All South Africans know the Sun International brand. They have been a staple of holidays from Sun City to the Wild Coast, from the Western Cape to Mpumalanga, and most places in between. These resorts are not only famous for their hotels, restaurants, and locations, they are also famous for having some of the best casinos in the country. With SunBet, Sun Internationals are taking the sports bookie and casino into the digital world. Will it be as impressive as their land-based casinos? We took a look at the SunBet online casino and sports book.
All South Africans know the Sun International brand. They have been a staple of holidays from Sun City to the Wild Coast, from the Western Cape to Mpumalanga, and most places in between. These resorts are not only famous for their hotels, restaurants, and locations, they are also famous for having some of the best casinos in the country. With SunBet, Sun Internationals are taking the sports bookie and casino into the digital world. Will it be as impressive as their land-based casinos? We took a look at the SunBet online casino and sports book.
Any online casino that is backed by the powerhouse that is Sun International is going to be a hard one to beat – or so we thought. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find much to separate SunBet from some of our other top tier online sports betting/online casino providers. Which is unfortunate. We did think that, with the decades of casino experience behind them, SunBet would be able to offer more than what we are seeing elsewhere. It could be down to the currently under review online casino games laws that they aren’t offering a full online casino function. If that is the case, and looking forward to when these silly laws are finally resolved, we are hopeful that they will be gearing up for something spectacular.
Because SunBet are doing things right, especially from a sports betting point of view. They have a superb website, a great selection of sports to choose from, and a very solid Live Dealer online casino games lobby. It’s all very slick and professional, from the ease of sign up to the navigation around the site. Impressive – but still a lot of the same as we see from other providers.
One thing that does stand out: if you sign up to the loyalty programme – MVG – you get access to all the perks and bonuses of the wider Sun International Group! Yay!
Definitely a recommended partner for South African online gamblers.
The SunBet website is one of the cleanest out there. It’s an absolute breeze – and pleasure – bouncing around the different lobbies as everything is cleanly laid out and easy to see. It looks a little stark and, dare we say it, sterile with its predominantly white and blue colour scheme but it makes for easy navigation!
The big header bar has a quick link to Sports, Promotions, and Help, with the usual Log In and Sign Up button to the right. Once you are in, the top bar expands to offer Sports, Table Games, Bet Games, Virtuals, Lucky Numbers, Promotions, Help, and My account. The Log In details become a quick view of your account balance, a deposit link, and your profile.
The rest of the page is taken up by an animated banner with the latest promotions and events from SunBet and Sun International, and the sports betting format most of us are familiar with – a main area with the latest games and events, and a left-hand menu with all the different sports from around the world. There is a tab bar between the promo banner and the main area that has the most popular sports for quick access: Live in-Play, Soccer, Tennis, Rugby, Cricket, Horse Racing, Golf, Basketball, and All Sports.
Being such a giant organisation does help keep the website simple. Rather than trying to jam all sorts of offers and events and promos and deals and more into distracting pop ups or side bars, SunBet can focus on delivering the products that South African gamblers are looking for: horse racing, sports, and casino games.
All-in-all a great experience and highly recommended!
Registration was super simple!
And you’re ready to take your place in the sun!
You will get a welcome email from SunBet with the welcome bonus promo details if you want to take advantage of some extra ban in your bankroll BUT MAKE SURE YOU READ AND UNDERSTAND THE WAGERING REQUIREMENTS AND Ts AND Cs BEFORE YOU REDEEM!
You will need to do a FICA check and supply banking details before you can start playing for real money.
SunBet is secured using SSL digital encryption to ensure all your data is secure and is compliant with PoPI legislation to ensure your personal details are kept private.
SunBet supports Responsible Gambling and Fair Play policies and has a great resource for Problem Gambling via the links on the site.
SunBet offers a great but not huge sports betting option. As with the site layout, sometimes less is more as it allows SunBet to bring close to 40 of the world’s favourite sports, teams, and events to the South African online gambler, plus provide a very professional Live Dealer lobby.
Sports betting
All our favourite sports are right here – or rather, left here as they are featured on the left-hand menu. The big draw sports also have a top menu for easy access.
Horse racing and soccer are obviously the biggest lobbies, but they have a fantastic round up of rugby, cricket, tennis, and golf as well. There are Virtual Sports for the fans with Jika Sports and Kiron Gaming being the well-known providers.
And, for those who have their fingers on the pulse of the future of gambling, a comprehensive eSports lobby with the biggest tournaments from CS:GO to Valorant.
Casino games
As mentioned, online casino games are limited to Live dealer option … BUT!
There is a huge selection of table games like baccarat, blackjack, roulette, bac bo, and more from international superstar providers Evolution and Ezugi. Further to the table games are the, by now becoming quite well-known in the South African online casino world, quick bet games from Betgames: Speedy 7, Andar Bahar, War of Bets, 6+ Poker, Bet on Poker, Baccarat, Wheel of Fortune, Lucky 7, Lucky 6, and so on.
Lotteries
The Lucky Numbers tab is where you will find all the lotteries taking place around the globe so you can have a go at those life-changing payouts!
SunBet ties in the MVG loyalty programme from the greater Sun International holdings so you know you’re going to get some pretty special deals, offers, and rewards.
It is run independently of SunBet so check out www.suninternational.com/mvg/ for all the details.
There is no dedicated app for SunBet but the website is fully responsive and works fantastically when launched from the browser of your mobile device.
There are an agreeable number of banking options familiar to South African online gamblers
Deposit
Withdrawal
There is no mention of where you can withdraw funds to but, as SunBet is 100% FICA compliant, we do assume that you will need to request withdrawals into a properly verified and FICA’d bank account.
Remember, before you go all keyboard warrior on the interwebs, withdrawals can take up to 12 days depending on the banking method you have chosen. All withdrawals request at SunBet are handled during normal weekday working hours.
SunBet offers a regular and frequently updated series of promotions for registered players. Most of these promos are reserved for the sports betting side of SunBet.
On successfully registering you will receive an email with a welcome bonus offer:
100% first deposit match up to R1,000. Wagering requirements and Ts & Cs apply.
There is also a R150 Free Bet on successful registration. Keep an eye on your email because this bonus only comes through a day or two after you register, and only last for 48 hours! Ts & Cs and wagering requirements apply.
Promotions
There are dedicated promotions for soccer, rugby, tennis, cricket, golf, and horse racing. Signing up to the MVG loyalty programme will also get you special offers and promotions on a regular basis.
There is a dedicated Live Chat for support along with an email channel and a Call Centre. SunBet also have a Twitter and Facebook account so…
Terms and Conditions are industry standard. Make sure to read and understand them before you start depositing money.
SunBet is licensed by the Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board and owned by SunBet Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Sun International Group.
