Top SA Horse betting sites 2023
South Africa has fully functional and operational horse betting sites, with many licensed horse racing bookmakers accepting bets on the thoroughbreds. The other option for South Africans to place bets on horse racing is via the TAB, either online or offline, or at one of the many retail betting shops dotted across the country. This article will run you through the top racing betting sites, the best horse betting promotions and sign-up offers, and what odds are available.
Our top online horse racing betting sites for South Africa in 2023 are:
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Best ZAR horse betting sites 2023:
More: In-depth guide to horse racing betting in South Africa
South Africans are allowed to bet on horse racing only with betting sites licensed to take bets by one of the provincial regulators.
Much like other places around the world, South African horse betting sites have various bet types available, including exotics such as trifectas, quinellas and even quadrellas, even though these are less common.
As long as a horse racing meeting is covered by the TAB South Africa, horse betting sites will have markets on these races. The big difference between the two? With the TAB you are betting into a parimutuel pool, while online it is fixed odds, meaning the price you place your bet at is the price you will be paid out.
Top 5 horse racing betting sites:
There are close to 40 licensed betting sites based in South Africa, but not all operators are approved to accept bets on horse racing. The top 5 horse betting sites for South Africa are:
MorrisVee.co.za
Racing offered: Australia, Canada, Dubai, France, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Singapore, South Africa, UK, USA
Bet types:
New player bonus:
Morris Vee Sports Bet has the biggest selection of horse racing markets out of all South African horse betting sites, with racing from the USA, Hong Kong and even Ireland covered. Morris Vee, as an on-course bookmaker in KwaZulu Natal, is more restricted in the bet types it offers online, than other horse betting sites, with only win and place bets available. There are also pick six special betting events run often on South African racing, while odds and evens betting is also held on most local racing.
Sportingbet.co.za
Racing offered: South Africa, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom
Bet types: Win, Each-way, System (Trixie), Patent
New player bonus:
SportingBet.co.za is probably the prettiest of the ZA horse betting sites, but the business does have some flaws, including limited bet types. For example, you will not have the ability to place trifectas or quinellas. There are also no fixed odds, with the starting price of the horse the price you will get. If you’re looking to place a win bet, or an each-way bet, Sportingbet South Africa is a good option, with some nice bonus offers for new punters. Sportingbet review.
BetXChange
Racing offered: South Africa
Bet types: Win/Place, Pick3, Swinger, Exacta, Double, Trifecta, Quartet, Bipot (POOL).
New player bonus: 1st deposit matched up to R10,000.
BetXChange is easily one of the better South African horse betting sites, however, they do only feature the local races. We have seen Australian racing served by BetXChange in the past, but our last few checks it has not appeared. BetXChange allows you to take both starting price or bet into the pools when punting on the horses.
HollywoodBets
Racing offered: South Africa, Australia, India, Ireland
Bet types: Win/Place, Exacta, Doubles
Fixed odds: Yes
New player bonus:
HollywoodBets is one of the bigger horse betting sites in South Africa, with this company also having retail betting shops throughout South Africa. The highlight of the horse racing betting offering is definitely that they feature many International horse racing meetings. The fact you can also place multiple and yankee bets on horse racing also makes HollywoodBets a must-have for fans. Don’t let the old-fashioned website scare you off, HollywoodBets are good operators. HollywoodBets review.
SupaBets.co.za
Racing offered: South Africa
Bet types: Swinger, Double, Exacta, Trifecta, Quartet, Pickthree, Jackpot, PickSix, PlaceAccumulator
New player bonus: 100% up to R10,000 Bonus
Supabets.co.za features betting on South African racing, but no International thoroughbred meetings. While the layout could be improved, and the site seems in a state of constant flux between an old layout and a new design, SupaBets odds in comparison to other bookie sites with ZA racing are at the better end of the scale, hence they sit near the top on our top racing betting sites list.
Horse racing promotions & bonuses
The best online horse racing betting sites have a swag of new player bonuses and promotions up for grabs, with these often surrounding the local thoroughbred racing scene. For instance in the past we have seen cash-back horse racing specials, match bet offers and even straight-up free bet deals. Some of the most popular promotions available from time to time at horse betting sites include:
Horse racing free bets: The holy grail of sports betting bonuses, horse racing free bets are given out from time to time and involve the account holder receiving a bonus bet, to spend on a horse racing market. The traditional free bet has no deposit required.
FICA bonus: This type of bonus is given to South Africans who complete the verification of their account. Often it will come in the form of a free bet.
Matched deposit bonus: This is when the online horse betting site matches your deposit up to a certain amount. For instance a betting site might have a 100% up to R10,000 matched deposit bonus. Meaning you could potentially deposit R10,000 and have R20,000 in total to bet with.
Mobile ZA horse betting sites
Many of the online betting sites in South Africa have developed Android and iOS betting apps for mobile users, on top of their websites being mobile responsive. This means South Africans can bet on the horse racing from their mobile phones and tablets.
We won’t lie, many of the South Africa horse betting sites can become seriously frustrating on mobile, including big names like HollywoodBets. They pale a little in comparison to other horse racing hotbeds such Australia, whose mobile horse betting sites are outstanding, and the apps even better.
Our top horse betting apps for South Africa include the offerings from Betway (Betway app review) and Sportingbet (Sportingbet app review), with both of these international companies that have clearly extracted some of the tech from elsewhere.
Via mobiles and tablets South Africans can use most of the features of horse betting sites, although often there will be fewer deposit options and customer service contact points. Expect mobile horse racing betting companies to continue to improve in South Africa, as the betting industry matures and mirrors those in other countries like the UK.
How to bet on South African horse racing
South African horse racing is held 364 days of the year, with the top jockeys and trainers stacking up well on the world stage.
Betting on horse racing from South Africa
South Africans must bet on local horse racing with a licensed bookmaker, or they are breaking the law. There are many great horse racing betting sites in South Africa, while you can also place bets via retail betting shops and via the TAB. It’s possible to watch South African racing via Phumelela Gold Enterprises, which holds the domestic and International rights, with the free-to-air channel 239 and live streaming service at TellyTrack.com.
Betting on ZA horse racing from overseas
Many overseas bookmakers have struck deals with South African horse racing authorities to allow them to offer betting on their races. This includes many of the top International betting sites such as Bet365 and William Hill. You can watch South African racing at some bookmakers outside of this country, as long as they have deals and take the streams from AtTheRaces and Racing TV.
Horse racing bookmaker ZAR deposits
South Africans have plenty of convenient deposit options available to them at horse betting sites, with deposit options including popular payment processors, web walllets and credit cards. The full list of ZAR bookmaker deposit options includes:
- Ozow deposits
- Visa deposits
- SID Instant EFT
- Mastercard
- I-Pay Deposits
When banking at horse racing bookmakers you will also find other payment processors, web wallets and methods of deposits, although they will not be as common as the most popular types mentioned above.
Horse betting sites: Q and A
The best horse betting South Africa bookmakers also have a bevy of other sports on offer to customers. Read our best online betting for South Africans page for more information. There are other forms of regulated gambling in South Africa, and although online casinos are officially banned, they are also not regulated.
South Africa traditionally uses the factional odds format when it comes to horse racing and this is what is available at most ZA horse betting sites. Although you will also commonly find decimal and American odds at racing betting sites.
The Melbourne Cup is one of the biggest racing events on the planet, and Australian racing is some of the best, and for punters it is very accessible with licensed racing sites such as Morris Vee and BetXChange having extensive markets on International horse racing.
Yes, some of the top horse betting sites allow you to livestream racing from both South Africa and overseas. Whether a racing bookmaker has live vision of racing available will largely depend on the individual operator, so read our reviews to find out what gallops you can watch.