it a popular choice among online casinos. This license is reliable and tried. It’s legal to gamble on the platforms with such a certification.
- Malta. This jurisdiction’s one of the leading ones. There’re licenses of different classes, which influence the tax amount for various platforms. It’s one of the most reliable variations of licenses, which proves the online casino is worth your attention.
- Kahnawake. It’s a Canada-based license, which is not very widespread but still reliable. It’s a rare choice due to the large amount required to maintain the license. However, you can feel safe to gamble on online casinos with such a certification.
- Gibraltar. All the online casinos with such a license proved their financial stability and provided a business plan for transaction processing. This is another secure license, which proves the security of the gambling resource.
- UKGC. This is a UK license, which has very strict rules. It’s fully regulated by the government, so not many platforms have this license. Besides, it prevents you from playing many interesting games with amazing graphics.
- Isle of Man. This authority controls and regulates gambling facilities on its territory. To get the license, it’s necessary to meet the requirements, so all the platforms with such a certification are safe and reliable.
Remember that a South African casino can have several licenses. It will denote the high level of the resource and its reliability because it’s quite difficult to meet so many requirements. There’re gambling houses, which have one-two licenses. They’re also secure and worth punters’ attention. The key thing is that every reliable gambling house should have at least 1 license.
Popular gambling houses
There’re plenty of gambling houses, which are popular among South African punters. Let’s look at several resources welcoming South African plungers:
- Europa. This gambling house provides a pleasant registration reward together with a generous deposit extra. The number of games is impressive, while the punter’s chances to win are quite high.
- Tropez. Here, there’re many extras, so you may get not just credits but also free spins. The gambling house is accessible from various devices and OS. The number of games is enough to satisfy the tastes of every plunger. There’re various payment options available, which is an additional benefit.
- Springbok. There’re free no-despot rewards provided to punters. To get your bonus, it’s required to redeem a code. The chances to win are very high.
- Yebo. There’re many payment options available including cryptocurrency. There are not so many games offered. However, the rewards here are very generous and can enlarge your winnings.
- Silversands. Here, every punter will find a pleasant welcome extra, which should be activated with a special code. The online casino’s supported by many platforms and OS.
Every South African gambling house has a special collection of games, the most popular of which are one-armed bandits, roulettes, Bingo, card games, and lotto.
One-armed bandits
Slots’re the most widespread in the list of casino games. They’ve existed for years. It’s adored by punters and can bring great prizes in the long run. There’re online casino platforms, which are devoted to this game only. They allow punters to feel the true atmosphere of good-old gambling houses with their legendary one-armed bandits. Today it’s real to find a great diversity of such games including traditional fruit machines as well as modern 3D slots with amazing high-quality graphics. Besides, there’re one-armed bandits with a different number of reels, special symbols, and a bunch of other extras.
Blackjack
Blackjack’s one of the popular card games, which is played by South African plungers and all over the globe. The majority of gambling houses, which take care of reputation, provide an opportunity to play this legendary game, and obtain a considerable prize. There exist several types of Blackjack, so if you’ve a favorite one, make certain it’s presented on the online facility you play. What’s more impressive, there’re many gambling houses, where you can play live games and feel the true atmosphere of Las Vegas. If you’re a Blackjack lover, we strongly recommend finding a platform with real croupiers.
Roulette
It’s another legendary game, which is accessible on the best online casinos for South Africans. The game’s characterized by the diversity of bets possible to make. A punter can bet on one number, a group of them, or on black/red color. The winnings’re also different. Spin the wheel of luck & do your best to get a generous prize!
Bingo
It’s a so-called game of chance. Such a game’s adored by the older generation. An online version also managed to win the hearts of punters. Today Bingo is presented by a major part of gambling houses for South Africans. The main idea is to match the numbers printed in different arrangements on cards with the numbers, which the host draws at random. Note that there’re different versions of Bingo, so make certain you know the rules.
Lotto/lottery
It's a very interesting game based on random. Only punter’s luck can help win. The thing’s that a punter’s winning depends on a random number. Lotteries are still very popular all over the world, even though the chances to win when it concerns the real one are quite low. Lotto is now very widespread with its online version attracting punters to try their luck. There are very nice options available including impressive video lotteries with beautiful graphics.
Favorite developers for South African plungers
The games offered by various gambling houses are diverse. Sometimes you can feel even lost among them. It’s always advisable to pay attention to the developers presented on the platform. There are a few creators, which are considered top and extremely popular among South Africans:
- RTG. It’s one of the top developers creating advanced games for gamblers. The firm designs a wide range of options including slot machines, various table games, and other options for gambling houses. The developer applies innovative technologies for their creations, which make them attractive & very interesting. Among their products, there’re online games, mobile games, flash games, and download games.
- Playtech. This company is a leader in the gambling sphere. They use next-generation technology and very interesting content for their solutions, which make them attractive for punters. In their games, a punter will find awesome innovative design & plenty of features.
- Microgaming. This is another giant of the gambling sphere. The company offers a great diversity of games and supports responsible gaming. It means their games’re presented only on reliable resources. This developer released a pack of legendary online casino games, which are still very popular among South Africans.
- NetEnt. This company creates truly innovative gaming solutions for premium gambling houses. There are many thrilling games developed by this provider, which you can play & really enjoy.
- IGT. This provider creates reliable gambling solutions. The firm is specialized in sports betting.
Variations of gambling houses
There’re lots of online casinos, which welcome South Africans. Let’s consider the most widespread kinds:
- New (new resources usually provide innovative options and modern games to try your luck, however, it’s required to make certain the platform’s reliable and secure)
- Mobile (it’s better to select resources, which are accessible not just from PCs but from mobile devices as to allow you to enjoy gambling activity wherever you’re)
- Fast withdrawals (such gambling houses offer faster withdrawals; however, it’s vital to be certain the resource’s safe and licensed; while the payment options and currencies’re suitable for you, those platforms are considered the best paying online casinos in South Africa)
- VIP (such gambling houses are created for advanced players, there’re no social or demo games here, so get ready to make deposits and large bets to win impressive prizes)
- No Registration (many punters are eager to play without registration to feel safe and not to provide personal data; such platforms allow playing for fun without losses).
Gambling houses in SA: a little bit of history
Gambling has a long history in South Africa. In 1673, the first ban on such activity happened in the country. Then, a few other restrictions followed in:
- 1965
- 1994
- 1996 (because of a significant number of land-based gambling houses, the authorities allowed them with certain limitations)
- 2004 (online gambling was completely forbidden, so there no legal online casinos by now).
Looking at the current situation with online gambling in South Africa, the ban’s likely to be canceled. However, by now, it isn’t legal to play gamble games on the Internet. It’s recommended to choose only reliable gambling houses and keep your gambling activity in secret to avoid problems.
FAQ
Are gambling houses on the Internet safe for me?
Not all gambling houses are secure. It’s important to select licensed platforms with good customer support. Make certain your gambling house has an appropriate level of security.
Is it legal to participate in gambling activity in SA?
South African casinos aren’t legal but you can select a gambling resource with the other country’s license. Keep your activity in secret and everything’ll be alright.
Is it real to obtain a real cash prize at online gambling sites?
It’s necessary to follow the rules and meet the requirements of the resource you’ve chosen to gamble. In this case, you have a real chance to win cash and then turn your prize into real money.
Is it real to apply my smartphone/tablet to play my favorite gamble games?
The majority of resources’re available from various devices including mobile phones. It’s better to read the information on the site of the gambling house to be certain you can apply a smartphone for gambling.
What’s the way the extras provided by gambling houses work?
There exist several variations of rewards provided by gambling houses. The 1st kind of reward is registration extras, which are obtained for the registration. They might be given automatically or as soon as a special code is redeemed. The 2nd kind of extra is received for the first payment and other deposits. It usually depends on the sum you pay. Any extras can be obtained as additional credits or spins.