South Africa is not the ideal place for you if you like spending time at online casinos.  As we write this article the country is home to around 30 licensed betting sites, with all of them focusing mainly on sports. Under the South African National Gambling Act, online sports betting is allowed and permitted legally, whilst online casinos still remain illegal at national level. Whilst online casinos were never formally made legal in South African legislation, loopholes exist, even in betting.

Can you play casino games at South African sportsbook sites?

What if we told you that sportsbook sites in South Africa found a way to offer casino games via their respective sites?  Yes, they did, and they used a very intriguing strategy to do so.  Instead of calling games ‘online casino gambling products’, the games were marketed and offered as fixed odds betting options, which in the eyes of different province legislations, is indeed legal. 

Casino operators highlight that the games offered at their sportsbook sites and bets on specific outcomes rather than the traditional betting model. In theory they are right, e.g. slots, you are betting on landing a combo, poker, you are betting on landing those pocket aces. 

What type of games can you find at South African sports betting sites?

Using the notion of betting on odds and outcomes as their pillar, many sports betting sites have now started offering an array of casino games.  Once you lands at a sportsbook sites, you will find a section that lists ‘fixed odd games’ and here you will be able to wager money (or place odds) on the following game options:

Slots and slots inspired games

Crash games

Poker Games

Roulette

Live dealer game tables

Virtual games 

Are sportsbook sites in their legal right to offer casino style games?

One might argue that sportsbook sites are within their legal right to offer casino games at their sites, whilst others debate the legality of the matter. Whilst these games are dubbed as ‘fixed odd games’ the South African legislators have argued that the games are indeed illegal casino games being distributed to the public. 

The controversy is about whether these games are genuinely betting products or actually illegal online casino gambling. This controversy started in 2025, when Portapa Pty Ltd, launched roulette games at their land based betting locations.  Whilst the place was intended for placing physical sports bets, the company decided to offer roulette on the basis of players placing fixed odds on the game outcome. This did not sit well with the South African Association of Casinos who argued that the game falls under the illegal casino being distributed to punters. 

A court matter followed with the South African Supreme Court agreeing that betting and casino games should be looked at differently. One is legal and the other is still illegal. The ruling also shed light on online sports operators, highlighting that whilst sportsbooks sites can offer fixed bets on sporting events, casino games being offered still remain illegal. 

What happened after the court ruling against casino games?

Once the court ruling was scrutinised, this set in motion a complete ban of casino style games within the landbased setting. A discussion about games offered online also arose. Placing bets on sports is listed as placing fixed odds, e.g. which team will win and by how many points, yet the National Gambling Board (NGB) in South Africa argued how this applies to casino games played online? Some operators agreed with this, and removed games from sportsbooks, others still argue that this is a grey area, and wagering money on slots is indeed wagering on fixed odds for the game. 

Whilst the NGB tends to be lenient with having casino games available at sports betting sites, the 9 South African provinces are not so lenient. Most provinces are monitoring closely the activity of casino games at sportsbook sites, with the South African market still undecided on what the next steps would be. Most provinces are threatening legal action towards sites that continue offering ‘casino games’, deeming the games and their distribution is unlawful. 

What can we expect in the future for the South African Gambling scene?

The future of South African gambling is still bleak. Whilst some operators are not tempting their luck in terms of pushing the boundaries of the law, others are still adamant to offer the ‘fixed odds games’. If you make your way to many prominent sports betting sites operating in the South African market, you would be able to play slots games, poker, baccarat, roulette and even live dealer games. Is it legal for you? If the site is offering the game, you have every right to play, with no repercussions by the law. 

We expect that a handful of Provinces within South Africa would lay down the law on their respective operators (both online and land based operators), with possibly even revoking gambling licenses. Will this be enough? Not really, as we envisage that more court cases will evolve, with possibly the South African Gambling Act getting a revamp when the dust settles. The outcome?  Either casino games will become legal in the SA landscape, or they will still be illegal, with the provinces asking operators to take games down if they want to uphold their license. 

Whilst we write this article, there is no definite answer or way forward in the casino game style games saga that has taken the South African market by storm. Possibly with casino games being in high demand, South Africa could legislate the legality of games, take a portion of the GPR driven by traffic, and pump the same money within the country. Let’s be real, offshore sites do exits, and they do offer casino games, and also accept South African players.