Top Online Casino Sites in South Africa

You’re a gambler. You’re willing to spend a couple of bucks in online gambling sites to earn a fortune. You’re chasing luck. We are CasinoHEX. We know the online casino industry’s ins and outs. We are here to help you have the best experience of your life. Read a comprehensive guide on choosing a trusted South African casino, so you don’t lose money in vain, check out the FAQ section or go straight to the reviews section to find a SA online casinos that suits you.

Best South African Online Casinos – Apr 2020 Updated

• Top Paying South African Online Casinos List
• Trusted SA Casino Sites Choice
• High Payout Casinos
• Is Online Gambling in South Africa Legal?
• FAQ

How to choose trusted online casino in South Africa

We all like to gamble, but some online casinos are more of a gamble than others. Some offer more welcome bonuses, others offer more entertaining games, some promise huge jackpots. Some rip you off.

How do you navigate the world of online gambling in South African casinos without turning an enjoyable experience into a financial nightmare? That is what this chapter answers. The following is a detailed explanation of what to look for when you are choosing a legal South African online casino to play in.

Software and website security

Safety in online casinos is a big concern in the gambling industry, as many untrustworthy websites are created with a sole purpose of luring you into giving them your personal information. Just as you won’t go to a shady neighbourhood in the middle of the night, you don’t want to try your luck in the shady parts of the web, if you care about your wallet.
Avoiding these sites is really simple, but some players don’t even give it a second thought, as they think phishing or fraud is something that happens to someone else, not them. If you are reading this article, the chances are you care about your security, so here’s what you should look for.

First off, check if the site has a SSL certificate. If the left side of the South African online casinos address bar is green, has a padlock on it, says “Secure” or mentions the company’s name, you’re good to go. If it doesn’t, or worse yet, is red or says “Not secure”, that’s definitely a no-no.

Your second step is to look closely at the address itself. Some fraudsters register a domain that sounds similar to a popular casino to steal users’ banking information. Big companies buy out lower level domains, to prevent scammers from registering casino.org to take customers from casino.com, but preventing them from buying a similar sounding domain is virtually impossible. So if you are looking for yebo.co.za and ended up at yedo.co.za, be sure to double check the domain name.

Next, take a look at the downloadable software and SA online casino’s web application. Does the software list a valid developer? If it doesn’t, it might be an indicator that tells there’s something wrong with the casino in question. Check if the software and the web app are tested by a third party and does the random number generator have the right certificates. One of the reputable companies that do that is eCOGRA. This process can be simplified, if an casino sites operates under a white label license and uses games of a reputable developer. If there’s a developer’s license, you’re good to go.

Another sign that shows rogue South African casinos well is a badly written text on the site. If the description is written in poor or overly simplistic English, it can show that the South African
online casino company is either not based in South Africa, or they wanted to make the price of their website as low as possible. The same goes for some of important pieces of information missing. Scammers or not, this makes you think whether this casino hired low skilled programmers to write their software to cut down costs as well. If they did, your security might be compromised either by the company itself, or by hackers who pray on such weaknesses.

Great customer support

Have you ever been in a situation where you enjoyed yourself in a South African online casino up to a point when you had a minor problem and it took the support a couple of days to solve it, or even to respond? That is one of the markers of a bad casino. You should avoid such places, as someday a delay in solving your problem may be crucial.

Don’t be afraid to contact the casino support before you make a deposit to check the quality of their work. Ask something you don’t get about gambling procedure, withdrawal or whether a certain deposit qualifies for a bonus. If they answer you fast, are helpful and nice to you, you can be sure this online casino South Africa cares about your experience, not just their profits. If the support won’t answer you for days, is negligent or even rude, leave the place.

Also, check the company’s policies on withdrawal, bonuses and their possible actions in case something goes wrong. You can look for that info on the site, or ask the support.

If you want to play fair, you have to know all the rules.

All things banking

Here’s arguably the most important part. Making a deposit or withdrawal is where many rogue online casinos cash in on you. You have to be really careful, when checking this one out.

Look for online gambling sites with a variety of deposit methods. This shows they care about your convenience and will take a payment from a service that suits you.

Most top South African casinos have a table comparing different payment options. Take a look at it to understand what option will be the most beneficial at this particular online casino. Some payment methods would take more to transfer the funds than others.

When making a deposit with PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, Easy EFT, EcoPayz or any other payment service, double-check the domain address and make sure it is the online casino site you were looking for, not a copycat that will steal your banking information.

Last, but not least, look for withdrawal policy. Some South African online casino withdrawal methods, like wire transfer, would take significantly longer to transfer the winnings from South Africas online casinos to your account. Be sure to check out payout percentage and real reviews on problems with withdrawal. Pay attention to whether the company responded to them, and how quickly they were solved.

Welcome bonuses and free spins

Any gambler enjoys a good bonus and free spins on slots. But this is tricky territory, that can indicate a good or a bad online casino. Here are some guidelines that can help you to differentiate between the two.

A good online casino is not afraid to make a generous offer. In South African casinos this normally means anywhere from R8,000 to R12,000. It is the price they pay to get you interested in wagering on their platform, and casinos are well aware that it pays back. Some even offer a small no wager welcome bonus to let you test the best casino for free, before taking real money into the game.

If an casino offers a sum that is too good to be true, like R30,000 or even R60,000 it may mean one of two things. It’s either doing very good and can afford it, or is luring you into a fraud. Don’t be too judgemental of big bonuses in online gambling, though, as many good and respectable online casinos offer generous promotions.

The thing you should really pay attention to is promotions terms. It is where the rogue casinos want to rip you off within legal boundaries of their offer. Look for vaguely defined bonus abuse or other terms. Many online casinos that are now blacklisted refused to pay up on jackpots due to the player using bonus money to wager or claiming bonus abuse, where it definitely wasn’t the case.

Withdrawal limits and wagering requirements are another things to look into, if you think the South African online casino you are looking at is a bit shady. You might need to spend a huge sum on gambling in order to withdraw anything. Or withdrawal can be capped at a very low monthly sum to prevent you from cashing out big winnings.

Easy navigation and relevant information

Most online casinos we deem not worthy our trust at CasinoHEX do not care about providing all the relevant information to users, or making their site easy to browse. Take a look at the site, click a couple of links, look for some important information. If you are having a hard time finding it, the odds are, it is a casino we would not recommend.

Look specifically for information on banking, promotions, and guidelines on how to operate the casino site or how certain games work. A good online casino must have these sections, and the information there should be well written and cover all your questions.

A variety of games

It’s what we’re all here for, right? Why is it not coming on number one then? The thing is, even if it might be a factor that shows trustworthiness of a casino, it definitely doesn’t influence the rating as heavily as all the things described above do. We at CasinoHEX want gamblers from South Africa to have thebest and the safest experience in top online casinos, that is why we stress the importance of the other factors way more.

If you are looking for the same type of experience, take a second look at the games a casino you want to play in offers. Do they have all the latest games from the developers they work with? If they don’t it might be suspicious. The best marker that shows an online casino is reputable is having games developed especially for them.

Final thoughts on trusted gambling sites South Africa

What you just read is a condensed guide on choosing a trustworthy casino. Our experts at CasinoHEX work by more complex protocols, and test the South African online casinos they write about themselves. We encourage our users to form their own opinions, so we publish these general guidelines. However, if you want to save your time, take a look at our casino reviews. We are constantly looking for casinos for you to enjoy.

Is online gambling legal in South Africa?

The quick answer is no, it’s not. To get to know why is that so, and what does it mean for you as an SA online gambler, read this chapter.

Legal status of land based casinos

South Africa has a long history of gambling prohibition, with horse betting being legalized only in 1965. As of today, land based casinos are completely legal and serve as a tourist attraction that brings tens of thousands of people into the country. Casinos have transformed from mere gambling establishments to luxury entertainment centers. They offer spa, theatres, and theme parks for their guests to explore, when they are not trying their luck at a poker table or a slot machine.

Another legal form of gambling is a National Lottery. It is operated by ITUBA company, and is regulated by the government. The biggest jackpot so far was R102 mio. The lottery’s revenues are measured in billions of ZAR, making it a huge source of revenue for the budget.

Legal status of online gambling in SA

Online sport betting, horse betting and bookmaking is legal, regulated and can be licensed. However, online gambling is prohibited by the National Gambling Act of 2004. This concerns specifically SA casino or games with real money that involve either chance or skill to win and receive a payout. So, online slots, poker, roulette and other similar games are not legal in South Africa.

In 2010 the court ruled that not only providing such services on South African land is prohibited, but engaging in casinos online South Africa is as well. Those who break the law are subject to heavy fines or imprisonment of up to ten years. Banks that process payments associated with online gambling South Africa, internet service providers and mass media, that are involved in advertising, are affected by the law as well.

Is it going to change?

In 2008 the National Gambling Amendment Act was published. It was an attempt to legalize online gambling and introduce viable regulatory options. Unfortunately, it was heavily confronted and as a result, was sidelined. Today this act is still not being introduced, so online gambling remains illegal. However, it shows that there are partisans of legalisation in the country, and there is hope it will happen someday.

Reasons why online gambling is prohibited

There are many reasons why gambling remains legal only inside few online casinos. The full answer must be a combination of them.

One of the major concerns is that South African online casinos can be used for money laundering. With tons of money coming in and little money coming out, all online and anonymously, the possibilities for taking illegally obtained money and making them legal revenue of a casino are huge. After legalisation, applying international anti-money laundering laws will become rather tricky.

Another possible reason is the rise of underage gamblers abusing online casinos. This can lead to credit card fraud, as youngsters would take their parent’s credit cards to finance their gambling.

Also, there is an argument that legalisation will lead to forming a class of pathological gamblers, addicted to the quick high of the game. This can result in financial ruin and broken families.

All these reasons can be amended in one way or another by regulation. Some online casinos even offer pathological gamblers an option of self-exclusion for a period of time, if they feel like their habit is getting out of hand. This is done out of their own will, as they are not enforced to offer that by any law.

Some would argue that the true reason behind the ban is big casino lobbyists, who don’t want to lose the revenue to their online competitors. However, this is a speculation, and there are no sure ways to know that. There is a more interesting question that you should ask.

What does ban on online gambling in South Africa mean for me?

Technically you are breaking the law, if you are engaging in gambling from any device on South African land, and you are at risk of legal action, if you are proven to do so in court. In practice, however, the government does not prosecute individual players, as it is too pricey. Normally, all the blame is on the South African online casino itself.

Please note, that CasinoHEX does not encourage illegal activities of its users, we only provide information for them to make a sound decision.

Best High Payout Casinos

If you’re putting your money on stake, you should expect a return. That’s why finding a high payout casino is paramount.

Some casinos pay you more than the others. How is that possible? There are two major things that contribute to this. First, there are wagering requirements, and then there are payout percentages.

Doesn’t ring a bell? Here are both of them explained.

Wagering requirements in high payout casinos

Best online casinos always give you a bit of extra cash you can spend. Some of them give it as a no deposit bonus, some high payout casinos require you to make a deposit first.

But you know that nothing is free except charity. It’s true for casinos as well. Even the high paying casinos can’t allow you to get bonus money with nothing back. The thing you give them, however, is time.

The thing is, if you want to withdraw the bonus money you were given, you have to wager a certain amount first. In some casinos, you have to bet 30 times your original bonus to be able to redeem it. The high payout casinos require you to wager a lower sum.

Payout percentages in high payout casinos

Not all slots are made equal. Not all casinos are either. There’s a thing called payout percentage. It is a mathematical model of how much money you get back from a slot or a high payout casino.

The higher this number is, the more money you will get back from a slot in the long run. In high payout casinos, this number is higher than ever.

The thing is most online slots in high payout casinos have different settings of payout percentages. A casino can choose to make it higher or lower when they make a contract with the software developer. High payout casinos are big enough to afford to go with the highest number. If you’re dealing with a high payout casino, the odds are it’s big enough to get their profits out of the sheer volume of gamblers.

Best Gambling Sites Online Apr 2020