Gbets

The new Gbets online site has kept everything that made the original so impressive and upgraded it with a far simpler and far easier to navigate overlay. It hasn’t lost any of the functionality that made the original so popular, but it has ‘uncluttered’ a lot of the look and feel which makes it look even more professional and functional.

While the basic layout will be familiar to any regular visitors to an online sports book, newbies will find the Gbets platform quite simple to navigate after a little bit of familiarisation. It is in the nature of sports books to look really, really busy and more than a little intimidating if you’ve never visited one before – but once you get the overall hang of them, they are super easy to use.

At Gbets, South African online gamblers are faced with the usual pillar and column structure of a sports book when they hit the home page. At the top is the header bar with the home page icon, a search bar, and the Sign In and Sign Up buttons. A unique, and very interesting, addition to the Gbets header bar is a little sun button that allows you to switch the background from the default green theme to a white background. It’s a subtle but clever move to make the site easier to navigate and see for players who may struggle with the green background, or for low light situations.

Your personal profile and deposit quick link round out the top of the page in a very unobtrusive and understated way which we found to be rather attractive in the grand scheme of the layout. Information on your balances, bets, notifications, bonuses, and limits/exclusions are all found on your profile page, which also has links for deposits, withdrawals, and your wallet/casino account.

Below the header bar is a menu tab that will tale players straight to their chosen lobbies: Home, Sport, Live Sports, Live Games, BetGames TV, Jika Sports, and More. More, in the case of Gbets, is a further offering of games and info like Keno, eSports, Virtual Sports, the Gbets blog, Promotions, Rules, Stats, and even a physical store locator.

On the subject of the Gblog, it is a really awesome and standout feature with tons of posts relating to the gambling and sporting world, everything you need to know about Gbets and sports betting, and tutorials on how to play the Betgames.tv and Live Dealer games.

All these tabs and options are given a bit of movement and colour with the scrolling billboard-style banner area under the tabs that showcases offers, promos, bonuses, and the like. This banner changes up depending on whether you’re in the Sports lobby or the Live Games lobby with deals and news tailored to each of these online gambling options.

The Sports lobby features good odds and an impressive list of local and international sports, all easily searchable with the scrollable tab bar or the dedicated search function. Faves like soccer, tennis, rugby, golf, cricket, basketball, and motorsport have hundreds of different markets while Gbets also includes an impressive selection of eSports and specialty bets like politics or music and entertainment for those looking for a different sort of betting option.

The casino side of things, as mentioned before, does not include online slots or table games but does have a very good selection of Live Casino options like online live poker, online live baccarat, online live roulette and more. South African players should also try out some of the unique online Live Casino games like Gonzo’s Treasure Hunt or the game show-style live games like Dream Catcher – they are super interactive and incredibly good fun.

Finishing up the offering are the BetGames, Jika Sports, and Virtual Sports lobbies for a very comprehensive and engaging visit to a South African online gambling partner who really goes the distance.

The foot of the page contains all the admin stuff like About us, FAQs, Terms and Conditions, Contacts, and the all-important Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board license.

A final note on the Gbets layout: players will see a lot of mention of Gbets Rocks. This is the Gbets partnership with Boland Cricket and their sponsorship of the growth and development of the sport in South Africa. A great initiative and a valuable partnership for the teams that play one of south Africa’s favourite ball sports.

Getting in to Gbets is simple and fast:

• Type www.gbets.co.za into your browser
• Click the Register button
• Enter the required details: mobile number, create a password, name and surname, ID number, DoB, email address, gender (M/F but we’re not going there), and income source (FICA requirement).

And that’s it. You will get an SMS and an email welcoming you to Gbets and presenting the R25 sign up bonus on confirmation of your FICA details being uploaded.

Just one note that you will NOT find being told to you on the chat or on the site: if you are using your desktop you will need to sign in with your email, if you are using your mobile phone you will need to sign in with your mobile number. For some reason, your chosen device will affect your username options.

Gbets is secured using SSL digital encryption to ensure all your data is secure.

Adherence to the Western Cape Gambling Board’s regulations means they are practitioners of Fair Play guidelines and Responsible Gambling.

Sports betting

The sports betting lobby at Gbets has a fantastic offering of over 50 different categories that include all the most popular sports around the world. Football/soccer obviously has a massive choice (over 1080 unique options) but South Africa’s most popular sporting choices are well covered from rugby to cricket to tennis to F1 to golf. Other events like table tennis, hockey, basketball, futsal, darts, snooker, and bandy also have a good selection of options.

We do like the fact that there are also the ‘unusual’ options like betting on Eurovision, the Oscars and BAFTAs, politics – and even betting on which company will be the first to land on Mars!

Virtual sports betting and E-Sports betting have their own dedicated lobbies that follow these fast-growing sports around the world. For those looking for something fun and different, Marble Race in the Virtual Sports lobby is a blast – a combination of pachinko, lucky numbers, horse racing, and great graphics that give the childhood game an extra money-on-the-line edge.

Casino games

We are unapologetic fans of online casino games and, as we keep mentioning, are always a little disappointed that there such limited options in the slots and table games selections. Still, South African sports betting-dominated sites are bringing us great Live Dealer games so we can’t really complain.

Betgames is the provider that seems to be dominating the South African Live dealer/sports book site market and they have a big presence on Gbets with their own Betgames TV lobby offering Speedy 7, Andar Bahar, War of Bets, 6+ Poker, Bet on Poker, Baccarat, Wheel of Fortune, Lucky 7, Lucky 6, and Dice duel. A good choice of quick games with impeccable hosts, production values, and presentation.

What makes Gbets stand apart is their inclusion of other providers like Evolution, Vision Casino, and even Hippodrome Live Casino. This expands their casino games offering to include Game Shows, Roulette, Baccarat, Poker, Blackjack, and Skill Games. Music to our ears! Or rather the sweet sounds of card shuffling and amazing dealers as hosts.

There is currently no Loyalty programme at Gbets although, at our query, we were advised that one is under development!

There is no app, but the Gbets mobile version is just as good as the online version if you log in via your mobile device browser.

Deposit options mostly reflect those that South African online shoppers/gamblers/etc will be used to

Deposit

• Credit/debit card (Mastercard, Visa, American Express)
• Bank transfer
• SID Instant EFT
• Ozow Instant EFT
• OTT Voucher
• 1ForYou Voucher
• Blu Voucher

Withdrawal

Winnings can be withdrawn into a properly FICA’d bank account. Remember, when withdrawing funds, you will be legally required to provide FICA documentation to Betway, including bank details, ID, and proof of address.

As with all online casino and sports book bonuses and promos, Gbets has a range of wagering requirements and Ts & Cs that come with their offers so make sure you read and understand all the requirements before you redeem or take part in any promotional offers.

There is one sign up bonus and one deposit bonus with a good selection of regularly updated promotions. Unfortunately, for the CasinoPlay crew anyway, we weren’t offered any bonuses at the Live Games portal and all the promotions seem to be aimed at the sports market.

• Sign up Bonus

R25 Free Bet Sign up bonus on successful registration and uploading of FICA documents. Ts & Cs apply.

• Deposit bonus

100% deposit match on first Sports deposit up to R1,000. 7x wagering requirement.

There are ongoing promotions though, mostly related to the sports betting side.

• Regularly updated and seasonal promotions for sports include promos like Win a PS5, R10,000 Jika promo, Festive Season promos, Hattrick Hero Promo, 1^st Try Double Promo, Full Sweep F1 promo and more.

Customer support is available 24/7 through Live Chat and landline telephone. There is also an email channel. Gbets is on Facebook and Twitter for the social media followers out there.

Our experience of the Live Chat support was pleasant in that the responses were fast and professional although they didn’t quite resolve our issue (a resolution we stumbled on by accident ourselves).

Terms and Conditions are industry standard. Make sure to read and understand them before you start depositing money.   

Gbets is licensed by the Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board, operated by Dymanex, and owned by Goldrush Gaming Group.