South African sports fans love to bet on the big game, whether that is cricket, rugby or football – but finding a safe and secure online betting site in the country is not always easy.
While there are legit sports betting sites in South Africa, people need to be on alert to make sure they do not accidentally sign up to play with a scam operator.
Here is everything you must know about spotting if a betting site is safe in South Africa or not.
Introduction to betting in South Africa
Betting laws in South Africa have gone through various changes over the years, which means it has been complicated for sports fans who live in SA to keep track of what is illegal and legal.
Although there are now a large number of impressive land-based casino resorts located across South Africa, there is confusion regarding internet-based gambling such as betting on sports.
Nearly 20 years ago, the National Gambling Act of 2004 outlawed all online gambling in South Africa – but there is a subtle difference between ‘gambling’ and ‘betting’ in the country.
As it states clearly on the official website of the National Gambling Board (NGB) in South Africa, which regulates the industry, “online betting is legal with a licensed South African bookmaker”. This is therefore what sports fans in South Africa need to look out for when choosing a site.
Making sure they sign up with a licensed and regulated South African bookmaker is key to staying within the rules, which are widely expected to be changed again over the coming years.
It could be the case that playing online casino games such as slots, blackjack, roulette, baccarat and poker will be given the green light in South Africa at some point in the very near future.
Most people believe that online gambling and betting rules in South Africa are not at all fit for purpose, with the way the internet is used by people in the country changing by a huge amount since the National Gambling Act of 2004. While the National Gambling Amended Act of 2008 did update matters somewhere, more than a decade has passed since the last gambling laws.
Of course, just because online gambling games are not permitted in South Africa, this does not mean they are unavailable. There are a number of operators running online gambling sites in South Africa, with many of them based offshore and having licences from Curacao or the Malta Gaming Authority, but not the one that they need to be legal to use across all of South Africa.
For now, however, people in South Africa are advised to stick to legal online sports betting. So what do all South Africans need to be doing in order to choose the right betting site in SA?
How to choose a betting site in South Africa
As we mentioned earlier, finding a safe and legal online betting site in South Africa can be quite a challenge, especially for newcomers to betting, but this is where we come in to help out. In order to be fully legal, safe online betting sites in South Africa must be licensed and regulated.
To give an example of this, the Sportingbet online sports betting site, which is available to use in South Africa, is licensed by the Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board. This means that South Africans can sign up to bet on sports such as horse racing at the Sportingbet online sports betting site without having to worry about whether or not they are breaking any laws.
South Africa’s provinces all have their own gambling authority, which has the power to hand out licences to make sure that an online bookmaker in the country is operating within the rules.
Here are the gambling boards in South Africa that give out the necessary legal licences:
- Gauteng Gambling Board
- Eastern Cape Gambling and Betting Board
- Free State Gambling and Racing Board
- KwaZulu-Natal Gambling and Racing Board
- Limpopo Gambling Board
- Mpumalanga Gambling Board
- North West Gambling Board
- Northern Cape Gambling Board
- Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board
Each of the above gambling boards might have slightly different rules and regulations for South African betting sites to follow if they want to make sure that they will be fully 100 per cent to use. But as long as South Africans are able to see a mention of a licence from one of the above nine gambling boards on a betting site in the country, they are on safe ground – and they are legal.
One of the grey areas to be aware of is when a legal sports betting site also offers some online gambling games, which as we detailed above are not currently permitted in South Africa. As it states clearly on the website of the NGB: “Section 11 of the National Gambling Act states: 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.” This means games such as slots are not at all legal to play. However, it is fair to point out that it is more likely that operators of online gambling sites will be targeted by prosecutors, rather than people in South Africa who log on to play illegal games.
Another way to spot if a betting site is safe in South Africa is to read customer reviews. A simple internet search is a good way for people to check out whether South African betting sites are legit, as they will be able to read the views and opinions of people who have used them before. Taking a few minutes to research South African betting site reviews is well worth the time it takes, as well as checking out if the operator has a licence from one of the gambling boards.
Image Courtesy: mg.co.za