What is Online Betting?

The activity of betting dates back to time immemorial, making it one of the oldest activities to take part in.

As events with uncertain outcomes arose, betting communities arose with them, and engaging in the practice was reserved for fans, enthusiasts, thrill seekers, and anyone, with enough disposable income to wager on an event unfolding.

The face of betting has taken many shapes, and has grown many different branches. Early forms of the practice followed animal fights and gladiators, and now follows everything from your favourite soccer match ups, to your least favourite television shows.

As the digital age has rapidly rolled out, a new form of betting has arisen, one that has taken the world by storm for its convenience, safety, and security.

Enter online betting.

Where betting is the wagering of money on an outcome of a certain event unfolding, online betting is doing so via the internet, through an online betting operator, also referred to as a bookmaker, or betting site.

This is done through selecting an online betting site that caters to your personal preferences, registering an account with them, depositing money into your online betting account and placing bets.

Step 1: Choosing an Online Betting Site

We know what you’re thinking. “Which betting site is the best and why?”. The simple answer to this is that there is no answer.

Why does one choose Nike over Adidas? Or Wimpy over Spur? The answer in each of these options is based on one core thing: personal preference, and what appeals most to you.

Our job is to present you with the best betting sites in South Africa, explain their features, strengths and weaknesses, and give you all the information you need to decide on which betting site is the one for you.

Step 2: Creating an Online Betting Account

Creating an online betting account is a super easy procedure to complete.

The process generally entails clicking on a “sign up”, “register now” or “join now” button, which is found on the site’s homepage.

Upon clicking this button you will be greeted with instructions that need to be followed, which almost always includes providing some personal details, such as your full name, date of birth, ID number etc.

Once done, you will be required to click on a button that will confirm that you are willing to sign up (e.g. “register”) and you will have an account!

Signing up with betting sites requires no cost!

Take a look at the screenshot series below to better view the process of signing up 👇

Step 3: Deposit Money into your Online Betting Account

An indicator of a great online betting site is the ease with which you are able to deposit money into your betting account.

This can generally be measured by how many relevant methods of payment are accepted by the betting site.

Popular deposit methods in South Africa include Visa/Mastercard, EFT and instant EFTs (Ozow, SiD) so it's good to keep these in mind when looking at betting sites.

Betting sites will always give you a guide and prompts on how to deposit money. Simply follow the prompts, and the money you have deposited will reflect in your betting account.

All that’s next is to claim your welcome bonus, and you can start betting!

Step 5: Claim your Welcome Bonus

Welcome bonuses vary among online betting sites and are another big factor punters consider when choosing a site to bet with.

Most require you to deposit money into your betting account before they credit you with a bonus, but some reward you with a small bonus upon registering.

There are positives attached to both offerings.

On the one hand, you will generally receive a bigger bonus when having to deposit money first, but not having to deposit anything to receive a bonus is also appealing as you can start betting right away.

No deposit bonuses are generally smaller depending on your first deposit, and thus leaves you with less to bet with, but they do make getting started easier, and, of course, they're free.

Step 6: Start Betting!

Once all of these steps have been covered, you will be able to place your first bet.

Remember to ensure your betting account is credited with cash before you start betting, and remember to bet wisely.

Don’t just bet on your favourite team because they’re your favourite. Look at odds, look for high value bets, and place bets on the outcomes you think will come off.

Online Betting: Need to Know Info 📖

Now that that you have an active and working account that's been credited with cash, you’re able to get into the reason you started this whole thing in the first place, to start online betting!

In this section, we present you with some betting terms that are important to know and understand, to ensure that when you place that first bet, you are equipped with all that you need to know.

Odds are without a doubt one of the most important things to consider when it comes to online betting.

In online betting, odds are used by bookmakers to represent the likelihood of an event unfolding.

What’s more is that they also represent the proportionate amount you stand to win if you select the correct outcome.

Higher odds are given to outcomes that are less likely to happen, while lower odds are given to outcomes that are more likely to happen.

If we take a hypothetical example, if Man City are playing Wigan in the FA Cup, Wigan will be given exceptionally high odds for winning the match, while Man City would be given far lower odds for winning the match.

If we attached hypothetical odds to this example, Wigan may be given odds of 20.00, and Man City may be given odds of 1.1. This means that if you were to bet R10 on Wigan, you would win R200. If you were to bet on Man City however, you would win R11.

What’s arguably more important than odds is understanding the sport, and particularly the game you are betting on.

If Manchester City have a host of injuries, and have just played a Champions League game in midweek, and if Wigan are on cracking form with a great away record, and weather conditions are predicted that support Wigan’s style of play, you may be tempted to pick Wigan.

If however City have a full strength team, and an unbeaten home record, and Wigan have lost their last three games against teams in the bottom half of the Championship, you may consider going with the safe bet and betting on City to win.

Note: This was a hypothetical example to illustrate our thoughts when considering odds. The message we are trying to relay is that careful thought should be applied to your betting strategy. This requires a bit of research. Think before you bet, and more importantly, do your homework.

Pre-match betting is betting’s original form, and it is the type of betting that is most generally engaged in.

In pre match betting, you you make selections in advance, before the event is underway.

With soccer betting for example, a common pre match bet to make would be the match result, wherein you select which team (home or away) you think will win, or whether you think the match will end in a draw.

There are plenty of other markets that are covered by betting sites, which will be covered below.

Markets, or betting options simply refer to the number of outcomes within a given event a punter is able to choose from. Betting sites offer far more than match result bets.

While match result bets are a great place to start, we recommend betting on other markets once you feel comfortable and confident in your knowledge of the sport you are interested in betting on.

Markets also naturally change amongst different sports. With soccer betting, you could bet on next goal, while with cricket betting you could select the team with the top bowler.

Quite simply, the more markets you have to bet on, the better. More markets simply mean that you have more opportunities to diversify your betting, and simply allow you to do more betting.

There are plenty of other markets that are more specific to certain sports, so its important to keep on the lookout for betting sites that offer more markets.

Live betting is possibly one of the most exciting ways to experience betting, and any online betting site worth its salt will provide a great offering of this feature.

In Live Betting, you are able to place bets in real time, as the event is underway.

Live betting allows you to view the odds ebb and flow as the game does. Pre-game odds are pre set, but start to change as the momentum of the game does.

One team can be dominating game play and statistics, and thus may be given odds that represent a higher likelihood of them winning, but something may happen, such as a goal against the run of play, or a red card, that could swing the odds of the event completely.

When it comes to live betting, timing is everything. Some betting sites do however have a cash out option, allowing you to reclaim some of your stake if you see that your bet is looking like it won't come off.

Bet slips can be thought of as your betting receipt. As soon as you’ve made your first selection, your bet slip will appear.

Different online betting sites have their bet slips appear in different places, but they generally appear somewhere on the right of the screen.

On your bet slip you are able to view the odds for each of your selections, and it is here where you enter your stake.

Your bet slip also informs you of how much you stand to win if your bet comes off, found alongside “total potential return”.

They are concluded with a confirmation button (e.g. “Bet Now”) found on the bottom of the area containing all of this information.

Once you've logged into your betting account, navigate to the sport or event that you are interested in betting on.

They will be represented by their names, and/or icons. i.e "Soccer ⚽"

Select the sport you wish to bet on, and a number of events will appear.

If you were to select the soccer icon for example, you will be presented with some of the more popular soccer leagues, with a host of events being portrayed in rows.

If you would like to bet on more markets, there is an option to do so by clicking on an icon to the left or right of the event you are interested in betting on. For example, with Betway, there is a “more bets” button.

From here, simply click on the block representing what you think will happen.

Upon doing so, your bet slip will appear generally on the right of the screen. Here you can enter your stake and confirm your bet.

Is Online Betting Legal in South Africa? 🇿🇦

The short answer to this question is yes, online sports betting is completely legal, given that the online betting provider that you have chosen to bet with is licensed with a registered gambling authority.

Legal betting sites like to make their lawfulness known, and do so by advertising which licensing authority they are registered with at the bottom of their homepages.

There is however some confusion surrounding the topic of other forms of online gambling. Online gambling in the forms of poker, casino games and bingo are prohibited in South Africa, but laws target operators more than the users that engage with them.

While these forms have been outlawed, there are still providers that offer these services.

Our advice is simple. Stick to the legal betting sites, and you'll be fine.

Online betting games refer to interactive online casino type games, that can be found on several South African online betting sites.

Each betting site that hosts these features have different online betting games to choose from, but generally include the likes of blackjack and poker, to wheel spins and Dice Duel. They tend to be in operation constantly, and do a phenomenal job of making the user like they are actually visiting a casino.

With the unclear legal situation that is present in South Africa, we understand that you might feel apprehensive about engaging in online betting games, but rest assured, you do not run the risk of any legal implications for doing so.

Each of the online betting providers that we advertise that provides online betting games has a license, and is regulated by their relevant national gambling board.

Welcome bonuses can be an important factor to consider when choosing a betting site, and are different amongst online bookmakers.

Some betting sites offer a welcome bonus in the form of a matched first deposit bonus, while others offer a no deposit free bet, which essentially means that you don’t need to credit your account with any money before you receive a bonus from them.

Some betting sites, like Betway, require a verified identity before they enable you to access your free bet, while Supabets credit your free bet account with R50 the day after you sign up with them.

We can’t say that one type of bonus is better than another, because again it's up to personal preference. Free bets are great because of course, they’re free. But they are limited. First deposit bonuses tend to be larger, but of course how large they are depends on the amount of your first deposit.

The question you should be asking is what sports can’t I bet on. Another one of the measures of a top notch betting site is the number of sports that it covers in its sportsbook.

A sportsbook refers to the different sports that you are able to bet on on an online betting site. Some betting sites have more sports to choose from than others, but in general, they are all quite comprehensive.

The answer to this depends on what you mean by making money. Yes, you have the opportunity to wager some money, and if the events that you have predicted unfold, you can win far more than what you put down.

That’s what makes betting so thrilling, the opportunity to win. Can you make a living from betting is a different question altogether.

The answer again, theoretically, is yes, but we believe that this should be reserved for the experts. The unpredictable nature of sports, and thus betting make it an extremely difficult and high risk space to seek out a living, so while you may be tired of your 9 to 5, we don’t recommend quitting your day job.

How winnings from online betting are taxed is a topic that is unfortunately shrouded in mystery barring horse racing betting. All winnings from horse racing betting are taxed 6%.

With regard to other forms of betting, the best we can explain it as is this; your winnings will not be taxed if you bet for entertainment.

In the case that you bet in a way that is organised, and if you're successful in that you have consistent winnings that are large enough to be considered a flowing stream of large enough income, SARS may attempt to tax those winnings.

The line between betting for leisure and not is extremely unclear. And an amount for how much needs to be won in order to be taxed is not provided.

What you need to keep in mind however, is that as long as you’re betting for leisure (which is the way we promote betting) you will not have to pay taxes.

What are the Benefits of Online Betting? 👍

✅ Convenience - With online betting you can place bets from the comfort of your own home. Online betting can also be done when you’re on the go.

✅ Simplicity - Online betting is super easy. With online betting, you’re able to place a bet with the click of a button.

✅ Safety - Online betting in South Africa is closely regulated by the 9 provincial gambling boards, and online betting sites ensure your money and information are safe with the use of encrypting software.

✅ Speed - With online betting, placing a bet takes seconds. This is one of the reasons we love online betting because it doesn’t require having to travel to a betting shop, taking valuable time out of your day.

✅ Features - Online betting sites in South Africa offer features, such as online betting games that cannot be found in betting shops. With online betting, you simply have far more right at your fingertips.

✅ You’re able to bet everywhere you go - Another perk of using online betting sites in South Africa is that you can access an online betting app or mobile version. Using an online betting app is super easy, which again adds to online betting's convenience.

What are the drawbacks of Online Betting? 👎

❌ FICA takes longer - One drawback associated with online betting sites, is that the FICA process takes far longer. Betting shops can FICA your account instantly while online betting sites can take up to 48 hours.

❌ Lack of Community - We South Africans love a bit of social interaction and community. This is something online betting can't provide. Betting shops can be the sites of some sometimes much needed human interaction, while online betting involves you and your device.

Any betting site worth its salt will either have an online betting app or a mobile version, ensuring that whether you’re in the line at Pick n Pay, or turning a chop on the braai, you’ll be able to place a bet.

Some providers even build on this by offering an online betting app that provides information about odds, and tips so that users can be better informed about the bets they might want to make.

Downloading an online betting app can vary in simplicity. If you’re an iOS user, simply head over to the app store, search for your chosen online betting app, and download it.

The process for android users however is slightly different. The Google Play Store (the app store for android) does not list any online betting apps, so you will need to visit your chosen bookmaker’s mobile website, change a couple of your phone's security settings, and download the app from there.

If your preferred betting site does not have an app, you can be sure that it will have an impressive mobile version that can be used while you're on the go.

Now that you know everything about online betting, go ahead and sign up with one of the best online betting sites in South Africa! 👇