Online casinos accepting players from South Africa
Over the last few decades the South African online casino space has seen its fair share of changes,
and of course with it much confusion too. From parliamentary acts to countless amendment bills,
the landscape has undoubtedly left hopeful South African punters feeling frustratingly in limbo over
the country’s future for online gambling.
2016 seemed to be the year of hope and progression for South African players, the South African Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) published what was known as the National Gambling Policy draft, a document which was intended to once and for all review and put a clear stance on the gambling landscape in South Africa, unfortunately this was short-lived and nothing was ever formerly passed as a result of the notion.
Two years later, it was again the DTI who announced that it intended to bring the National Gambling Amendment Act 2018 to parliament. This amendment stemmed directly off the clauses as set out in
the original National gambling act of 2004. Now if you are unfamiliar with the original act of 2004, it
pretty much is the all-encompassing legislation summing up the status of gambling in South Africa.
It is also within this act that interactive gambling (or online gambling) was officially deemed illegal by
any means within the borders of South Africa.
Unfortunately, the amendment bill of 2018 was never officially passed, and little has changed as a
result when it relates specifically to online gambling, the notions and clause of section 11 within the
National Gambling act of 2004 remain firm, Online Gambling is illegal.
Land based casinos operating with the relevant provincial licence documentation, online sports
betting with a licensed bookmaker and lotto continues to be a legalised practise within South Africa.
While it remains an illegal activity to offer any form of interactive casino or game within South
Africa, the frustrating part as we have mentioned is that there is an obvious lack of clarity in the
current legislation, and as a result the online casino industry continues to thrive both in terms of the
number of providers offering online casino services to local players, as well as the number of South
African players taking part in online gambling.
Although there have been little to no incidents recorded regarding the prosecution of any South
African player partaking in online casino activity, we do caution all players that playing online is
always at your own risk and we do not recommend that you go against the laws as set out by your
national legislation.
Ensure that you visit our reviews section to understand exactly which online casinos have a long-
standing positive reputation, good player ratings and fair and secure payment services.
Top 8 South African Online Casinos
Online Casino Games available in South Africa
- Slots , jackpot slots, and video poker
- Card games - blackjack, 3-card poker, TXS Hold'em, pai gow, and baccarat
- Dice games - craps and sic bo
- Roulette - American, European, French
- Live Dealer Games - Many sites now offer live streaming games from one or more providers. The games are cast from state-of-the-art studios and real casino gaming floors, mostly in Europe.
You would be hardpressed to find a stock exchange-listed, publically traded company willing to expose itself to the gray or black market risks, but there are still some huge operators with very large casino offerings that are more than willing to take your action. In fact, South Africans have access to nearly as many games as players in the UK have - they simply don't have the same regulatory protections.
Granted you won't be able to play Thunderstruck or Avalon, even though Microgaming has its roots in South Africa. However, thanks to the advent of remote gaming systems, game aggregators, and content distribution agreements among developers, bundlers, and platform providers you can play many of the games usually found on the Microgaming Quickfire Network.
Many online platforms today use geolocation services. This means that the software "knows" you are logging in from South Africa. This allows the gaming site to only show you the games you will be able to play, so there's no disappointment when you see a familiar or fun-looking title only to click on it and be barred from play after the game has loaded.
In essence, you'll be able to play whatever you see at these technologically advanced venues. When in doubt, Realtime Gaming sites are always a good bet.
Slots
Roulette
Blackjack
Video Poker
Mobile Gaming
South Africa is an increasingly mobile society. Pew Research reports that now at least half of South Africans use smartphones.
Advancements such as increased bandwidth for all mobile device users, along with internet browser coding (HTML5) have eliminated the need for installing apps or even downloading computer programs onto desktop machines in order to play every casino game out there. All games are available inside a web browser whether you access the casino on a cell phone, tablet, laptop, or desktop machine. The device operating system (iOS, Android, PC, MAC, etc.) has been rendered inconsequential. Today's slots and other games are "device agnostic".
The Best Live Casinos in the
Payment Methods and Banking
It's important for players in South Africa to be aware of the several deposit and withdrawal options available and to make wise choices when deciding on payment methods. It never hurts to ask customer service with live chat only a click away at most sites.
Again, some sites will only show you the methods available for your use and not waste your precious gambling time by displaying irrelevant information.
In most cases, you'll want to choose a site that offers the local Rand (ZAR) currency in order to avoid currency conversion fees. Another advantage is that bonuses will most likely be displayed in ZAR so you won't have to calculate "your currency equivalent" in order to maximize the offers.
One secure deposit and withdrawal method that won't usually require any conversion maths for bonus purposes is Bitcoin (BTC). The reason for this is that many operators place a high preference on the use of cryptocurrencies and may offer bonuses up to 100x higher when using a digital currency rather than fiat money.
Bitcoin as a payment method has additional advantages
National regulators have no way of knowing what you do with your money after it is converted to Bitcoin or another digital currency. It appears as Rands in your bank or another account, is converted on an exchange, and when you are done playing you can simply buy local currency with it.
Instant payouts are far more common when you use BTC. There are no banking gateways to slow the flow of the electronic transfers from your casino account to your digital wallet.
Security is very important to South African gamblers and although the blockchain itself is open to view, it is encrypted in such a way that no other entity can determine your association with the transactions. The system is also impervious to anonymous hackers.
Other easy payment methods
Aside from BTC and an eWallet such as Skrill, you may be faced with depositing with one method and withdrawing your winnings via another. While that's not always the case, many online cashier systems are set up that way for your protection as well as theirs.
Debit and credit cards, EasyEFT, and Skrill are common deposit methods. Online bank transfers and eWallets such as Skrill, Neteller, and ecoPays are common withdrawal methods. All except bank wires can be instant.
Some sites may also accept SID Instant EFT payments if you bank at ABSA, First National Bank, Nedbank, or Standard Bank.
While the list of methods above is by no means exhaustive, it should give you a good idea of ways to get your money safely and securely in and out of the casino you choose.
Author: Shelly SchiffSouth Africa Legal Gambling FAQ
Luckily for SA online casino players, their winnings are exempt from taxation. The only time these policies apply in the online gambling industry is when they tax operators on their revenue.
Information and funds safety has been putting off interested players across South Africa for quite some time. This is mainly due to the fact that their online gambling destinations are mostly offshore operators, licensed under different legislations.
However, there are some key indicators to help you identify the rogue websites among them – steep bonus wagering requirements, lack of software audit seals of fairness, licensing from disreputable jurisdictions, as well as straight up player testimonials.
Since most SA casinos tend to cover the whole range of standard game offering, players are advised to search for operators that include all the following types. Live dealer blackjack usually makes the top pick when it comes to games with highest payouts, since it has good odds overall, and still allows players to further turn them in their favor by employing card counting techniques; roulette and baccarat are also recommended options, as well as some high variance slots.
Yes, interested players at South Africa online casinos will be able to explore the game software offering before committing to a single platform. For this purpose, casino software companies tend to include a demo gameplay version of their releases; on top of that, some casinos additionally offer players the chance to register and explore the game library playing with bonus cash, bonus credits or free spins, just to get a realistic feel of the action on the casino floor.
Cryptocurrency bonuses have already been pointed out as a largely lucrative variant for SA players. Nevertheless, some offers won’t even ask for deposits, while others tend to reward players on specific occasions as well. Basically, players from SA are able to claim both no-deposit and deposit-related bonus offers, as well as cashbacks on specific casino game losses, player referral benefits and even VIP Loyalty rewards.
Like the majority of legal online gambling jurisdictions worldwide, South African legislation requires players to be 18 years of age or more in order to engage in such activities.
No, software downloads are definitely not mandatory, especially in today’s modern times when operators are massively turning to instant play. The HTML5 format allows players to access all games directly through their web browsers, without downloading desktop software or mobile apps.
Yes, live dealer table games are as much available at SA casinos as they are at any other online gambling marketplace. This is ultimately the operators’ decision, so it is best to check out the game library before getting into the registration process, just to be sure they feature your favorite titles.
There is no specific bankroll that you would need to stock up on in order to get started with some SA online casino gameplay. Minimum deposit limits, as well as minimum qualifying deposit amount with most bonuses may be a useful consideration nonetheless, since you will need to meet them both in order to successfully access the casino site and claim any deposit-related bonus, respectively.
Players using Mac computers, as well as other Apple platforms (iPhone, iPad) should be able to enjoy the gameplay at these casinos. Most of the operators nowadays turn to device-agnostic websites in the HTML5 format, all in order to allow players seamless access across all platforms. Therefore, all you have to do is choose one of the inherent internet browser apps on your select device and run the site there – the content should naturally be compatible to the specifics of your device (screen size, processing power).
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