Live casino games in South Africa 2024
Live casinos are the only form of real money online casinos available in South Africa. Live casino games can be found at trusted betting companies that have licenses from the provincial regulators. The top live dealer casinos in South African include brands that many sports fans are familiar with, and they allow you to play games like blackjack, roulette and baccarat for real money. These live casino games can be played on desktop and computer and generally have bankrolls that suit all levels of player. The top ZA live dealer casinos for 2024 are:
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Best live casinos for South Africa in 2024
The top live casinos in South Africa are changing rapidly as the government legislates more forms of real money gambling. At the present time the best live dealer casinos are bookmakers that offer some live gambling. For instance brands like Sportingbet and Betway feature extensive sports betting, but also include a nice selection of live casino games. The best South African live casinos for 2024 are:
- Betway ZA: Easily one of the most popular sports betting sites, Betway South Africa also has extensive live gambling available. The games include blackjack and roulette and they also have some nice promotions surrounding live gambling. Betway ZA live review.
- Sportingbet ZA: Another brand with a huge global footprint, Sportingbet.co.za entered into the live casino scene soon after it was made legal. Sportingbet is owned by GVC Holdings and has an impeccable record for player fairness and safety. Sportingbet is probably our favourite live casino site in South Africa. Sportingbet review.
- Hollywoodbets.net: one of the most well known sports betting sites in South Africa, HollywoodBets live casino is powered by Evolution Games and has table limits to suit most types of players. HollywoodBets.net has the branding to continue to be a force in ZA live gambling. HollywoodBets review.
- SupaBets.co.za: Another of the most popular live gambling sites in South Africa is Supabets, which has a huge presence in Africa. The live casino games available include all of your mainstream titles, but they also have seriously unique live titles. Definitely check out Supabets live casino, if you are a regular player. Supabets review.
Live casino games
Live casino games are an area of online gambling that has greatly improved in recent years, largely because of the improvement in software and data connections. South Africa live dealer is probably a little way behind, but the industry has definitely improved and you will find plenty of games with suitable table limits. Some of the best live table games in South Africa to look out for include:
Live Blackjack
The No.1 casino card game, played against the dealer, live blackjack is readily available at South African gambling sites.
It is up to the casino and their live dealer provider to set the house edge, with several factors, including how many decks are used, and rule variations coming into play.
Minimum/Maximum bet limit:
Variations available: Standard blackjack, Pontoon, Spanish 21
Live Roulette
Roulette, like blackjack, is almost guaranteed to be among the offerings at South African casinos with live dealer games, as it is one of the most popular games played online.
Unlike when playing at a casino on the Vegas strip, you will find European roulette is the common variant, no matter how small your bankroll is. The bet limits will vary greatly from online casino to online casino and if you find yourself in a high-roller program you could stand to win millions off a single bet.
Minimum/Maximum bet limit:
Variations available: European, American, French and multi-wheel roulette.
Live Baccarat
The most popular game in Asia, baccarat converts well to a live dealer set-up. The gameplay is similar to playing at a land-based venue, although it is even easier as the software, in most cases, will prompt you. ZA live baccarat is 100% legal.
It won’t be as commonly found as blackjack and roulette, but it’s almost a lock that you will find it at most casinos featuring live dealer.
Minimum/Maximum bet limit:
Variations available: Mini baccarat, Punto Banco, baccarat
Live Casino Hold’em
A poker variant played against the dealer is growing in popularity as a live dealer game in South Africa. You might struggle to find it at most casinos but rest assured it is available for real money live-dealer play.
Live Texas Hold’em is played against the other players at the table, however, in Casino Hold’em you are competing against the dealer and there are only two rounds of betting.
Minimum/Maximum bet limit:
Variations available: Casino Hold’em High Limit, Low limit
Live dealer Sic Bo
Sic Bo is a Chinese game which translates in English to “dice pair” and is believed to be more than 2000 years old. It is often called Tai Sai (lucky dice) and Dai Siu (big small).
It is played with three dice, has drawn comparisons with Craps, and is largely played by Asian punters. Some say it is close to usurping Baccarat as the No.1 game in gambling mecca Macau.
Online Sic Bo won’t be found in live dealer format at every casino with live games. But if you dig deep enough you should be able to find a game. Often the stakes are very high, but the table limits online vary enough to suit every type of bankroll.
Some software platforms to look out for that have Sic Bo include Bodog88, Ho Gaming and Playtech.
Minimum/Maximum bet limit:
Variations available: Tai Sai, Dai Siu, Sic Bo
Live lottery and Keno
Imagine watching the lottery, over and over … and over. It’s possible these days with some online casinos hosting a live lottery game mirroring the one you would have seen on television.
Again most casinos won’t host live dealer lottery, but it is possible to find if it is your vice. It’s fast-paced and is similar to online Keno with the dealer presenting the winning numbers, usually from the blower, with a graphic of each number then appearing on your screen.
Minimum/Maximum bet limits:
Live dealer interface
Unlike when you play a random-number-generated game there are other players sitting at the table. When you choose a room to visit, you will see names on ‘seats’ that are taken, while others will give you the option to click on them and take a seat.
The betting options (all games have a similar interface) are usually below the live video stream. The chips, which determine how much you are betting, will be towards the bottom of your window and will go up in increments from left to right.
Some live dealer interfaces will also have a chat window available, which allows you to type and interact with the dealer and other players. A few will also have options to tile the window so you can play in multiple rooms at once, or even play a side game such as a slot in between hands.
Mobile live dealer
In South Africa live games are readily available on mobile, and with most live gambling sites using Evolution Gaming software it is a quality experience. Basically you will be able to play live casino games as long as you have a smartphone or tablet.
The best mobile live casino games accessible to South Africans includes blackjack, roulette and baccarat, plus many different varieties of these games. Unique live games such as Monopoly and Football Manager have also emerged in South Africa and have gained strong traction.
While live gambling works better on mobile if you have a WiFi, modern 4G and 5G data connections work just as well if you are in a location with strong service. Most live gambling sites, even if your connection is dodgy, will still operate fine but you may miss parts of the deal. Basically the better you data connection, the better the experience.
Funding live gambling sites on mobile has improved drastically in South Africa, with more options than ever before on the table. These include things like Visa, Mastercard, web wallets and payment processors.
You are also able to collect mobile live casino bonus offers from your handset, with most ZA live casinos having extensive promotions surrounding these types of games.
Mobile web apps at Live casinos
Another options when playing at online casinos on mobile is to create a web app. Casino web apps are just a shortcut on your smartphone or tablet’s desktop that opens the gambling site instantly.
In short, a web app could be an application that runs in your browser and is hosted remotely, unlike a downloadable app, which you host on your device. If you have not downloaded software to play at a casino, you are more than likely using their web app if you are playing on mobile.
Much like regular live casino apps, web apps just require a strong data or wifi connection to work, and you more than likely will have to make sure your browser is reasonably new. Some web browsers (including Safari) can be awful for live casino play.
ZAR payment methods at live dealer casino sites
South Africans have a plethora of ZAR payment options available to fund live gambling sites, with these common ways to fund your gambling accounts. The payment options are ZAR betting sites include things like Visa, Mastercard, web wallets and payment processors.
For instance a common way to fund your gambling account is with SID Instant EFT, which allows you to logon to your approved online bank account and fund you live dealer account instantly. Other ways that South Africans fund live casinos includes web wallets like Neteller, which are regarded as an instant way to deposit money.
Cashing out is a little more complicated at live dealer sites, although as a general rule you will be able to cash out with bank transfers, web wallets and even transferring back to bank cards. Withdrawals from online betting apps are not instant, with it generally taking anywhere between 1-3 days for electronic methods to hit your bank.
The most popular live casino payment options in South Africa include:
- Mastercard
- Visa
- Ozow
- SID Instant EFT
- Peach Payments
- OTTVoucher
- Zapper
- 1ForYou
Live dealer history
You could never have imagined how far wagering on the Internet would advance in the 20 years since Microgaming dove into the unknown and launched the first online casino.
Even the biggest stargazers out there may have struggled to envisage a world where we can play casino favorites such as blackjack, roulette and baccarat via a live video stream.
The live dealer concept had been around for years, but the download and upload speeds had not been there to make it possible. Before the current live dealer boom, we heard yarns of high-stakes baccarat games played by wealthy Asian tycoons via a live stream over data lines predating online casinos, but it has really only been in the past five or so years that live dealer has taken over.
Again it was Isle of Man gaming company Playtech which pioneered the first live dealer casino, in 2003. It struggled to take off, mainly because of the aforementioned reasons, but as download speeds improved, the use of live dealer escalated.
Even though Playtech was struggling to make a splash with live dealer, it didn’t stop Microgaming and Evolution Gaming from developing their own platforms. This continued to evolve as internet speeds improved and led to other major iGaming companies getting on board.
One of the biggest moves for Microgaming was the launch of the raunchy Playboy Bunny Live Dealer concept. In today’s sensitive times, Playboy Bunny live dealers still exist, with the concept featuring scantily clad female beauties dishing out your cards.
Since then many more live dealer providers have emerged to challenge the pioneers and there is a healthy competition between upwards of 15 well-known software companies.
Other concepts are on the way, with 3D live dealer a distinct possibility in the not-too-distant future with products such as Oculus Rift and Google Glass already venturing into casino gaming.
At a local level, live dealer gaming was legalised in 2018 in South Africa, and has been adopted by various betting sites, and marks the country’s first foray into real money casino gambling online. Now many of the 30+ bookmakers in South Africa feature live casino games.
In 2023 online slots became available in South Africa, meaning players no longer had to wager via offshore online casinos. Many of the top sports betting sites have adopted these types of games, including bet.co.za, betway.co.za and Sportingbet.co.za.
Live casino laws in South Africa
South Africa has got regulated sports betting but is yet to allow online casinos to operate inside their borders, with the exception of live casino games. As long as a live casino site has a bookmaker license from one of the provinces regulators, you can legally play live casino games at these websites.
While other forms of online casinos such as slots are banned in South Africa, you will find live games like blackjack, roulette and baccarat, plus a plethora of others available at websites like Betway, Supabets and Sportingbet.
While the National Gambling Board of South Africa amended the Gambling Act in 2018 to better enforce their ban on remote casinos, they also allowed live games at their bookmakers. This has indicated a willingness to properly embrace online gambling and pump some much needed tax money into the regulators.
The World Gambling List envisages a time very soon, where online casinos are legal, on top of the great selection of live dealer casino games up for grabs.
Active live casino software in South Africa
The World Gambling List has its finger on the pulse in the South African online gambling market, which includes keeping abreast of the latest iGaming companies to make their games available. Casino software must have a license and be checked for safety by South African officials before making their games live. Basically, if a casino software company is available for real money in South Africa, it will be included on this list:
Live gambling in South Africa Q and A
Live casinos in South Africa are legal, but they are still a relatively young form of gambling in this country, so in this section we’ll answer any questions our readers put to us about live dealer online casinos.
Live casino games in South Africa will be fair as long as you play with a bookmaker licensed and regulated by one of the provinces.
Accessible at online bookmaker sites are games like blackjack, roulette and baccarat in live format, plus a swag of unique games like Monopoly and Football Manager.
The National Gambling Board is in charge of all things gambling in South Africa, and they have legalised live casino games
Yes, live casinos in South Africa cater extensively to South African Rand (ZAR).