Explore South Africa's fascination with live dealer games, from blackjack to live Monopoly, and discover the nation's rich gambling history and top sites for a truly immersive casino experience.
South Africa has a complicated legal history with gambling. As a British colony, it inherited a relationship with all forms of gambling, including blackjack, roulette, and sports betting. However, with the institution of a conservative government, the Gambling Act of 1965 banned all forms of gambling in the country, barring betting on horse races.
In the 1970s, the homelands of Bophuthatswana, Ciskei, Transkei and Venda, which bordered South Africa but were independent of its laws, began offering casino entertainment, which once again focused primarily on table games and forms of sports betting.
Despite this, thousands of illegal casinos and gaming rooms sprouted up across the country due to demand from the public. Amusingly, many of these backroom casino staff would eventually become integral to the growth and development of international online casinos when the then-Durban-based Microgaming began distributing online casino software. These backroom specialists would be seen as gambling experts and would find their roles in everything from customer service to media buying to casino game development.
Back to gambling regulation in South Africa, the government did not ratify a new Gambling Act allowing for licensed land-based casinos until 1996. Investment groups acquired these licenses to form the well-known Sun International Group and other smaller organisations.
The post-apartheid ANC government maintained a restriction on online gambling, which includes lottery, bingo, video slots, and other games of chance. This caveat was created for online betting, as betting is legal in South Africa and not considered gambling due to the skill-based nature of the activity.
This limitation initially meant that local gamblers could play traditionally popular card games, place fixed bets on sporting events, and even bet on horse races on their favourite mobile device but could not enjoy the simple pleasures of instant-win games or mobile slots.
Casino software providers have never backed down from a challenge, and local sites have been offering games that emulate slot machines but use fixed odds betting tables for their results rather than random number generators (RNG) for their outcomes.
As local internet speeds improved, including the broad adoption of fibre internet and the staggering improvements in mobile battery usage and high-quality crystal and LED display, local gamblers began looking to mobile casino games for their endorphin-filled entertainment.
With a long history of gambling in local casinos and a country that is still very comfortable with personal interactions, it comes as no surprise that the interest of local punters was drawn towards the burgeoning live dealer game selection.
This new gambling category merged traditional one-on-one gambling with all the features and comforts of digital advancements. These games provided an opportunity for users to enjoy the latest technology, gamble online, and do something brand new – in the online space anyway – engage with the croupier and fellow gamblers as though they were all in the room together.
Evolution Gaming, a leader in live game development, was the first live casino provider to enter the market with approval from the Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board. According to a South African National Gaming Board report, the Western Cape experienced an 86% revenue spike within the first year of operation.
As live dealer fever spread, additional provinces saw similar or even better growth, with betting revenues in Mpumalanga shining brightest with growth of 99%
Evolution Gaming has proven the viability of live dealer games and gameshows in South Africa. The past few years have seen some of the biggest names in the industry announce partnerships with sites like Betway to bring their games to the market. These software companies include Playtech, Pragmatic Play, Play'n GO, and BetGames, among others.
These are the top 5 live gaming categories in South Africa:
To try your hand at live dealer games, we recommend visiting these sites, and don't forget to grab their amazing bonuses while you're there:
To continue your search for the perfect online casino with Rand-based bonuses, live dealer games, or even Crash games for the more adventurous, visit our Top Online Casino section for more information.
Approved
Hot
Approved Hot
Approved Hot
Approved
Approved
Blackjack
Roulette
Craps
Slots
Baccarat
Poker
