Betway is a well-known brand across the world, and it now has a foothold in Africa. In 2006, Betway launched their brand, a few years later it entered South Africa as a licensed sports betting site.
You have probably been exposed to their advertising initiatives around the country. It is safe to say that they are here to stay. In this review we take a closer look at Betway South Africato see if they have what it takes to compete with other local brands.
- Generous Welcome Bonus
- Wide range of local ZAR deposit methods
- Play in English, Xhosa, Zulu or Sesotho
- Dedicated Mobile Betting Apps for iOS and Android
- Live Casino and Virtual Sports available
- No responsible gaming limits
- FICA must be done before withdrawal
- Few available withdrawal methods
There has been some bad publicity for Betway in recent times. But keep in mind that Betway South Africa actually is a different operator. Betway South Africa is owned by River Raging Limited with a license from the Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board.
As a result, there are rules set out by the government that needs to be followed, which can impact you as a player. The biggest impact is the FICA process. You need your account to be verified with your identity.
With Betway South Africa being separate from Betway International there are a few differences that sets them apart. However, there are also a lot of similarities that make them both great sportsbooks. South African players can enjoy Sports Betting, Virtual Sports and Live Casino under the same roof.
We have been looking forward to testing out Betway South Africa’s platform and what they have to offer. The team behind gamblers.africa have spent several days on their platform and this is how they did.
Betway – Sharing The Thrill
BETWAY SOUTH AFRICA FIRST IMPRESSIONS
The design of Betway in South Africa website has a typical sports betting look. It also gives you access to the sportsbook without having to register first. This way you can explore all the matches, events, different odds and offering that is available, without signing up first.
Their lobby features a carousel with different promotions and updates that you get insight to. For example, the welcome offer which is a 100% first deposit bonus.
The layout is simple to understand within the first few minutes of navigating the product. Betway South Africa features highlights, upcoming and outrights straight in the betting lobby. This way you can navigate to popular and upcoming events.
It does differ somewhat from the international Betway brand. But they have still maintained the same kind of brand image and feel. We hope they have maintained the same standards for the other aspects of the sportsbook as well. So far, we are happy with what we are seeing. Betway South Africa’s sports betting site is sleek, green and easy to understand. We hope the rest of our user experience is positive.
HOW TO REGISTER WITH BETWAY SOUTH AFRICA
The registration process at Betway South Africa is easy. Most other licensed South African sports betting sites are much more complicated. One of the main reasons is that Betway do not need any address details from players. In some cases this area create delays in the registration process.
In order to create a Betway South Africa account, you need to provide the following details:
- Mobile number
- Personal details
- Email address
- Source of funds
Once you have filled in your details and registered, Betway will attempt to verify your account. The verification is based on the details you have provided. If this is unsuccessful, you will have to follow the manual FICA process. This means you must upload your documents or emailing them to FICA@betway.co.za. Acceptable forms of ID include:
- Green ID Book
- Smart Card ID
- Passport
- Drivers License
The verification process for me took less than an hour, so it is no train smash if you need to complete the FICA verification process.
BETWAY SOUTH AFRICA PRODCUT EXPERIENCE
Once your Betway South Africa account has been registered and verified, you will receive your R25 no deposit free bet.
But before I started playing, I went on my usual routine to set deposit limits. In this case I suspected it could be done through the customer support. I could not find any other information on the website.
We appreciate that Betway South Africa has a Live Chat feature, yet it was not the best experience. It took a long time getting answers to simple questions. Another negative experience was that the support agent advised that they do not offer any deposit limits. When asked what responsible gaming interventions they offer, I was advised to read their responsible gaming page.
Before heading to the banking page, I explored the rest of their product. They have quite a lot of information and assisting articles. Guides on betting basics, how to deposit, how to withdraw, frequently asked questions and much more.
This is a good way for players to find information without having to contact customer support.
Unfortunately, players do not have the option to change any details or make any changes to the account. These changes have to be requested through customer support, either via live chat or email.
The banking journey was quite enjoyable with information on how to deposit with each method. In addition to the information, there are screenshots and videos to make things easier.
Betway Data Free Betting
Betway South Africa announced in 2020 a game changing feature for South African punters. Much like Facebook and FNB, Betway South Africa is now offering a data free betting product.
This is a completely new way for South Africans to start enjoying their online sports betting experience. Instead of spending money on data, South Africans can now use that money on Betway’s Data Free product.
Here’s how you can access and use the data free betting service at Betway:
- Click here or on the green button below to access the Betway data free site
- Sign up and receive your R25 free sign up bonus
- Make a deposit and start bet without data
Data free betting allows you to place pre-match bets, live and In-play bets and bets on eSports without using any of your data.
SPORTS BETTING
The sports betting experience at Betway South Africa is pretty simple and straightforward. All aspects of the product are nicely embedded and easy to understand.
The live/in-play feature worked great and settled bets were paid out quick. One thing that I am not sure if I liked is the constant SMS communication. After each bet been settled as a win, an SMS is sent to you to notify you of it. I found it a bit unnecessary as I was betting live, which means I am in the product and can be communicated to there. Saying this, it is still a good feature when placing bets pregame.
As for what you can expect at Betway South Africa:
- Cash out
- Win Boost
- Great odds
- Local and international events
Betway South Africa offers a lot of eSports events to bet on. While this is not my cup of tea, it has nonetheless certainly claimed its place in the Sports Betting industry.
BETWAY VIRTUAL SPORTS
A recent addition of Virtual Sports has been added to Betway South Africa’s products. They now offer Jika Sports which is a virtual sports product developed by Kiron Interactive.
My experience of it was positive and it was pretty exciting, even though it’s not actually real sports. Jika Sports offer two types of games Jika Soccer and Jika Racing.
Jika Soccer is their virtual football option where you can bet on real teams in a virtual world. They offer betting markets like:
- Match Result
- Correct Score
- Total Goals
- Double Chance
- Over/Under 2.5
- And more
All these matches are fixed-odds games that play every 6 minutes.
Jika Racing is their horse racing game, where you can bet on new races every 6 minutes with up to 12 horses. Place your bets on markets such as:
- Win
- Place
- Exacta
- Trifecta
- Combination Trifecta
- Reverse Tricast/Trio
It is a fun way to play on virtual sports and horse racing, but with new matches and races every 6 minutes it is important to keep track of how much you bet.
LIVE CASINO
If you enjoy playing Live Casino you are in luck, Betway South Africa now offer their players to play on Evolution Gaming and Betgames. Furhtermore, for a true Vegas style casino experience, you will find Evolution games at Betway such as:
- Roulette
- Baccarat
- Sic Bo
- Poker
- Game Shows
In the Game Shows section, you will find new and classic games like Deal or No Deal, Monopoly Live, Dream Catcher, Football studio and more.
Additionally, for quick Live Casino thrills you can head over to the Betgames section where you can play games such as:
- Speedy 7
- War of Bets
- 6+ Poker
- Bet on Poker
- Baccarat
- Lucky 7
- And more
PROMOTIONS OVERVIEW
Remember that these promotions were valid at the time this review was written. Make sure you check the Betway South Africa promotions before trying to claim a bonus.
All new players at Betway South Africa are offered a generous first deposit welcome bonus. The promotion can reward a player with up to R,1000 as a free bet.
The free bet comes with a few terms and conditions, which I urge you to read before claiming the offer. To emphasize, a few things to note is that the winnings from the free bet can’t be withdrawn before it has been wagered.
OTHER PROMOTIONS
- Stand to win a share of R10,000 every day
100 daily winners will be crowned and awarded a share of R10,000 every single day. The only requirements are that a bet of at least R5 is placed on Live Games, Betgames and Lucky Numbers. Doing this will put you in a daily draw where you and 99 other winners get R100 each.
- Stand to win up to R100,000
Lucky players stand a chance to win massive amounts of money. All you need to do is picking the first four goalscorers in four selected matches each week. Choose the right ones, and as a result you could win as much as R100,000. In addition, there are no costs or requirements to enter this promotion, so you literally have nothing to lose.
- Boost your Multi Bet winning by up to 150%
When placing accumulator bet you can boost your winnings with up to 150%. For each selection with odds of 1.20 or more added to your Multi Bet betslip, Betway will boost your winnings. The more selections you add to your betslip, the bigger your boost.
- Betway Rebound Boost
If you are on a loosing streak and struggling to find back to your winning form Betway will credit you with a boost you get back on your game.
- BetYourWay
This is a popular and bespoke promotion run by Betway South Africa. Add six or more selections to your Multi Bet betslip, and you will get back up to 20x your bet refunded in cash if one of your selections is a loss.
A friendly reminder: always read the terms and conditions for each promotion that you are interested in. This way you know you have met all the requirements and qualify for the bonuses.
RESPONSIBLE GAMBLING
Betway South Africa’s responsible gaming measures are nothing but short. You would expect that a well-established brand has taken the necessary steps to protect players. Especially with with responsible gambling tools.
Unfortunately, the license requirements don’t state anything about limitations on accounts. As a result Betway South Africa have not included these in their product. We want to see responsible gaming tools in place. Popular tools are deposit limits, session limits and reality checks. This way players can control their gambling habits.
Betway South Africa offers players the option to self-exclude in the following ways:
- Cooling Off 24 hours
- Temporary Exclusion 1 to 3 months
- Self-Exclusion minimum 3 months
- Permanent Self-Exclusion
Now to something that complicates this process… All requests have to be sent to Betway South Africa support mail and will then be verified with you over a telephone call.
A player should not have to go through this much trouble to close their account or take a break. A self-serviced responsible gaming section in the product would make this whole process a lot easier. We believe that Betway South Africa still have some improvements to do in this area.
If you ever find yourself, a bit out of control, in terms of your gambling habits. We highly recommend you to seek professional assistance for your gambling behaviour.
BETWAY SOUTH AFRICA CONCLUSION
As a licensed sports betting site in South Africa, Betway has already made its first steps in becoming an competitive and entertaining product.
It is clear that Betway has eyes for South Africa with many TV commercials and other ads. And we welcome them with open arms. Their product is well built and includes a lot of different types of gaming. Popular markers from sports betting, virtual sports, live casino to lucky numbers.
Betway should focus on sorting out their Responsible Gambling side of their product. I believe we may well have a 5 star brand if they put some time into this.
With this said, Betway South Africa is a competitive sports betting site that now offers more than just sports. We predict a bright future for Betway in the South African market.
BETWAY SOUTH AFRICA FAQ
How to withdraw winnings from Betway South Africa?
Withdrawals made through EFT normally takes between one and two business days before you receive the funds.
Absa Cash Send and FNB eWallet usually reflects in your account within 24 hours.
Step by Step Guide.
- Click on the My Account tab
- Select the Withdraw Funds tab
- Choose your desired withdrawal method.
- Enter your details and amount you want to withdraw.
How to Cash Out a bet at Betway South Africa?
Once you have placed a bet on a game that Betway offers Cash Out on, it will reflect under “My Bets”. In that section Betway will offer you a Cash Out which you can accept and receive to your balance. Please note that the Cash Out features is only available and offered by Betway South Africa at their discretion.
How to verify Betway South Africa account?
Upon completing your registration, Betway will attempt to automatically verify your account with the details you have provided. If unsuccessful you will need to manually verify the account by either uploading your documents in straight in the product or emailing the documents to support. The FICA process is mandatory and a requirement in the South African license that Betway holds.
Betway Details
