Current Status of Gambling in South Africa: Uncertainty Remains

Surprisingly, South Africa has a rather rich history when it comes to gambling. It dates back a long way. Throughout this long history, there have been changes in both traditional gambling industries and online gambling sectors. Therefore, it is not surprising that many players are confused about the current status of gambling within the country, including what bonuses, such as RTG bonuses South Africa, are available to them.

Legal Gambling in South Africa

Regarding interactive gaming (online gambling), Section 11 of the Gambling Act remains strict in its regulation. Here’s what it states:

“A person shall not participate in or promote interactive gaming except as permitted under this Act or any other Act of national significance.”

This restriction has led to the growth of large offshore casinos catering to South African players and the South African rand currency. This raises the question of potential legal loopholes that allow local players to gamble online without facing any consequences.

In the interpretation of South Africa's National Gambling Act and its amendments, two fairly opposing statements can be found. On one hand, the law asserts that the only platforms that can offer online gambling services to South African players are online bookmakers licensed by the National Gambling Board (NGB).

On the other hand, the law states that no services should offer online gambling to residents of South Africa.

Amid these conflicting statements, offshore casino websites, bookmakers, poker rooms, and other similar services have found that there is no clear legal text in South African law that outright prohibits players from gambling online or imposes any punitive measures.

As a result, many reputable and globally recognized platforms based outside of South African jurisdiction have become a legal solution for South African players.

Thus, a "workaround" has been found to access online gambling services. However, this situation raises concerns regarding reliability and safety. The issue is that such offshore platforms are licensed by foreign organizations.

Given the ambiguous status of online gambling for South African players, we have prepared a set of key criteria to help players choose the right operator based on their gambling needs. These criteria include:

  • Licensing – Although local authorities do not issue licenses to operators, it is recommended to choose a platform that holds a gambling license from another jurisdiction. Having such a license indicates that the operator complies with the norms and standards set by that jurisdiction. This ensures a certain level of service quality and, consequently, player satisfaction.

  • Security Protocols – Players from South Africa should also pay attention to the reliability of the chosen casino platform. Platforms that use proper SSL encryption will display this information next to the website address in the browser’s address bar and on the appropriate page (e.g., "About Us") in both mobile and desktop versions.

  • Game Software Providers – In today’s diverse landscape of game providers, there are industry giants with their trusted software, as well as newer brands striving to prove their reliability. The choice of provider mainly depends on what players prefer: widely available and known games or a selection of more unique products.


Payment Methods for South African Players

The issue of the safety of funds and transactions throughout the gambling process makes players pay special attention to the "Payments" page of the chosen casino platform. The optimal banking methods for South African casino players are those that allow transactions to be processed in the national currency, the South African Rand (ZAR).

This currency was unavailable for a long time, but nowadays, several reputable platforms targeting local players offer a variety of payment methods using the local currency:

  • Credit and Debit Cards – South Africa is becoming an increasingly attractive destination for online gambling providers. This, in turn, leads to the growth of payment services. The first platforms only used two credit and debit card services. Now, players from South Africa can deposit and withdraw funds using Visa, Maestro, MasterCard, or even American Express.

  • E-Wallets and Electronic Payment Processing Services – There are many e-wallets and electronic money processing services that allow South African players to make transactions in their own currency or deposit in local currency and then convert it to the platform's currency. It’s important to note that today, leading global e-wallets such as PayPal, Neteller, and Skrill, as well as electronic money services like EcoPayz and PaySafeCard, provide proper and secure payment processing services for South African players.

  • Bank Transfers / Electronic Transfers – Bank transfers and electronic money transfers offer players more freedom in terms of deposit sizes and withdrawals. Processing these payment requests may take a little longer, but thanks to the reliable, secure, and straightforward service, they have become an excellent banking method for South African players on specific gambling platforms.