Popular Sports to Bet on in South Africa
There is no point in a betting site offering just the major tournaments or just a couple of major sports for punters to bet on. For a site to even have a chance of making it in the saturated South African gambling world, it needs to have a near-perfect offer. This means that all sports you can imagine need to be available, with plenty of betting options for them. To put it simply: punters need to be spoilt with choice when it comes to the sports they can bet on. Everyone follows and prefers different sports, so let's take a closer look at which sports are the most popular for betting in South Africa.
Football
Of course, football comes as the first clear choice for many punters when they start their gambling adventure at any betting site. Africa is not immune to world-class footballers who have hit the world football scene by storm. Therefore, the popularity of football in South Africa increases each year, both in terms of viewers and bettors. Thankfully, each of our above-mentioned operators has a comprehensive list of all relevant football leagues across the world that players can place various bets on. You can place pre-game bets or use in-play betting—everything is at your disposal when it comes to betting on football. The Premier League, Serie A, Bundesliga, Champions League, World Cup, etc.—you can find all this in our list of operators.
Horse Racing
Up next, we have horse racing, which is a sport that is popular all across the world, not just in South Africa. The horse racing industry is massive in South Africa. The country has some of the best horse racing tracks in the world, such as Durbanville, Kenilworth, and Fairview. Of course, you can place bets on these local horse racing events, or you can choose the international tracks such as Brighton, Fort Erie, Nottingham, Sonada, and plenty of others. Moreover, various betting types are available for all horse racing events, such as winner, place, exacta, trifecta, and so on. As horse racing events take place in different time zones, you can place bets whenever you see fit.
Rugby
For some readers, this might be a surprising inclusion, but rugby is one of the most popular sports to bet on in South Africa. Punters in the country have a strong passion for rugby, and world-class operators know this. Therefore, you can look forward to the best betting odds for all major rugby events, with betting types including handicaps, tries, winning margin, and so on. There are plenty of international and domestic rugby events available for betting, so there is plenty to look forward to here.
Cricket
Now, let's take a closer look at cricket, one of the leading sports in South Africa. How popular cricket is in the country is evident by the successes of the South African national cricket team. The team is always ranked very highly in the ICC One Day International list, which just speaks volumes about itself. Therefore, South African players can look forward to fantastic odds in plenty of cricket events, such as the World Cup, the Legends Cricket League, the T20 Series, and plenty of others.
Esports
Esports is one of the newest betting events that South Africans love. Esports betting sites have quickly become a hit among locals in the country, and that is normal, considering that it seems like a world trend nowadays. You can place wagers on live events where two teams of professional video gamers go head to head in some of the most popular video games, such as CS: GO, DOTA, LOL, and plenty of others.
Most Popular Types of Bets at New South African Operators
One thing is for sure when you start placing real money bets at any of our recommended operators, you will be spoilt with choice when it comes to the types of bets you can place. So, no matter which sport you choose as your favourite, there are some common bet types you can use. Let's see this in more detail.
Win Bets
We begin with the most basic of them all: a win bet. As the name suggests, here you will need to determine the winner of a certain match. This type of bet is also known as a moneyline bet. Although it might seem different, it is the same as a win bet, but players in some countries prefer using the other phrase more.
Totals or Over/Under Bets
Up next, we have totals, or over/under betting, at sports betting sites. Over/under bets are also very simple sports bets that South Africans can use on their favourite sports betting site. With an over/under bet, a newbie in the online gambling world has a nice platform to start their betting experience. Once again, regardless of the sport in question, the operator will issue a specified total. The total can mean points scored, goals, etc. Your job will be very simple: you will need to predict whether the outcome will be over or under the total set by the sportsbook in question.
Handicap Bets
Handicap bets are very popular among South African punters, and they also work very simply. It all with a sports betting site determining which of the two teams going head to head is the favourite to win. Once that is done, the operator will assign a total number of points it thinks the team will win the game by. You, as a punter, can choose whether that pick is over or understated. An ordinary win for the favourite team will not be enough here, as it needs to win by a bigger points margin than what is specified by the operator.
Futures Bets
Futures bets are also known as outright bets in the sports betting market. The logic behind this type of bet is very simple: you need to select a team or a player that you think will win the entire tournament or league. Of course, you need to make your pick well in advance of the tournament taking place. In-play betting is also available for futures bets. If you have an outsider in mind for a tournament winner, then you are best advised not to wait and place a bet while the betting odds are high. As the tournament goes on, the bets will decrease.
Proposition Bets
If you ever look for something different during your betting adventure, then a proposition bet might be youral choice. Also known as specials, you can make these types of bets about any event. You can place a bet on which player will score first, which team will win the coin toss, and so on.
Accumulators
Finally, we have accumulators, which are arguably the most popular types of bets you can place. South African punters place accumulator bets mostly on football games, but that doesn't mean you cannot use them for other types of sports. An accumulator is also known as an "ACCA," and it combines multiple bets from games to create a bigger payout. You can easily calculate your winnings with accumulator bets by multiplying the odds together with the total sports bet you place.
