Menu

Live roulette in South Africa

Live dealer roulette is available at almost all online casinos in 2023, with this one of the most popular real money games. The availability of live roulette sites will largely depend on where you are in the world, but it is safe to say that if you dig deep enough, you will find casinos with this available on the internet. Live roulette types you will find online includes both European and American roulette, while you will also find unique, online only variations of this great game. The best live dealer roulette sites for 2023 are:

Top South African live roulette sites

Many of the top sports betting brands in South Africa have now got live roulette available in 2021, with these types of casino games now approved by regulators. While live casino games are now legal in South Africa, this leniency has not extended to online slots or other real money casino games.

The best live dealer roulette sites in South Africa are generally licensed by the Western Cape Gambling Board, although there are other provincial regulators that can license this type of gambling. This means there are over 20 different legal live roulette options in South Africa, while they will also be thousands of illegal live casinos that will accept players from this part of the world. Basically you need to be on guard, or risk play live games at an unlicensed operator.

Live roulette can be played across multiple platforms — desktop computer, laptop, mobile, tablet — with the rapid advancements in both technology and internet connections meaning that it has never been more accessible.

The top live roulette casinos will also have some promotions and bonus offers surrounding their offering, which can be a great way to boost your bankroll. These live roulette promotions can include things like cash back offers, or several free spins or even things like boosted odds.

Top 5 live roulette sites 2023

Live dealer roulette in 2023

One of the great developments in online casino play has been the advent of live casino games.

You can play live blackjack, live baccarat, roulette and other casino favorites at secure websites, with an attractive dealer adding that extra element to help personalise your experience.

Maybe you don’t 100 per cent trust games powered by random number generators to deliver fair results. Maybe you want a more realistic experience, not the feeling that you are playing a simple video game. Or maybe you crave some of the excitement of being at the casino, minus the drunk clown at the next table abusing the dealer or spilling their pina coladas on the felt.

Whatever the reason, these live dealer games are being rapidly refined: high-quality, secure video feeds delivered to your home from safe and trusted online casinos registered in respected jurisdictions.

How does live dealer roulette work?

You have a digital betting board on which to place your bets when playing live roulette online, just the same as you would in an online game powered by a random number generator.

But that is where the similarities end. Instead of pressing spin yourself, your live dealer will operate in much the same way as they do in a real casino, only via a live video feed. The dealer will spin the wheel and then drop in the ball and at the appropriate time say, “No more bets”.

You can then sit back and wait for the ball to land on your number/color/row.

You can also chat with the dealer to make the experience even more like the real thing. Some live roulette operators even allow you to chat to other players at the table, with this social aspect of real money roulette a modern innovation.

Is live dealer roulette safe to play?

Yes. Well, live roulette is at least as safe as playing any other game at an online casino.

The casinos we recommend all conform to high standards of encryption, often matching those used by the biggest banks around the world.

We only recommend online casinos licensed in respected jurisdictions and those at which we have played for extended periods ourselves.

Do your homework. It would be foolhardy in the extreme to simply Google “online roulette” and play at the first casino that catches your eye. You need to know your money is safe and you will be paid if you are lucky enough or skillful enough to have won some cash.

Play live dealer roulette at online casinos

If you have decided to play live dealer roulette, the next step is to find a website to play at. Most online casinos will have live dealer these days, although the ease with which you will find a quality one will vary depending on where you are and how you wish to deposit.

For instance, a player in the United Kingdom, where it is completely legal and regulated to play at online casinos, will have a lot more options than someone situated in the USA. So in essence it comes down to what the gambling laws are in your country; many of us reside in places that have not specifically addressed online wagering, and this means we often will gamble at online casinos based “offshore”.

Roulette is one of the staples of any live dealer set-up, almost guaranteed to be available if your casino has live dealer. There are generally both European and American versions available to play. As always we recommend playing the European variety because it has a more favorable house edge (if you don’t know what we are talking about, read about roulette here).

Live dealer roulette titles to look out for:

No.1. on the list is anything by Quickfire, whose parent company Microgaming will be well known by most. The European game offered at hundreds of online casinos is simply top notch, and the stringent quality control put in place by this software provider is some of the best in the business. Included in the Quickfire roulette titles is a multi-wheel game, although our tester burnt through his bankroll quickly with his “lucky 17s” (don’t ask) tactic while playing this variation.

While Playtech does not offer the best roulette games, nor is its interface as smooth as some other live dealer games, it has a huge reach around the globe, catering to many countries. While not all casinos will have every variation of Playtech’s live roulette games, they do provide both European and American roulette.

Evolution Gaming’s roulette games are right up there with Quickfire’s in terms of quality, and they are always looking to push the limit further. This is proven by their emergence in mobile live dealer play. Yep, you can play Quickfire games on your smartphone or tablet device. More on that below.

Up-and-comers Ezugi have made quite a splash with their smooth live dealer offering, with many casinos adopting this software. One of the real highlights of Ezugi is the chat interface, which allows you to interact with other players and the croupier. Another sweet thing is the ability to play on many different platforms; your usual methods are complemented by being able to play on your smart TV.

Other online casinos will provide in-house live dealer play. Just be smart about it, and play at casinos with good reputations. Read reviews of the casino before depositing real money, to make sure they run a legitimate operation.

Minimum & maximum bet limits

Most online casinos will have live dealer roulette wheels catering to both the whale and the less economically blessed. While the actual limits will be set by the casinos themselves, you should have no trouble finding a table with bets as low as $0.50 for an inside bet and $1 for an outside bet.

In terms of the upper limits, the World Gambling List has seen online tables where the inside bet limit was $50,000, while the outside was $75,000 – surely high enough to satisfy even the biggest gambler. For those of us who can only dream of such huge numbers, this means a straight bet on a number in a game of European roulette stands to return $1.8 million. To find a game of high-stakes roulette you will need to find a good VIP program.

Mobile live dealer roulette

More: Mobile live dealer casinos

Roulette as a live dealer game is sensational on your desktop or laptop computer, and it’s even pretty good on smart TV. But perhaps the biggest innovation in the live roulette space is that you can now play it on mobile. Mobile live roulette is available at many of the top South African roulette sites.

The drawbacks of mobile live roulette include the size of the display, although some people do get around with small TVs in their pockets. But for this roulette fanatic, playing on my iPhone 5 a few years back, I always felt I was in danger of betting on the wrong number if the subway gave me a slight jolt, or my dear wife hit a pothole while I was playing. In conclusion, play on a tablet or large phone at the very least.

Another drawback is that a Wi-Fi connection is a must in most places, although the emergence of 4G and promise of future technologies are ensuring this will not be a problem soon. For now though when playing on a poor internet connection, mobile roulette can be problematic.

The newer your smartphone or tablet device the better experience you will have, too. As you already know technology changes fast, and the providers of these games are using the best, so for the best experience you should, too.

Live dealer roulette laws in South Africa

Live roulette is legal in South Africa as long as it is hosted by a licensed gambling operator, which essentially means one of the provincial regulators must issue the site permission to operate.

Live roulette laws in South Africa mean that the only two places you can legally bet are:

  1. Retail casinos
  2. Licensed online gambling operators

The best live roulette sites in South Africa must abide by both provincial and national laws, which basically state you are not allowed to bet with overseas illegal live casinos.

Since 1965 all forms of gambling, with the exception of horse racing, were banned in South Africa. But this did not stop a proliferation of illegal gambling venues opening by the early 1990s, with over 2000 venues believed to be operating. 

This changed in 1994 when democracy came in, with all forms of gambling legalised, before the National Gambling Act was brought into action in 1996. The NGA brought in casino licences and a national lottery. 

Over 10 years later the 2008 National Gambling Amendment Act was published, with the intention of regulating online casinos, but it was never passed. In 2010 they further tightened the laws surrounding interactive gambling. 

In recent times the National Gambling Board has allowed licensed betting operators to host live games, which means live roulette is now legal and available. 

Mobile roulette software available in South Africa

Live roulette platforms that are used in South Africa are limited up until this point, with several of the biggest brands like Microgaming and Playtech choosing to not offer their wares here. However there are several great live roulette software companies that you can take advantage of in South Africa, with these including:

  • Evolution Gaming: Arguably the no.1 live casino platform on the planet, Evolution Games is the main live roulette platform in South Africa. Works seamlessly across both mobile and desktop and has some great roulette variations available.
  • Ezugi: Has become known for the social aspect of their live roulette, with it possible to chat to both the dealer and other players. Ezugi might not be as well-know as other iGaming software companies, but we absolutely love their platform. Ezugi sits comfortably among the best live dealer roulette providers we promote.

Deposit options at live roulette sites

Because live roulette is legal in South Africa the deposit options available at these sites are convenient for players from this part of the world. You will find everything from credit and debit cards, to web wallets to payment processors available at real money roulette sites. Deposit options available at our top live roulette casinos include: