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

Sports Betting in South Africa
Nearly all forms of gambling in South Africa were banned from the mid-1600s until 1994. From the mid 60s to the mid 90s, the only legal form of gambling in the country was horse racing. It is still very popular today – there are 12 tracks around South Africa where horse racing events take place.

Other forms of sports betting are now also legal in South Africa. There are 300 sportsbooks and 400 totalizator outlets where punters can place wagers on not just horse races but all kinds of sporting events. Players can also make sports wagers with SportStake, a sports lottery run by the state. The lottery involves predicting the outcome of 12 consecutive football matches, and covers South African, English, and other major pro football leagues.

Online Sports Betting in South Africa
Internet sports betting in South Africa is slowly catching on. As of early 2009, there were no South African sportsbooks on the internet. The government of South Africa battled against online gambling for many years, but recently changed their stance, deciding instead to legalize and regulate online gambling. New regulation passed in mid 2008 might pave the way for South African internet bookmakers in the future.

Until such a time, South African punters wishing to place wagers on sporting events over the internet must use foreign online sportsbooks. These are sites hosted in different countries around the world and many of them accept players from South Africa. While most of the sites will be in English, they are the best way for South African players to bet on sports online.