Gambling has always been popular in South Africa. It is a pastime that South Africans are particularly passionate about and would often choose it over other activities.
Land-based casinos in the country see lots of traffic daily as gambling is one of the best ways for South Africans to blow off some steam after a hard day’s work.
Therefore, it is only logical that when online casino gaming started becoming more popular around the world, the same happened in South Africa instantly. The people in the country saw the perks of playing at casinos with tons of games and bonuses. The fact that they could do it all from the comfort of their homes made the decision a no-brainer.
Many of them choose to play at quality casinos such as the ones you can find in the list of best casino sites in South Africa at slots.info. These casino sites are thoroughly examined by experts and are your best option if you are looking for a safe and secure online gaming experience.
It’s easier to find safe casino sites
And safety is one of the most important aspects of playing at an online casino. You don’t want your money to be in the wrong hands, and that can happen if you are playing at a fraudulent online casino.
Fortunately, security is also one of the most improved aspects in recent years, at least when it comes to verifying whether a casino site is safe or not.
Long gone are the days when going to an online casino was like rolling the dice and not knowing whether the casino will turn out good or bad. Back then no one could direct you to secure casinos and you had to trust your instincts when choosing one. Needless to say, that sometimes didn’t go well.
These days, however, things are different. There are lots of sites, such as the one above, that tell you whether a casino is licensed, regulated, whether it utilizes strong security protocols, etc.
They do all the necessary security checks so that you don’t have to. In doing so, they separate the legitimate from the dubious casino sites and make your gambling experience much safer.
More advanced security protocols
And that’s not the only security aspect that is better now. Reputable online casinos use much better encryption and security protocols these days too. This means that your money is safe at all times, and there’s nothing more important than that.
When you are making a deposit, for instance, the casino site will often use 256-bit encryption. This level of security is what government agencies use to protect their data. Therefore, you can rest assured that your deposit will stay safe in your casino account just as government data stays safe in their databases.
Best of all, these days there is much greater transparency and understanding of how casino sites’ security works. Even if you wanted to check a site’s security credentials yourself, you can easily do that.
All you have to do is click on the padlock icon in your browser’s address bar, and you will instantly see the level of security the site gives you. You can also do something similar to verify that the online casino gaming app you are using is bullet-proof as well.
All of these advancements in online casino security mean that South Africans feel much more comfortable playing at online casinos now. As a result, more of them are starting to visit legitimate online gaming establishments, and this, in turn, increases the popularity of the online casino sector in the country.
Easier to access than land-based casinos
Online casinos are much easier to access than their land-based counterparts. This has always been true, but it is a particularly accurate assessment right now.
The second COVID-19 wave may be just around the corner in South Africa, and that will certainly mean that land-based casinos will be shut once again. And when land-based casinos are closed, there is only one option for casino gaming enthusiasts – online casinos.
Online casino sites can be accessed from anywhere. You can open them at home, work, on a sunny beach, or while waiting in line at the supermarket. All you need to have is a decent Internet connection, and you can play as much as you want at any online casino that accepts South African players.
Increased Internet penetration
That brings us to the next crucial factor that contributes to South Africans spending more time at online casinos – increased Internet penetration. South Africa has among the highest Internet penetration rates in Africa and that rate is constantly increasing.
According to statista.com, the penetration rate increases by about a couple of percentage points each year. In 2015, 47 per cent of South Africans had Internet access and Internet penetration is at 56.3 per cent right now.
It is predicted that the rate of Internet penetration will continue to steadily increase in the next five years too. Statista.com estimates that 62.3 percent of South Africans will have Internet access by 2025.
These numbers indicate that there are more and more Internet users in South Africa. And more Internet users mean more people that can see the perks of online casino gaming and start playing at online casinos as a result.
Better selection of games and bonuses
Speaking of online casino perks, there are quite a lot of them at the ones South Africans choose. Chief among these are the top-notch online casino games and the enticing casino bonuses.
Even an average casino gaming site has thousands of different games. These include games such as:
- Online slot games
- Jackpot games
- Video poker
- Roulette
- Blackjack
- Poker
- Baccarat
- Bingo
All of these games come from top-quality game developers. Game providers such as NetEnt, Microgaming, Evolution Gaming, and Ezugi create online games that are as realistic as the real thing. As such, are great alternatives to land-based gambling.
Bonuses are also important in the online casino experience. There are various types of promotions that South African players can get and they include promos like:
- Welcome bonuses
- Reload promos
- Cashback offers
- Loyalty programs
- Free spins
All of these can be quite lucrative, especially if you know which casino has the best ones. It’s a well-known fact that a quality welcome bonus can double your first deposit and make your first bets more rewarding. Similarly, even smaller 20% deposit match reloads can help towards making your gambling bankroll larger on regular reload intervals.
South African players know that land-based casinos don’t offer bonuses as rewarding as these, so they opt for the online gaming variants. When they combine the winning potential of the bonuses and games on offer, it’s quite easy to see why they choose to play at online casinos.
Increased pressure to completely legalize online casino gaming
And while online casino gaming is increasing in popularity in South Africa, it still isn’t completely legal to gamble online. This has led many people to put more pressure on the government in South Africa to legalize online gambling.
Gambling at land-based casinos has been legal for years in the country. Therefore, it is surprising that South Africa has waited this long to put a legal framework around online gambling.
Fortunately for South African casino enthusiasts, people who know a lot about the gambling industry in the country say that legalizing online gambling is only a matter of time in South Africa.
If that happens to be true, the increased popularity of online casino gaming will be the main reason for the change in the South African legislature.
