Betway Review

Betway has built a reputation over the past decade as one of the premier real money gambling online sportsbooks and casinos, and they strive to maintain their good standing. The Betway sportsbook is a great option for South African punters, especially those who love football. However, there is an array of products, including South African sports like Rugby and Cricket betting.

Betway is a well-known and established brand in operation since 2006. Some of their official principal sponsors include West Ham United, West Indies Cricket, Paris Saint Germain Esports, etc. Their official betting partners are Leicester City Football Club and Brighton & Hove Albion.

Betway is also licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority and eCOGRA certified. They support responsible gambling and have several tools punters can use to ensure their gambling habits do not get out of control.

CUSTOMER SUPPORT & CONTACT DETAILS

• Email: support@betway.co.za
• SA toll-free number: 0861 787 250

Founded in 2006, Betway has established itself as Africa's foremost online and mobile sports betting platform. The brand is internationally recognized as a quality-driven provider of sports betting across the world, supplying simple-to-use technology to passionate fans.

Betway offers South African customers a range of deposit options to make sports betting easier, depending on their preference. Having partnered with all major South African banks, Betway lets customers bet through Credit Card, Instant EFT, and Direct Deposits through ABSA, Standard Bank, FNB, and Nedbank.

The minimum bet for South African customers is R5, while the maximum bet is subject to change depending on sporting events. South African Betway customers can expect weekly promotions offering prizes ranging from cash, Extra Bets, and smartphones to Grand Prize draws! Read on to learn more about Betway and how you can bet anytime and anywhere using your phone, tablet, or desktop computer!

Betway is one of the most popular sportsbooks in the world, with customers in hundreds of countries. Being a global online service, much of the sportsbook is customized according to a player’s place of residence. The customizations also include promotions. For example, if you were a Betway player based in the US, the promotions accessible to you could be different from those in Europe.

In this review, we will focus on the South African market and what a South African punter can expect in terms of promotions while playing at Betway. Please note that the promotions at Betway casino are updated frequently. The promos mentioned below are current at the time of writing.

SIGN UP BONUS

If you are apprehensive about signing up with Betway and trying out this sportsbook, there is now an incentive to do just that. You will receive R25 for free in your Betway account upon successful registration. This money is yours to spend on the Betway sportsbook. You can use it to explore betting options and make some bets. If you win, the money is yours to keep.

WELCOME BONUS

For South African players, Betway casino has a welcome bonus designed to attract visitors and convert them into Betway registrants. They get a free bonus just for signing up; therefore, this is a win-win situation for both sportsbooks and punters.

OTHER PROMOTIONS

Apart from the welcome bonus, even members who have been with Betway for a while can expect generosity through bonuses and promotions at the Betway sportsbook. The online bookie doesn’t just want to get new players to sign up; equally importantly, they want to retain their existing user base. Therefore, even existing members will be treated to promotions. In addition, there is a solid loyalty program to keep you happy and betting.

FREE BETS

A free bet is exactly as it sounds. Imagine you walk into a sports betting parlour near you, and someone offers to pay for your bet. Well, a free bet at Betway is an online sportsbook equivalent of exactly that. Betway offers free bets on many sports. Generally, their free bet offers are based around upcoming top cricket, football, and eSports events. The free bet offers are usually as follows – a player makes a bet on a certain sporting event, and Betway matches the player's bet with their free bet. So, if you place a R20 bet on a football game, the bookmaker will give you another free R20 bet on selected football games. Knock yourself out.

MONEY BACK

Money-Back offers are available for both new and existing members. At Betway, the Money Back offers are generally reserved for eSports. At the time of writing, they offer a money-back for in-play betting on League of Legends Worlds and a money-back offer on Dota PIT.

If you place a bet on a relevant money-back eligible sporting event, and your bet loses, Betway will refund you with a free bet matched to your stake, but limited to a maximum of R200.

If you want to claim the new player bonus and start betting on your favourite sports, teams, or players, it is mandatory to register an account. Thankfully, the Betway registration process is short and can be completed in minutes.

Visit our link to go to the Betway Sportsbook website.

Once the Betway sportsbook home page loads up, click on ‘Sign Up’. This button is located at the top right corner of the home page. It is a prominent button with a green background.

After clicking on register, you will see a form titled “Create Account” – complete the form as detailed below:

The registration form has three parts:

• Part 1 – Personal details – provide a title, first/ last name as per government ID, and date of birth, and click on ‘Next’
• Part 2 – account information – create a username for your account, configure a password, retype the password to confirm, provide your email address, and click on ‘Next’
• Part 3 – contact details – fill in your address in this format – address line 1, address line 2, City, Postcode, State, and mobile number with country code
• In part 3 – you can also set daily/weekly/monthly deposit limits. Pick a limit from the dropdown, or enter a custom limit.
• Select your preferred language.
• Choose your preferred currency (if you are using a South African IP address, it will automatically register as ZAR)
• Accept the terms and conditions
• Confirm you are of legal age to gamble
• Opt-in for communications regarding the latest promotions and exclusive offers from Betway. You can choose to be notified by email and/or SMS.

Your account is now ready. However, we suggest you verify your email address first. Betway will send you a confirmation link to the email address you provided in the registration form. Access your email inbox and click on the confirmation link to verify your email.

Placing a bet is easy. The process is similar whether you use the mobile app or the usual Betway sportsbook website.

To place a bet:

• Login to the Betway sportsbook with your username and password
• Select a sporting category to bet on
• Select the league or tournament within the sport you want to bet on
• Select the specific game you want to bet on
• You will view the betting options available on the particular game/match
• Select your bet, which will be added to the Betslip
• Go to the Betslip and enter your bet amount
• Use the ‘place bet’ option to confirm the bet
• If you add several selections to the Betslip, it will be an accumulator or multi-line bet
• To place a bet even faster, you can do so by accepting all odds and line changes
• For quick bets on current events, use the “quick links” link at the bottom of the sports page

Betway is considered one of the best online sportsbooks, and they did not get there without offering a vast betting market for players to pick from. All of the popular sports from all over the world are featured on the bookmaker’s site. Furthermore, even some lesser-known and upcoming sporting events are also up for betting.

What’s more? You can place in-play bets on sporting events and also bet on esports events. With Betway, if you want to take a break from sports betting and break the monotony, you can play at their online casino. Play games like slots, blackjack, roulette, poker, etc.

The sports that you can bet on at Betway are – Cricket, Football, Tennis, Betway Boosts, Basketball, Table Tennis, Volleyball, Esports, Horse Racing, Hockey, American Football, Aussie Rules, Baseball, Boxing, Cycling, Darts, Floorball, Formula 1, Gaelic Sports, Golf, Greyhounds, Handball, Motor Sport, Poker, Politics, Rugby League, Rugby Union, Snooker, Specials, UFC / Martial Arts, Winter Sports and In-Play betting.

The sports list is available on the home page in order of popularity to make it easy to find your perfect bet.

Betway is popular amongst punters who like to bet on football leagues and cups such as the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A, German Bundesliga, FA Cup, etc.

Other Games Available at Betway

LIVE GAMES

You can bet on in-play games at Betway. Thanks to the live streaming option, you can even watch certain sporting events via live streaming right at the Betway website or app. To bet on a live game, click on ‘in-play’, and you are presented with a list of live or upcoming games. Select the game and place the bet. You can bet on any game that is live as long as the game has not concluded yet (depending on which sport exactly it is).

In terms of odds, in-play odds work a little differently. They may alter based on what is happening in the game. You need to strategize and make a bet at the right time to hit the best possible odds and get more bang for your buck.

ESPORTS

Esports has gone pro; video games are now considered sports, and some players are amazingly talented. Watching pro players play games you love, like Dota, League of Legends, and FIFA is not only eye-opening but also extremely entertaining, even nail-biting at times.

At Betway, you can now bet on Esports. In-play betting on Esports is also available. League of Legends, Dota 2, Counter-Strike, Rainbow Six, Overwatch StarCraft 2, VALORANT, and King of Glory are the supported Esports.

For South African sports betting enthusiasts, you will be hard-pressed to come across a better sportsbook than Betway. The online bookmaker offers an abundance of sporting markets and an enormous range of betting types. Even the lesser-known sporting markets will still have many betting markets for you to choose from at Betway.

The sheer number of sports and bet types may be too much to digest for a newbie sports bettor. However, experienced punters will love the nuances and the attention to detail in every aspect of every sport and type of bet.

For the newbies, Betway offers an intuitive platform that may have an information overload. But the presentation, architecture information, and site navigation work well and makes it easy to learn and place bets and enjoy the overall user experience. So, whether you are brand new to sports betting, an experienced sports bettor, or anything in between, Betway is a great choice for everyone.

They offer great odds for some of the most popular sports and sporting events, but in terms of odds for some obscure markets, it is average at best.

Betway sportsbook is available on mobile for players on the move. There are essentially two ways in which you can play on your smartphones or tablets. You may download the Betway sportsbook app, which is available for Android and iOS or access the Betway sportsbook website on your mobile using a standard mobile web browser like Google Chrome or Safari.

There are certain differences between playing on the Betway app vs. playing on the Betway mobile website. Each has certain pros and cons. After considering the points below, you can decide which is best suited for you.

MOBILE VS. APP FEATURES AND BENEFITS

Some of the pros of playing on the mobile website are:

• You don’t have to download any software
• Play instant from any supported mobile device, even if it does not have the app installed
• The website is identical to the desktop version
• Since there is no initial download required, you save on data costs
• It will not take up any memory

Some of the pros of playing on the mobile app are:

• The app is fine-tuned for mobile performance and is very responsive
• Unmatched ease of use and user experience
• No need to log in every single time
• After the initial download and installation, you will use lesser data compared to the mobile website.
• Claim the new player bonus exclusive to the app

MOBILE BONUSES AND PAYMENT METHODS

Betway offers a bonus to new players who use the Betway app for the first time. This bonus is basically a matched free bet sign-up offer and is limited to a maximum of R500. When you make a deposit between R200 and R500, Betway will give you a free bet of the same amount you made.

If you access the Betway sportsbook using your mobile phone, you still have all the various deposit and withdrawal options that the PC sportsbook supports. Deposit and withdrawal methods may vary depending on which country you are based in, but there are no restrictions because you are playing on a smartphone or tablet. So, use your preferred banking method, be it a credit card, bank transfer, e–wallet, or others. Mobile banking at Betway is just as safe and secure as banking on a PC.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS COMPATIBILITY

Mobile punters who want to place bets on Betway’s mobile website can use their usual mobile web browsers such as Google Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Opera.

Mobile technology is rapidly evolving as new advancements are made in both hardware and software almost every other week. You can play on any modern mobile device as long as the operating system and device are not obsolete.

Suppose you want to play using the Betway mobile website. In that case, you can play on Android, iOS, Windows, and Blackberry devices via mobile browsers like Google Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Opera Mini, etc. The Betway sportsbook app is only available for Android and iOS now. Make sure your Android device is running Android version 4.1 or higher, and if you are using Apple, then you need iOS 8.1 or higher.

HOW TO DOWNLOAD THE APP ON APPLE IOS

• Go to the iTunes App Store by launching the app
• Run a search for Betway
• Select the Betway app from the results
• Tap on ‘Install’
• Once installation is complete, tap to open the app

HOW TO DOWNLOAD THE APP ON ANDROID

• Go to the Google Play Store by launching the app
• Run a search for Betway
• Select the Betway app from the results
• Tap on the ‘Install’ tab
• Once installation is complete, tap on the Betway icon to load the app

For a full list of accepted payment methods at South African casinos, please visit our banking methods page

HOW TO MAKE A DEPOSIT

The exact deposit procedure will vary depending on the preferred banking method. To make a deposit, you need to be a registered user.

• Login to your Betway account
• Go to the ‘Cashier’ section
• Select your payment type
• The remainder of the process will vary depending on the deposit type selected. Just follow the prompts, and the deposit will go through.

HOW TO MAKE A WITHDRAWAL:

When you request a withdrawal, Betway will always choose to process the withdrawal to the same method used while making a deposit. However, if the deposit method is not valid, you can select an alternative withdrawal method.

While Betway does not charge any fee for making deposits or withdrawals, your bank or payment processor may charge you based on their policy.

If you place a withdrawal request but decide to cancel it, you can do so while the payment status is “pending”. However, once the processing starts, you will not be able to cancel the withdrawal request.

UNIQUE SELLING POINTS

• 40+ different sporting markets offered
• Bet on live games using in-play betting
• Bet on Esports
• Play casino games like slots, roulette, blackjack, etc., for real money
• No max deposit limits
• Mobile friendly via app or mobile website
• Lots of promotions and free bets

COMMON COMPLAINTS

• Reportedly slashes limits for players who are on winning streaks
• Many restricted countries
• Live streaming is only available in select countries