Games choice
To estimate the goodness or badness of this or that gambling facility, it takes first to look at the number of games offered. Every modern casino appearing on the market wants to attract players swiftly and effectively. Thus, a regular number of new games of every such gambling facility will not be less than a few hundred (up to 1,000-2,000 games; mostly, online slots and sports betting). If you don’t see that number, then think about searching for another place to spend your time.
Customer support & service
Everyone can have unpredictable gaming situations that need to be clarified with a client support service. The agility of it and the number of used channels matter (like live chat, e-mail, SMS, call, or support in external messengers).
Offered bonuses
Bonuses that are given by online casinos often mean the most for newcomers in online gambling facilities. Many people hunt for better offers from casino owners: free spins, no-deposit giveaways, deposit bonuses, new games that aren’t yet available in other gambling houses, live dealers for all bets (even the smallest), and such things as granting special levels with lowered demands in the leveling system of casinos for newcomers. Also, extras may include bonuses for bringing a friend, opportunities to receive some offers for a significantly lower payment, and gifts for players from mobile phones (as a part of mobile promotion strategy). Taking all these into account will largely contribute to your desire to play in this gambling house.
Withdrawals
We all love to win money in casinos and to feel that adrenaline and an amazing influx of energy. But we all hate when casinos impose restrictions on withdrawal and say that it only allows some amount per day, week, and month. Should you win big, you wait for months to withdraw all your money from the gaming account. Some newcomers on the market of online casinos understand this pain of players, sharing it completely. And that’s why some of them offer fast withdrawals, which occur only within hours or even minutes of time. We highly appreciate such gambling facilities and rank them higher on our lists.
General safety in online casino in South Africa
The safety of your identification and financial information is what bothers some players of African casinos the most. A good online casino should build a reliable security system, which heavily relies on HTTPS protocol for usual data transfer and SSL encryption for all payments made (especially card ones). To the honor of most modern gambling facilities, these are considered a must.
What are the most popular games in online gambling in South Africa?
Let’s look below at the most popular games that South Africans love to gamble with.
Slot amusements
Slots were and are the most popular option for gambling. The reason for the natural people’s love is that they don’t put the requirement on you to study their rules to let the fun begin. You just spin the reel and hope for your luck. Anything that happens after is at the discretion of your fairy or a guardian angel – depending on which one of two you have.
21 or Blackjack
This is considered truthfully as one of the simplest card games in the world. The goal here is to score 21 points in the set of cards or to overcome the dealer by having more points than he has. When there are many gamblers around one table, you compete against them. The fun is huge because of the simplicity of rules and the possibility to win not only purely based on luck but also based on your skills in predicting the possible outcome.
Roulettes
There are two types of roulette most known in the world: European and American. The latter has one additional “Zero Cell”, which’s why the chances of beating the casino are about 1% lower. This is one of the most insane tools in the entire gambling industry, as it allows winning huge and losing huge as well.
Sports betting
This is an insanely popular thing in South Africa – as every local loves to bet on racing of various types, even virtual sports. There are hundreds of possibilities to explore and test your luck in tens of alluring online casinos, as sports betting is simply in the nation’s blood.
Lottery games
A lottery is fun for everyone who’s excited about guessing numbers and winning money for the right guesses. A lottery can be victorious for you should you correctly guess one of the possible matches, not only one of them. This diversity of chances for winning attracts players from all over.
Best game developers for South African online casinos
Below, we are looking at 5 most famed manufacturers of software for online casinos in South Africa: IGT, Netent, Microgaming, Playtech, and RTG.
The RTG Company
RTG is also famous as Realtime Gaming, and it is a very well-known manufacturer, which was around since 1998. Originally, the company started in the US but then it was acquired by HBM Group and moved to Costa Rica to work under the jurisdiction of Curacao. The company produces slots, poker, card games, and complete solutions for owners of gambling establishments. The developments of the company include downloadable software and client-based pieces. The official website of the company looks poor as of the moment of writing this article (it only has a blocked landing version with no useful information on it) but you can find out about its products on many other helpful websites on the Internet.
The Playtech Company
Playtech is currently the biggest manufacturer of iGaming solutions: 360° systems for casino owners and various games. The annual revenues of the company succeed 1.5 billion Euros (with net income equal to 134 million Euros). It was founded in 1999 and is now headquartered in the Isle of Man. The company is known for many exemplars of acquisitions, after which it gained strengths and technological portfolio – they started in 2006 and last until today. It operates globally as of 2021, including the markets of Africa, Europe, and the Americas.
The Microgaming Company
Microgaming was founded in 1994, which makes it the first company in the online gambling market. It is widely known for making a world-famous slot Mega Moolah, which paid over 25,000,000 American dollars in just two major winnings to 2 players in 2009 and 2015. It also delivers humbler winnings starting from tens of thousands of dollars to millions of dollars. The company offers hundreds of other games as well.
The NetEnt Company
Players of Netent slots can enjoy over 2 hundreds of them – with all sorts of graphics, fabulous colors, and live dealers. These makers of video slots have been entertaining the world for over 2 decades. You can find the company’s products in tens of thousands of online casinos all over the world, which include South Africa.
The IGT Company
IGT has done much for the world of online sports betting and is currently one of the leaders in conjoined fields of online leisure: lotteries, social gaming, and digital play. It also offers all-embracing solutions for casino business owners, which allow them to track various business indicators, making reporting and holding a hand on the pulse of everything in their gambling facility.
What features the best paying online casino South Africa can offer?
For gamblers of online casinos, many aspects of the functioning of those facilities matter. Amongst them are the presence of a mobile app for their smartphone (or, at least, mobile optimization of the website), the possibility to withdraw money fast, acceptance of all types of players (from those with little income to the highest), and an opportunity to play without registration. We are considering them in more detail below.
Mobile apps
If a casino has a mobile app for Android and/or iOS, it means it caters to broad audiences, thinking of the convenience of gamblers. But out of many new online casinos that we’ve seen appearing on the market, far not every casino has this option. The absence of the app shows a low technological level of the casino, as no mobile optimization is not as cool, fast, and beautiful, as it would be in the case of an app. If you can choose among casinos, we’d recommend you to pick the most modern ones, offering dedicated apps, which are downloadable from App Store or Google Play.
Fast withdrawal
Winnings from one of the games on the list of casino games that take weeks or months to withdraw do not bring that much joy. If the casinos’ rules stipulate that gamblers can only withdraw, like, a thousand rands per week, and they are incapable of withdrawing more than several thousand rands per month, this casino is truly worthless. Opt for the one, which does not have limits for the withdrawal – the same as it should not have limits for depositing. Otherwise, it means this gambling house really isn’t created for the fun of players and only has one goal – to rip you off.
For VIPs and for low-rollers
The ability to accept all players is what differs good online gambling sites from the bad. If some of the legal online casinos you’re interested in is designed only for VIPs and high-rollers, it means it desperately needs money and does not provide social games (free-of-charge and demos), which is not suitable for the South African market, if to really think about it.
High rollers are those who bet high amounts of money in what they play, which is in tens and hundreds of times bigger than usual gamblers do. Their winnings are also bigger accordingly. VIPs are even higher in the hierarchy of gamblers than high rollers are and they may buy their status for real money to be able to access ultimate offers from the casino.
Without the registration
The opportunity to play without the registration lures millions of players of casinos all over the world. South Africa is not an exception. The use of it for an ordinary gambler is that he or she avoids unnecessary taxes, which a greedy state wants to gain from him or her. Being not registered also means that nobody will find out your real name or financial data – thus, it will not be compromised. Also, playing for fun without money is also of high interest to many gamblers (and their budgets).
Where is it better to play – in existing or new casinos?
Everyone chooses the best gambling house for him or her. New ones provide amazing bonuses to attract new gamblers but they may not be good enough after those bonuses are over as time passes. If you’re ignored by the South African casino after the initial several weeks or months (not given exciting bonuses, levels, or promos), it means you should change the gambling facility (do it without regrets). But if the casino suits you from the first days of the game in every or most of the aspects, then staying with it for longer would be a wise solution.
Reviewing the history of South African online casinos
Gambling was one of the important aspects of living in South Africa for centuries. The first known ban for all types of gambling is dated 1673, and then a number of analogical or broader bans were set in 1965, 1994, 1996, and 2004. All of them put different legal conditions on the gambling and casinos, from completely forbidding them to allowing only land-based forms of casinos (and sports betting as well, including races). The 1996 National Gambling Act allowed casinos on land (because there were over 2,000 of them by that time and they weren’t regulated or paying taxes to the state’s treasury). In 2004, another act prohibited gambling online, which hasn’t been canceled yet.
In modern days, because of the falling number of new sources of state’s income, some experts say that the online casino ban may soon be withdrawn, which will be not only in favor of the country’s income but also in favor of gamblers, who must today use various bypass methods of depositing and withdrawing money to and from online gambling facilities. Also, regular players will not be afraid that they can be sentenced to jail for playing, and the owners of casinos will not be afraid of the same and of a large money penalty. For now, it is illegal to gamble online, which’s why you, as a player of online casinos, have to carefully pick a reliable house and do not tell anyone that you’re engaged in such an activity, to avoid troubles.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it safe to gamble in the best online casinos in South Africa?
If you only submit your financial and personal data during the registration and identity check and pick online casinos from our lists, then it is safe. Remember: do not disclose anyone your touchy data on the Internet so as to avoid hackers and scams, not letting them use it for their profit and drain your money. Also, make sure that the casino has a proper license issued by one of the trustful jurisdictions (like Malta, the Netherlands, or the UK) – it makes sure the game is unbiased.
How legal online casinos in South Africa are?
It is currently illegal to gamble online for gamblers, as well as it is illegal to provide those services to citizens of South Africa (as of 2021). So, every casino out there is working in the gray legal scheme, bypassing the law on the technical and financial sides. If your winning won’t be paid by some casino, you don’t have legal protection in South Africa to claim it. Be aware of this situation.
Is winning real money in online casinos possible?
Yes if only you deposit real money on the account. Any winnings done using ‘free’ money that is given as a no-deposit bonus will likely be subject to large wagering and is not often allowed for withdrawal.
Is smartphone/tablet gambling online possible?
Yes, indeed. If there is no app of a casino for your mobile platform, then a website is mobile optimal in most cases.
How to receive bonuses from online casinos?
After you register, simply pick one of the promo codes that the casino has on a separate page and insert it into a dedicated activation field to claim it. It appears on your account shortly after.
