Bet.co.za Review

Are you looking for a betting site that accepts ZAR and South African payment methods? How about a wide selection of free bets and promotions? And a great selection of betting markets?

Well, in that case, this Bet.co.za review is exactly where you need to be. We examine this online bookmaker from every angle, and give you all the information you need, like how to get your R1000 bonus!

Bet.co.za Welcome Bonus – 100% up to R1000

Like most other online betting sites out there, Bet.co.za has a shiny, attractive welcome bonus to help lure prospective punters in. A 100% deposit match up to R1000 sounds like a decent deal, but let’s take a look at how easy it is to redeem this bonus:

One thing we definitely like about Bet.co.za’s sign-up offer is that it’s properly scalable. Your bonus can be anywhere between R50 and R1000, depending on your first deposit.

However, if you plan on maximizing your bonus and getting the full R1000, then redeeming it gets a little tricky. Bet.co.za apply a 6x bonus amount wagering requirement in order to redeem your bonus and the winnings from those bonus funds. Redeeming the full R1000 will mean wagering R6000, while the lowest bonus amount of R50 just requires R300 in wagers to redeem.

The wagering requirement is higher than average, but not insanely high. However, when you combine that wagering requirement with their odds restrictions, excluded bet types, and time limit, it can be pretty difficult to turn your bonus over. It’s definitely worth taking a look at their key terms and conditions below.

We recommend going for a low bonus amount, and then enjoying some of their great promotions for existing users, which tend to give you more bang for your buck.

Key Terms and Conditions

• Email verification is required for eligibility for this promotion
• Deposit: R50
• Bonus Amount: R1000
• Players must opt-in to this bonus when making their first deposit
• Wagering Requirements:
  • 6x bonus amount
  • Single bets must be at min. odds of 7/10
  • Multiples min odds of 12/10, with each leg being 2/10 or greater
  • Bet Vegas games only contribute 25% to wagering requirements
• Bet Types that do Not Contribute to Wagering Requirements:
  • System bets
  • Pulse bets
  • Bet Builders
  • Forecast & Tricast bets on Horse Racing
  • Voided / Cancelled bets
  • Cashed out bets
  • Bets placed with a Free Bet
  • Handicap bets (unless in acca)
  • Over/Under bets (unless in acca)
  • Odd/Even bets (unless in acca)
• Time Limit: Players have 30 days from their first deposit to meet the wagering requirements to redeem their bonus.
• This offer is only available to residents of South Africa
• 18+, New Customers Only
• Full T&Cs apply.

Fantastic Promotions for Existing Users

Most online bookmakers tend to have 3 to 5 sports promotions up at any given time, mostly depending on specific sports and tournaments. At the time of writing, Bet.co.za has 12 different active sports promotions, excluding the welcome bonus, and betting features like cash out and bet builder.

Of course, the vast majority of these promotions are limited time offers, so we won’t go into too many specifics, but we saw a fantastic variety of promotion types. No matter what your betting style is, Bet.co.za has ways to give you added value.

At the time of writing, Bet.co.za features:

• free bet offers
• odds boosts
• odds guarantees
• bet insurance offers
• cash-back offers
• and more…

Is Bet.co.za Legit?

When you’re handing over your hard-earned cash and your personal data to an online bookmaker, it’s important to know whether that betting site can be trusted. Luckily, Bet.co.za is fully licensed and regulated by the Western Cape Gambling & Racing Board (License # 10145732-010).

What this means for bettors is that there’s a national watchdog making sure that Bet.co.za keeps your data and funds safe, and keeps them accountable in terms of fairness. So you never need to worry about what Bet.co.za is doing with your data, as the Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board has that covered.

In terms of cyber security, their site is 128-Bit encrypted, meaning it’s exceptionally difficult to intercept any of the information passing between you and Bet.co.za’s platform. Having been founded back in 2010, Bet.co.za has had plenty of time to bulk up their security measures.

Deposits & Withdrawals

Some of the bigger, more international betting sites can be tricky to use in South Africa because of the payment methods they support. Luckily for us, Bet.co.za are a local brand. They only operate here in South Africa, so they support a great range of local payment methods. It’s unlikely that any punter is going to open and account and have to sign up for any new payment services. The full list can be found below:

• Credit / Debit cards
• SiD Instant EFT
• OZOW
• Zapper
• Masterpass
• OTT Voucher

For the vast majority of those methods, deposits are extremely fast, if not instant. This means that going from deciding to place a bet to actually staking a wager is extremely fast and easy.

Withdrawals

The only way to withdraw funds from Bet.co.za is via EFT, so punters can only transfer money from their Bet.co.za accounts to their local bank accounts. Unfortunately, no e-wallets like Skrill or PayPal are supported.

Like other bookies licensed in South Africa, punters need to complete their FICA verification before being allowed to withdraw funds. Their Bet.co.za account will also be limited to a maximum amount of R20,000 until FICA verification is completed.

Luckily, though, according to their live chat agents, there doesn’t seem to be any sort of upper withdrawal limit other than the payout limits we mention below. The minimum withdrawal is R100, which is more than reasonable.

The Bet.co.za Online Betting Experience

At the most basic level, Bet.co.za have great sport and event coverage. Part of our review testing includes comparing their coverage to those of Bet.co.za’s competitors, and we didn’t find any issues whatsoever.

Their minimum bet amounts and payout limits are reasonable, though the minimum bet amount may be different for higher-profile matches like huge tournament finals.

Betting Markets

You’ll see below that we used an English Premier League match for our odds comparison. In terms of betting markets, Bet.co.za offered 129 pre-match markets on the match, while their competitors averaged out at 95. This isn’t including their “Build-a-Bet” feature, which we’ll go into more detail about below.

It’s normal for bookmakers to have way more markets on soccer matches than for other games, though. While Bet.co.za managed to feature 30% more betting markets for soccer matches, we also wanted to check how they do with other sports.

Taking cricket, for example, we compared the pre-match markets on a number of Indian Premier League matches. The average for betting sites in South Africa was around 12 markets per match, while Bet.co.za offers punters way more markets, with between 16 and 22 pre-match markets on their IPL offerings.

Build-a-Bet

Bet.co.za have one of the most hotly requested betting features out there: Build-a-Bet! However, punters should be aware that it’s currently operating at a somewhat limited capacity.

The Build-a-Bet feature is only currently available on pre-match markets for soccer and basketball. This means that you’re not only limited to two sports (luckily, though, very popular sports with punters), but that you can’t use the Build-a-Bet feature in Bet.co.za’s live betting suite.

This next restriction isn’t too big of a deal, as most online betting happens on mobiles and tablets today, but Build-a-Bet is only available on mobile. This won’t be a big issue for most punters, but it’s important to remember that you’ll need your phone or tablet handy if you want to take advantage of this.

You can have a maximum of 6 selections in your Build-a-Bet, and it’s important to know that only regular time is taken into account on those matches. This means that any overtime or penalties is not considered when settling your bet.

Also, it’s important to know that if one of your selections gets cancelled or voided, your entire Build-a-Bet will be rendered void.

Cash Out

Another sought-after feature that Bet.co.za managed to implement is Cash Out! And not just Cash Out, but also Partial Cash Out! Of course, there are rules and restrictions that apply, but Bet.co.za have still made sure that it’s an incredibly versatile and useful betting feature.

Punters can use Cash Out on single bets and multiple bets, and is available on a wide variety of sports. Full Cash Out is the absolute easiest way to go about things, but Partial Cash Out is available if the right conditions are met.

Partial Cash Out is only possible when the full Cash Out offer is at least double the minimum bet allowed for that market (as we said above, that’s normally R2.00).

This won’t be an issue for most bets, though it’s worth remembering when betting on huge matches like FIFA World Cup finals. If you choose to take a Partial Cash Out, you’re remaining bet amount is placed as a new bet at the odds that are current at the time.

You can’t use Cash Out on system bets, which is common with online bookmakers. However, punters should make sure that they don’t add system bets to any accumulators that they might want to cash out later. If a system bet is included in your accumulator, then the entire accumulator is ineligible for Cash Out.

Odds Comparison

We put Bet.co.za up against Hollywoodbets, another local SA bookmaker, to compare their prices. We used the pre-match odds on an English Premier League game to keep things fair, and this is what we found out:

Overall, the difference between Bet.co.za and Hollywoodbets was negligible. Both applied profit margins of between 5-5.5% on their odds prices.

Bet.co.za App

When it comes to using Bet.co.za on the go, the experience is even better than on desktop, in our opinion. However, the sleek and modern design means older phones, like feature phones, may struggle with it. With over 70% of South African web traffic going through mobiles and tablets, we hoped to see wider accessibility.

All Bet.co.za’s features are available on mobile, and some are even ONLY available on mobile, so you aren’t missing out if you choose not to use a desktop or laptop.

Is there a Bet.co.za App?

Unfortunately, no. There is no official Bet.co.za app at the time of writing. While the company used to have apps for Android and iOS, but they shifted their focus to mobile web to be able to make sure their product works well on a wide variety of devices.

If you still want a Bet.co.za shortcut on your phone’s homescreen, then all you need to do is head to your mobile browser’s options tab, and save your bookmark to your homescreen.

Live Betting

Bet.co.za’s live betting suite doesn’t really stand out from the crowd very much, but we don’t think that’s a bad thing. They provide a solid in-play betting experience with all the features you’d expect to find at your average live betting operator.

The great selection of sports, events, and even betting markets that we mentioned above is true here too. Bet.co.za give their punters a huge array of in-play betting options.

Odds refresh quickly, it’s easy to find the matches you’re looking for, and there are even cash out options, like we mentioned when discussing Bet.co.za’s betting features.

Does Hollywoodbets have Live Streaming?

Unfortunately, no. Bet.co.za doesn’t feature live streaming at the time of writing. We hope this will change in the near future, as more and more bettors keep requesting this functionality.

If live streaming is an integral part of the live betting experience, then we recommend looking at other bookmakers who have live broadcasts. For now, though, Hollywoodbets doesn’t offer live broadcasts.

Exclusive VIP Club

We can confirm that Bet.co.za have a secret, exclusive VIP Club. At first glance, it looks like Bet.co.za don’t have any sort of VIP programme. It isn’t mentioned anywhere on their site. Our betting site reviewers have been doing this for a while, and we know exactly where to go to find stuff like this out. 

Luckily, one of the first live chat operators we spoke with gave us just enough information to find out even more. Entry into Bet.co.za’s VIP program is by invitation only, so you won’t be able to fill out an application or anything like that.

We were also able to confirm that there are several different VIP levels that punters can be sorted into. We couldn’t find out how many levels there are, or what any of the thresholds between one and the next are, but this is great news for the wide spectrum of high rollers out there.

In terms of perks and benefits, we were only able to find limited information that was reliable, but we know that they offer cashback, exclusive deposit bonuses, and even tickets to huge sporting events.

While we can’t list a full breakdown of the levels and perks, the exclusivity of their VIP Club is one of the main draws. It clearly isn’t for just anyone. If you’re the kind of bettor who like to bet big, then Bet.co.za seem willing to keep you very happy.

Customer Service at Bet.co.za

As we’ve seen with other local, South African bookmakers, Bet.co.za is extremely easy to get in touch with. There are plenty of different ways to get in contact with them, and to even to find your own answers to simpler queries.

For starters, they have an excellent Help and FAQ section. Everything is split by topic, so it’s easy to learn everything about, for example, how withdrawals work in one easy place.

As it’s powered by the ZenDesk platform, users can even search for specific issues, making it extremely easy to find the information you need without wasting any of your time.

If you need to get in contact with one of their representatives, Bet.co.za support a huge array of communication platforms. You can use their live chat system, call their helpline, use of their email addresses, or even get in touch with them on social media or WhatsApp.

However, being easy to get in touch with only takes you so far, as our reviewers found out…

Our Experience Bet.co.za’s Live Chat

As part of our regular sportsbook review testing, we used Bet.co.za’s live chat feature several times to gauge what the experience was like. And it wasn’t great.

Things started out well, though. The first live chat test was excellent. That particular customer service agent was really quick to respond, and those responses were all relevant, complete, and detailed. This made us really optimistic as we dived into the following tests.

However, all of the other live chat tests were extremely frustrating. We were faced with several customer service representatives who didn’t know very much about the site, who had issues with grammar and spelling, and who gave us incorrect information.

Our final live chat test took us almost an hour. We asked the representative for just one piece of information, and they wasted 54 minutes by giving us irrelevant information and unable to understand the difference between basic betting terms.

We recommend using Bet.co.za’s helpline or email support for serious issues, as our testing revealed much more positive and consistent results using those channels.

Bet.co.za Contact Details

By South Africans, for South Africans

Bet.co.za only serves one market: ours! This local, South African bookmaker only accepts South African customers, and they know how to keep people in SA happy and coming back for more.

From their wide support of local deposit methods, to their many, many different ways of getting in touch with them, Bet.co.za are squarely focused on the South African punter.

Bet.co.za Review: Final Thoughts

As we’ve seen throughout our Bet.co.za review, this is a local bookie that does a lot of things right. Yes, there are some areas that can be improved, but the same can be said of any bookie out there.

We recommend that punters who want to avoid currency conversion fees, and punters who are passionate about sports betting give this South African betting site a chance. You’re likely to have a great betting experience.

Pros

• Accepts South African Rand
• Great selection of promotions and offers
• Fully mobile compatible
• Fast deposits & withdrawals

Cons

• No live streaming
• Unhelpful live chat operators