In days gone by, if you wanted to place a bet on a horse race or the outcome of a boxing match, you’d hightail it down to your local bookie and hope they gave you decent odds (and that they’d let you keep your kneecaps if you couldn’t pay your tab!).
These days betting on sports couldn’t be easier with online bookies, also known as sportsbooks. Just hop on to one of South Africa’s 300 sportsbook betting sites and you’ll have access to a staggering number of sports, leagues, and markets to bet on. Now, your only challenge is trying to pick the right sportsbook for you!
Don’t worry – we’ve got you covered. We’ve put together a list of our top 5 sportsbooks, carefully selected using the criteria below, as well as a unique feature that makes these sportsbooks stand out.
# | Casino | Betting features | Sports & betting games | Welcome bonus | Withdrawal speeds |
1 |
| Bet builders, live betting, live streaming, app, promotions, cash out | 31 sports & bet games, live games, lucky numbers, casino games, virtual sports, daily jackpot, e-sports | 100% first deposit match up to R1000 – this becomes a free bet | 24-72 hours for ewallets & 1-2 business days for EFTs |
2 |
| Live betting, data-free app, cash out & promotions | 25 sports, virtual games, Supa Numbers, live games, bet games, Jika Games, SupaBillions, instant games | R50 no deposit bonus, and a 200% matched first deposit bonus up to R1000. | Instant payout for Supabets OTP, 30 minutes for ewallets, 12 hours for EFTs |
3 |
| Bet builders, live betting, cash out, promotions, Gbets data-free app | 40+ sports, betgames, live games, lucky numbers, virtual sports | R25 free bet + 100% first deposit match up to R1000 | 24 hours on average but can take 1-3 business days; instant payout with the 1ForYou app |
4 |
| Combo boost, match tracker, fast markets, live betting | 34 sports, betgames, lucky numbers, and live casino games | 50% match up to R2000 on your first deposit | 24hrs for bank transfers on business days only; can take up to 5 business days |
5 |
| Bet builders, live betting, cash out, promotions, and app | 35 sports, live casino games, lucky numbers and bet games | 100% match up to R1000 on your first deposit | 2-5 business days for Mastercard, Visa, or bank transfer |
Betway is a fantastic sportsbook for several reasons: first, as it’s part of an international bookmaker organisation, you are given access to multiple international markets and the experience and features that come with a more established sportsbook; second, the sheer number of games and leagues you can bet on is simply mindblowing!
This category is where Betway pulled ahead to win the top number 1 spot on our list; their impressive and insightful betting features. We’ll give you a rundown on a few of our favourites.
Phone app
Here’s another way in which Betway benefits from their well-established UK parent company. Betway’s phone app is second to none. The design is aesthetically pleasing, loads quickly, and is very easy to navigate.
Betway TV & live betting
Betway is one of only 3 sportsbooks that offers live streaming. So you can watch the game and the odds as it’s happening and have the chance to adjust your betting strategy. Live betting gives you the edge over other punters and could win you some serious dosh!
Betway Money Back Boost
This nifty feature comes into play when you’re making multiple bets using a multibet betslip. If you bet on six or more events and one of those bets goes sideways, Betway will refund up to 20x your bet, depending on how many events you bet on. There are obviously Ts & Cs, but it’s definitely a feature worth looking into, especially for EPL fans.
Daily jackpot
What started out as a promo has become a permanent fixture on Betway. One cash bet = one entry into the daily jackpot. Your entry lets you make one prediction on the outcome of selected bet types in the fixtures provided. A winning prediction will land you your share of R10,000, a jackpot that’s reset daily.
Betway has a comprehensive sportsbook of 31 different sports plus several variations! They offer a range of betting markets and odds on all of South Africa’s favourite sports, like rugby, cricket, and horse racing, but it’s with soccer that they truly shine.
As Betway is a UK company, they have an entire section dedicated to the English Premier League (EPL). But if that’s not your cup of tea, there are 59 other leagues to choose from! You filter first by country to access a specific league, although they also include international events in that list, and then go from there.
Betway also has odds on the widest range of e-sports in South Africa; you can place your bets on League of Legends (LOL), Dota 2, CounterStrike, or StarCraft. Betting markets include Winner, 1st Map 1st Kill, 1st Tower, 1st Baron, and 1st Inhibitor. These markets change slightly based on the game.
Betting games
Betting games are extra entertainment offered by sportsbooks to make you spend more time on their website once you’ve placed your bet. Betways has more games on offer than almost any South African online bookmaker, including:
As a welcome bonus Betway offers to match 100% of your first deposit up to R1000. This bonus amount is a free bet and can only be used to bet on sport. You will need to 3x the amount of the deposit on a sport in order to get the free bet. Please check the Ts & Cs before signing up.
Betway is pretty quick off the draw with their withdrawal speeds for ewallets and vouchers but lags a little when it comes to EFTs and bank cards.
Betway truly deserves our top spot, from the myriad of sports and leagues on offer to their fantastic app, wonderful betting games and features. Our only real reservation is their withdrawal speeds for EFTs, but we can forgive their sins in exchange for their stellar promotions and features.
Supabets is the place to be if you enjoy a versatile sportsbook! On top of offering odds on a wide range of sports and leagues, there are scads of betting games to play while you wait for the results of your bet. They also have an excellent welcome bonus that makes it well worth signing up!
Supabets offers some fantastic features, including live betting, a data-free app, a flexible cash out feature, and a simply stupendous number of betting games to play while you wait for your wagers to be settled.
Live betting
Supabets In-Play (live) is the sportsbook’s live betting feature. It lets you make in-game wagers if you miss the kick-off for a live game but still want a piece of the action. This is also a great feature if you want to make more precise bets as the game unfolds. The live betting display is well-structured and easy to navigate, so you can toggle between live sporting events as they happen.
Data-free app
The Supabets data-free app can be downloaded directly from their mobile site. It’s a great way to keep track of your wagers without paying a fortune in data! Sadly, it has only been developed for Android so far, so iPhone users miss out.
Cash out
The cash out feature lets you take an early payout on a bet before the results are in, allowing you to get money back before the event is over. The amount is calculated according to the odds at the time of cash out, and will never equal more than the total potential win of the original betslip. Always check your Ts & Cs as cash out is only available under specific circumstances.
While Supabets only has 25 sports to bet on, it makes up for it by offering odds on a startling number of betmarkets! From the less than impressive 9 on ice hockey to the astounding 745 on soccer, Supabets has you covered. Each sport can be filtered first by country and then by the league; if you’re looking for an international game, try starting your search with the country you want to bet on.
Betting games
Supabets has a little more going on in the betting games department than most sportsbooks; they really want to make sure their players have a good time while they wait for their wagers to come in. Game categories include:
Supabets certainly has the most welcoming bonus we’ve ever seen! They offer new players a R50 no-deposit bonus, ie, you don’t have to pay in to get your hands on this bonus. Additionally, they will match your first deposit of up to R1000 by 200%.
We love this welcome bonus, as most sportsbooks either won’t offer a signing-up bonus or only offer R25. Most sportsbooks will also only offer a 100% first deposit match, whereas Supabets doubles this offer at 200%.
There are, of course, Ts & Cs, the biggest being that the R50 is only withdrawable once you’ve used it to place 3 single bets at odds of 1.1 or higher.
Deposit methods: Ozow, Blu Voucher, SiD, Peach Payments, 1 Voucher, PayU, EFT, Visa, Mastercard
Withdrawal methods: EFT takes 12hrs; Supabets OTP is instant; FNB ewallet Pro, 30 minutes; Standard Bank Instant Money, 30 minutes.
We love Supabet’s welcome bonus and live betting feature, but we’re disappointed to see they no longer have SupaTV, their live streaming service. So while we’re definitely fans, Supabets gets bumped to second place.
Gbets is SA’s biggest sportsbook. They offer odds on 58 types of sports, 9 e-sports and 5 virtual sports, and you can even wager on politics! With an impressive number of promotions and betting features, we’re thrilled with Gbets as a sportsbook.
Cash out and partial cash out
Cash out is a popular feature on most sports betting sites and lets you either close bets that are looking like they might end badly or cash in on profits early. Cash out is offered on both pre-match and in live play.
Edit My Bet
This revolutionary feature works in tandem with the cash out feature and allows you to take full control of your bets. You can add, omit, replace and increase your wager where the cash out feature is available.
Betgames TV
Live coverage of the Betgames offered by Gbets – watch the action as it happens in games of Dice Duel, Rock Paper Scissors, Andar Bahar, and War of Bets.
Gbets data-free app
Like Supabets, Gbets has a data-free android app that can be downloaded via their mobile site.
As we said, Gbets offers odds on a shed load of sports! From SA favourites, rugby, soccer, and cricket to less popular games like badminton, table tennis, and even handball (surprisingly, Gbets currently boasts 290 betting markets on handball).
Gbets is also a great sportsbook for fans of e-sports. The online bookie has booking markets on all the big tournaments and championships for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, DOTA 2, League of Legends, StarCraft 2, King of Glory, and Valorant.
Betting games
Gbets has a two-for-one welcome bonus that has us impressed. First, they give you a sign-up bonus of a R25 free sports bet when you register.
Then, they offer to match 100% of your first deposit up to R1000!
It’s worth noting that your free bet bonus can only be used on pre-match and live sports and that it is valid for 48 hours from time of activation. There are a few more Ts & Cs attached to these bonuses, and we highly recommend having a read through before you sign up.
Deposit methods
Gbets allows you to make an instant deposit into your Gbets account using any of the following methods: 1Voucher, Blu Voucher, OTT Voucher, Visa/Mastercard/American Express, CelBux Ticketpro, Ozow, PayGate, SiD, Direct Deposit, and EFT Secure.
Withdrawal methods
Gbets processes all withdrawal requests within 24 hours, which is great. However, if your request isn’t seen immediately, this can take up to 3 business days.
Withdrawal methods include Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Celbux Ticketpro.
Gbets is a fantastic sportsbook for both the eclectic gambler who likes to sample a little of everything and for the newbie still trying to find their feet (and their betting market). Gbets lose a couple of cool points for their limited withdrawal methods, but with features like that, we’ll always come back for more.
The number of betting markets on offer at PalaceBet makes any other sportsbook look practically spartan by comparison! On one live soccer match, they offer as many as 54 betting options. So you’ll never be lost for what to bet on. But what else do they have to offer?
PalaceBet’s betting features were developed to capitalise on its enormous number of betting markets. The following three are perhaps the best examples of that.
Combo Boost
This feature is an accumulator bonus that gets bigger the more selections you add to your betslip. The bonus is calculated based on your number of selections, and 5 or more could get you an increase of up to 60% on your winnings.
Fast Markets
These are bets made during gameplay that predict whether a specific live event will take place within the next 1-5 minutes. This can be anything from a goal, a corner or a free-kick.
Match Tracker
This feature lets you follow matches as they happen and use the live game information to inform your bets.
PalaceBet offers over 2400 betting markets on 34 types of sports. This ranges from the usual suspects like soccer, rugby, cricket, and horse racing, to their niche corner of the market: American football.
PalaceBet has an affiliation with DraftKings, USA, which means they can offer you exclusive prop bets (ie, bets not reliant on the outcome of the game) on the NFL, such as passing and receiving yards.
There are currently 717 betting markets on offer solely in PalaceBet’s American Football division!
Betting games
The PalaceBet welcome bonus matches 50% of your first deposit, up to R2000. Please be aware that you can only withdraw this bonus once the total amount, both your initial deposit amount and the deposit bonus, has been wagered 5 times.
Please read the Ts & Cs before signing up to check for other wagering requirements.
Deposits
PalaceBet offers the following deposit methods: Ozow, credit card, instant EFT, 1Voucher, Zapper, and
OTT voucher.
Withdrawal
Withdrawal can only be made via bank transfer into a properly FICAd account. This is subject to 24 hours notice to effect payment and can take up to 5 business days.
Payments are only processed on business days. Payment requests on public holidays and weekends will be processed on the next business day.
The betting markets are divine, and the features are both fun and functional, but PalaceBet’s withdrawal method, while safe, is both limited and slow. We love the variety, but if you’re into instant gratification, you might want to look elsewhere for your sportsbook needs.
SunBet is remarkable for having a wide range of sports and betting markets, but also for having unrivalled odds in almost every category. Better odds mean more money when you win!
Live sports and live betting
SunBet’s live betting feature has a slick design that is easy to navigate and understand. A status bar flashes sports symbols to show which events are live and what you can bet on. This makes the design less cluttered, a trend that’s unusual on most sportsbook websites. The events are filtered by live games, starting soon, popular, and then by sport. Once you’ve settled on the right game, you can explore the betting markets and place your bets.
Quickbet
The Quickbet feature lets you make cash bets from the comfort of your own phone. Once you’ve placed the bet and confirmed your phone number, you can head to your nearest retailer to hand over the cash.
Cash out
The cash out feature, again, allows you to redeem your bets before they’re settled. SunBet lets you do this on a single bet, multibets, pre-match, or live.
SunBet offers excellent odds on 35 different sports and events, from your standard sports, to politics, to whether Estonia will receive at least 0.1mm of rain on Midsummer’s Day (current odds are 7/4 on YES and 2/5 on NO). SunBet has a huge number of betting markets for you to choose from – 18,747 on soccer alone. So this is definitely the sportsbook for you if you enjoy hedging your bets!
Betting Games
SunBet offers new players a welcome bonus of a 100% matched first deposit bonus up to R1000.
R50 is the minimum deposit, and the bonus amount needs to be wagered 3 times at odds of 1.5 or greater to meet wagering requirements. Please check the Ts & Cs for other wagering requirements.
Deposits
Visa or Mastercard (credit/debit), OTT Voucher, 1ForYou Voucher, Blu Voucher, instant EFT, and bank transfer.
Withdrawal
SunBet allows withdrawals into a FICAd bank account via bank transfer. This can only be processed on business days with a 24-hour internal processing time. It can take an additional 2-5 business days to be processed by your bank.
We love SunBet’s website and how they’ve streamlined the betting process for what is, frankly, a staggering number of betting odds, but the convoluted and lengthy withdrawal process has cost the sportsbook a top spot!
We’ve shared our wisdom, but don’t take our word for it: check out these amazing top 5 sportsbooks of 2022 for yourself and deliver your verdict to us. Happy gambling!
