Sportsbooks and the law in South Africa

South Africa has its own guide, BookieLens South Africa, which lists licensed bookmakers province by province. Use it before you bet. This page only shows how the sportsbooks on this site relate to South African licensing.

What the National Gambling Board says

Online betting is legal in South Africa when it is done with a licensed South African bookmaker.Source: National Gambling Board

Gambling operators are licensed by the provincial licensing authorities, also called provincial gambling boards. The boards monitor compliance with licence conditions and the National Gambling Board oversees compliance.Source: National Gambling Board

Section 11 of the National Gambling Act says nobody may engage in or make available an interactive game unless it is authorised under the Act or another national law. Online betting with a licensed bookmaker is the lawful exception the NGB describes.Source: National Gambling Board

The sportsbooks we cover

We searched the lists read on 3 October 2026 for each sportsbook’s brand name. A licence can sit under a company name with no brand shown, so a missing entry is not proof of anything.

• bet365: no entry under the brand name.
• Betfair: no entry under the brand name.
• Betway: 2 entries under the brand name (Mpumalanga, Western Cape).
• Ladbrokes: no entry under the brand name.
• Paddy Power: no entry under the brand name.
• Stake: no entry under the brand name.
• Unibet: no entry under the brand name.
• William Hill: no entry under the brand name.

Sources: National Gambling Board; Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board

Other markets with their own guide

For Poland, read Bukmacher na Topie (in Polish). For Alberta, Canada, read Alberta Gambling Guide.