How sports betting has become increasingly popular in South Africa in recent years

As the most significant betting market on the continent, the South African sports betting market has been a keen point of interest for many of the world’s most prominent sportsbooks and gambling platforms.

The popularity of sportsbooks has increased significantly in many countries over the last decade. South Africa is not an anomaly in this trend, with many using their mobile devices to place a raft of sports bets. But what’s driven this popularity, and how is it continuing to shape the market and follow global trends? Let’s take a look.

The power of promotions and marketing

Of all the elements that have resulted in a massive uptake in the number of people seeking out betting platforms, there’s a lot to be said for the development of bonus offers and marketing strategies. This isn’t just the case for sportsbooks, either; in fact, it’s an approach refined by the casino gaming world over 20 years ago.

While casinos still use a range of free spins and other promotional ideas to get as many new customers on board as possible, playcasino.co.za are one of many brands that have mastered the concept of providing a small, cost-effective incentive in exchange for getting a new customer onto their gambling platform and seeing what it has to offer.

Some sportsbooks have launched alongside their casino platforms to provide a multi-pronged gambling one-stop shop. This has resulted in more bettors seeking their services as they know these companies can match all their betting requirements. Obviously, this ease of use has helped to bring down barriers and has resulted in more people accessing the markets.

Access to global markets

Before the internet, due to localized legislation and time zone constraints, few South Africans would bet on sports markets on other continents – most notably, domestic European football leagues like the EPL.

However, following the rise of prominent South African players in the English league, such as Benni McCarthy and Steven Pienaar, more South Africans tune in to the league and watch highlights online, meaning they are also exposed to betting markets via the same medium.

The increasing ease of access to global markets means there has been a rise in the number of potential betting markets that South Africans can consider. As with any market with a consistent stream of customers, the greater the choice, the more popular it gets. This trend has occurred throughout sports betting markets in the US, UK and Canada, and while there’s a different sporting culture in South Africa, it has followed a similar path.

A rise in competition

Access to global markets has resulted in a steep rise in the number of platforms and sportsbooks offering services to the South African market over the last decade. When there’s such intense demand and competition, this results in a greater increase in the quality of sportsbooks and the depth of their offer, and in many cases, promotions become more attractive.

Sports betting companies understand just how crucial and difficult it is to make their mark in a global sector. A rise in competition means their promotions are not just being weighed up in the South African market but right across the digital economy. This results in more sportsbooks seeking to stand out with their offers.

We must also add that you should become familiar with the terms and conditions that these companies use when they promote a new customer offer. Once you know how to dissect these terms, you will know how to find the promotions with more to offer.

The rise of the mobile app

Smartphones are not a new invention, but initially, they were not devices used to place sports bets. During the mid-2000s, when laptops and PCs became the primary tools for millions of bettors across the globe, sports betting companies were already angling for a way to expand the market to new frontiers, and the emergence of the smartphone provided a potential route for them to explore.

With the number of smartphones in South Africa increasing dramatically over the last decade, and the number of sportsbooks eyeing up this method as one of their key areas for development, these two factors have combined, which has helped sportsbooks become increasingly popular, especially since the beginning of this decade.

Conclusion

The popularity of sports betting in South Africa has mirrored the same projection and trajectory we have seen throughout other markets. The UK witnessed this about a decade earlier than South Africa, as they were ahead of the curve from a global standpoint.

However, Canada and the US have only recently rolled back many of the laws that stopped sportsbooks from operating within their countries, so the South African market lies somewhere between those of the UK and the US on its developmental curve.

There’s still room for the South African sports betting market to grow. Not only is South Africa one of the most prominent economies on the continent, but the future projections for moderate economic growth should give the industry room to expand, and enough customers who have the disposable income to fuel the growth of this market as it looks to mimic some of the giant leaps forward that we have witnessed in more established gambling nations such as the UK.