Best Online Casinos in South Africa (2023)

Compare our list of trusted, safe and legal online casinos that accept players from South Africa and South African Rand.

These online casinos are reviewed, trusted and played by millions of customers throughout the world. Take advantage of our exclusive sign up bonuses for the best start to your online casino experience.

How We Review & Rank Online Casinos

In our list, you can quickly compare the best online casinos that offer the most games, live casino games, mobile games and the average payout for the random number generator (RNG) games.

Various factors are taken into consideration when we are testing and ranking the best South African online casinos.

Among the top departments that we closely assess are the following eight key areas:

Licences and Safety

One of the most important things to look at is the licences and safety measures that online casinos in South Africa have in place. Without the right licences, it is impossible to tell if they are a safe and secure places to play games. On the security side, they should have SSL encryption and other measures to protect user data.

Game Selection

Players will want a good choice of games to play when they sign up for an account at a South African online casino site. Part of this is which studios and developers have their games on an online casino. The more games that are available in a library the better, especially if fresh titles are added on a regular basis.

Some South African online casinos have an exclusivity deal with a certain game provider, which means titles from other studios will not be available to play on those sites.

Customer Service

Users of online casinos might sometimes need help or support from customer service. We check what customer service options are available, such as live chat, and what hours these operate.

It is also handy if customer service is able to be provided in a number of different languages. Help sections such as an FAQ can also be a useful part of the customer service provision from a South African online casino.

Welcome Bonuses

With so many different online casinos out there these days, competition to sign up new users is increasingly fierce. Welcome bonuses are one of the main ways that sites try to bring in fresh customers.

However, they usually have terms and conditions that must be met, such as maximum win limits and wagering requirements. We compare welcome bonuses to see how appealing they really are.

Banking Options

Being able to use a preferred banking option is a priority for many people who want to play games at South African online casinos. A solid range of potential payment methods is a must these days, with people increasingly demanding the opportunity to use fresh options such as cryptocurrency to make their deposits.

Device Compatibility

Many South Africans now like to use handheld devices to play online casino games. As a result, device compatibility is a key factor in how we test and rank the best South African online casinos.

Some online casinos these days are mobile-first, meaning that they are designed primarily to be used on a smartphone or perhaps a tablet computer. Others have mobile apps that are available to download.

Payout Speed

It can be very frustrating for online customers when they face a long wait to get their hands on their money. Payout speed is therefore of paramount importance for South African online casinos, with same-day payouts even available in some cases.

It is usually faster to use certain payment methods, such as e-wallets, while those who want to use a bank transfer to make a withdrawal might have to wait a bit longer. Some online casinos in South Africa also require verification documents to complete a withdrawal.

Payout Percentages

South African online casinos should clearly publish the payout percentages of their games. This can help players decide which games are worth playing and which it might be better to avoid altogether. The margin retained by the online casino is likely to have a big impact on how appealing a site is to potential users.

South Africans are increasingly tempted by playing casino games at online sites. There are a range of reasons why this is the case, from the generous welcome bonuses that are on offer as well as the enjoyable social experience that is provided by games in the live casino sections.

There are a few things to keep in mind when playing online casino games in South Africa, though. The first of them is payout percentages. Slots, for example, have a return to player - RTP for short - which shows how much players can expect to win from their stake. RTP is calculated over a very large number of spins, though, so it does not provide any guarantee. RTP is displayed as a percentage and the higher the figure, the better value a game generally provides for players. Typically, RTP of more than 97 per cent is considered to be good for an online casino game, while anything less than 95 per cent should give users second thoughts.

Slots also have something known as variance, or volatility, in addition to their RTP. This shows how frequently they are expected to payout, as well as the chances of a jackpot win. Low variance slots payout more often than high variance games. However, the flip side is that players have a better chance of winning a big prize in a game that has high volatility.

Other online casino games do not have payout percentages in the same way as RTP. However, they usually do have a house edge. This is the margin retained by an online casino to make sure that they are still able to record a profit. After all, if online casinos cannot make any money, they would have no reason to stay open and provide a choice of games to their players.

Some online casino games - like baccarat and blackjack - have a very low house edge. This, in theory, will make it easier for players to make a profit, or at least avoid recording a loss. Roulette has a higher house edge with some variations of the game having a house edge of over five per cent, whereas for baccarat and blackjack this drops to just over one per cent - a big difference.

Newcomers to online casinos in South Africa also need to be aware when playing online casino games that they may not fully contribute to the wagering requirements of a welcome bonus. Slots do usually contribute the full 100% that is staked, but this usually drops to a much lower figure for other online casino games such as blackjack. Those players who do not like slots may therefore find it quite hard to turn bonus money into real cash as a result of this.

People without a lot of experience playing online casino games could also try out demo mode. This is an option at a lot of online casinos in South Africa, allowing people to test a game such as an online slot before having to risk any of their own cash on a spin of the reels. After making sure that players enjoy it, they may then progress to online casino real money games later on.

What Casino Games are Available?

The best online casinos in South Africa have a wide array of games to pick from these days. However, they usually fall broadly into five different categories, which we have detailed below:

• Slots: Most of the games library at online casinos these days is made up of slots. This is for an obvious reason - online casinos make the majority of their money from slots. However, this does not mean players should steer clear of online slot games. Big jackpots are often on offer, giving players the chance to scoop a life-changing amount of money from a single spin of the reels. Various types of slots are available these days, including branded titles that are based on TV shows, movies and even rock bands.
• Roulette: Of all the casino classics, roulette is probably the easiest to pick up and play. Roulette is so simple that even someone who has never visited an online casino before will quickly get their heads around how it works. Different types of online roulette are available and some might have worse odds, so it is worth choosing them carefully.
• Poker: Different from most other online casino games due to their being skill involved, poker is very popular in South Africa. There are video poker games to play, while live casino sites often have some poker rooms to pick from as well. Mastering poker is challenging but one of the best things about the game is that even a newcomer can strike it lucky when it comes to the cards being turned over at the end of a hand.
• Baccarat: A casino game that is particularly popular in Asia, baccarat is enjoying a growing audience in South Africa as well. Baccarat is unusual in some respects as the player can bet on the banker to actually win the hand. Baccarat is a great choice of online casino game for people who are hunting value due to its very low house edge.
• Blackjack: Another game with a low house edge compared to other online casino games is blackjack. This is almost as easy to pick up and play as roulette, while some blackjack strategies are available to help people to try to collect profits as well. Blackjack is one of the most popular games in the live casino section of South African sites. As with roulette, there tend to be a few different blackjack variations, with the odds slightly different depending on the terms of the game, which affects how appealing it is to play.

Anyone who has never registered to play at a SA online casino will probably have a few questions about how the process works and what information they will need to provide.

Our step by step guide for how to register at a new online casino from South Africa will help, so just read through these instructions before trying to sign up for an account on a particular site. It is always worth checking out a few reviews to pick out the best online casino to join as well.

After selecting a site to join, players should make sure they are aware of the requirements of the welcome bonus. Some apply automatically when a new account is created, while others require a bonus code or a promo code to be entered during the registration or depositing process.

Keep in mind that using certain payment methods may disqualify a user from a welcome bonus too - it is often the case e-wallet deposits cannot be used to claim casino welcome promotion.

Finding where to register is usually easy from a casino's home page, or it is possible to click directly through to the registration form from our reviews of the best online casinos as well.

Various pieces of personal information will need to be entered during registration. Among them are the user's name, email address and mobile phone number, with the latter two often needed as verification. Online casinos need to verify users to make sure they are who they claim to be as part of their security processes to avoid things such as money laundering.

After creating an account at a SA online casino and verifying it - usually via email or text - users will be ready to make a deposit into their new online casino account. This is done through the cashier, which contains information about the various different payment methods that can be used to add funds to an account, such as a bank transfer or an e-wallet.

Deposits should be processed instantly, which lets players start playing casino games straight away, but withdrawals can take a few days to go through as a result of security policies.

To withdraw funds from online casinos in South Africa, users should again go to the cashier. Most casinos will ask players to use the same payment method to withdraw that they used to make a deposit. Again, this is for security. Users will be able to see if there are any fees or charges as part of the withdrawal process, as long as how long it is likely to take to complete.

In some cases, for example if a player is trying to withdraw a particularly large amount of money, extra verification documents might need to be provided to the online casinos. While this can be frustrating, players should feel assured it is for their own safety and payouts will always be approved by the best online casinos in South Africa, even if it does take a little longer.