Official languages: Afrikaans, English
Population: 47,900,000
Currency: South African Rand (ZAR)

Current Exchange Rate
1 EUR = 10.8771 ZAR
1 GBP = 11.6045 ZAR
1 USD = 7.3386 ZAR

Quick links
Online casinos in South Africa
Online poker in South Africa
Online sportsbooks in South Africa
Online bingo in South Africa

Gambling in South Africa
Gambling in South Africa is very popular and as many as 80% of all adults gamble regularly. But gambling in South Africa was illegal for many years. It was heavily restricted from 1673, then from 1965 all forms of gambling were banned, with the exception of horse racing, which was still legal. In the 1970s casinos started being built in special zones called Homelands where native South Africans lived, but these were not open to most citizens.

In 1994, the government of South Africa changed. Homelands were incorporated into the rest of the country. Instead of shutting down the Homelands casinos, the government simply legalized casino gambling. Today, South Africans can enjoy casinos, sports betting, poker tournaments, and even live bingo games. The gambling industry just keeps growing in South Africa and according to the Casino Association of South Africa as many as 5% of all South Africans gamble too much.

Online Gambling in South Africa
Online gambling has not yet come to South Africa. The government does not license companies, either foreign or domestic, to operate in the country. Internet gambling in South Africa is currently being legalized. While the government fought against South African online gambling for many years, they recently decided that regulation is a better strategy for controlling how South Africans gamble online.

In July of 2008, the South African president approved the National Gambling Amendment Bill. This bill begins the process of legalizing and regulating online gambling in South Africa. Until this is complete, South Africans are free to use foreign internet gambling websites. Many major international gambling sites accept South African players, and they offer all kinds of ways to gamble.