Cricket Betting Sites in South Africa: 2024

Cricket is a team sport. Two teams containing 11 players each use bat and ball to play the sport that has three major formats. Cricket can be traced back to the late 16th century in England. The game gradually spread across the world with the British colonists taking it with them. Cricket is the national sport of England with the nation also known as the Home of Cricket. The game is hugely popular in South Africa, India and England and the nation gets the credit of introducing the various other formats of the game to the world such as One-day cricket, Twenty20 cricket and more recently the 100-ball format which is played only in England.

The SA cricket betting market is very lucrative and exciting as the game is one of the most followed sports in the world. In the digital age, many betting websites and applications are increasing their reach by the day with the focus on cricket and other sports as well. When it comes to cricket, predicting events become more and more exciting as every ball in a cricket match contains various events. How many runs will be scored, a dot ball will be bowled or a wicket taken or boundary hit on the delivery etc. Events such as the coin toss that occurs 30 minutes prior to the game can also be predicted and a lucrative amount is on the deck for punters.

A YouGov study in the South Africa confirmed that more people bet on cricket in the SA rather than sports such as greyhound racing, motorsports, etc.

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Claudia Hartley
Sports Betting Writer
Last Updated: 2024-06-27
7 minutes read

Learn how to play session cricket betting with our guide. Discover the best markets, tips for success, and top sites for placing your cricket session bets

Dillip Mohanty
Dillip Mohanty

Last Updated: 2024-07-25

How to Rank the Best Cricket Betting Sites in SA

Promotions and bonuses for cricket

The incentives and promos that a cricket betting site offers to South Africa customers are important considerations when choosing where to bet. While many bookies run promotions around big tournaments, the better ones give cricket incentives all year round. We have also taken into account the availability and terms of these incentives to people wishing to bet from SA. 


Tournaments and leagues covered

Because there is a lot of variation in cricket betting, you should look for a bookmaker who can match this. Offering odds on all of the main events and contests as well as the smaller, less well-known ones, the best bookies will cover the sport in all of its variations. 


SA Betting odds

When selecting a reputable cricket betting website, one of the most crucial factor is the betting odds. 


Variety of betting markets

You should look for a reliable betting service with a variety of markets so you can enjoy betting on cricket, which is a fun sport to watch. To get the most out of your online cricket betting, look for a bookmaker that offers more than just the standard match winner and outright markets. 

You may even bet on specific outstanding cricket players with certain bookmakers.


South Africa Specific Payment methods

Although having access to a vast amount of betting markets is fantastic, it is futile if you are unable to deposit and withdraw funds from your betting account. To guarantee that players enjoy the best possible betting experience, the bookies need to integrate with a variety of banking providers and methods. Chose the bookmakers that allow you to deposit and withdraw money using a number of different ways, including PayPal, Neteller, Skrill, and credit and debit card payments.


Stand-out features

Offering better betting options is one of the many strategies that bookies use to draw in new clients. Enhancement of odds, bet-builders, bet calculators, and prediction contests are among the more popular offerings, and the bookmakers we have selected are at the forefront of this market. 


Mobile experience

The modern betting experience includes a lot of mobile betting, and these days every bookmaker has top-notch mobile functionality. Additionally, a few bookmakers provide free mobile apps for iOS and Android users to enjoy. Betting on the go is made simple by these, which frequently have excellent user interface.


Licenses and security

When using one of the bookies safety is one foremost thing you need to be concerned about. Chose the bookies that are all fully licensed to offer services in South Africa and comply with the most recent security regulations in the industry. 


Customer service

Customer services is paramount to have a good experience while betting. Choose the books who have real-time chats or phone line to clarify and solve your queries.  

Best South Africa Cricket Betting Apps and Sites

1. Betway

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The Betway app is an excellent choice for Android users thanks to its easy to use design. Betway were the first operators in South Africa to create a data-free option for their mobile app. This means you don’t need to use data to bet on sports, unless you want to use the live betting platform.

Licenses
Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board, Malta Gaming Authority

Excluded Countries: Afghanistan, Angola, Argentina etc.

Payment Methods: Credit cards, Debit cards, Vouchers, EFT bank transfers, Quick EFT, Ozow, USSD, MTN MoMo, Instant Money, ABSA CashSend, FNB eWallet, Nedbank Send-iMAli.

Bonus: Up to R1000 free bet

Terms and Conditions: R10 minimum qualifying bet

Support: FAQ, Live Chat, Phone, Social Media

Rating: Odds 4.8 Promotions 4.4 Mobile 4.8 Other 4.6

Pros 

  • Mobile app is excellent
  • Data free mode is available
  • No rollover on welcome bonus

Cons

  • Only available on Android
  • Live chat only during working hours

2. 10bet

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10bet has an excellent app for Android that offers a full live betting service. You’ll find good odds on all of the major global cricket competitions (T20s, Australian Sheffield Shield, Indian Premier League, English County Championships and Vitality Blast). There’s also a generous welcome bonus too.

Licences
Mpumalanga Economic Regulator, Gibraltar Gambling Commission

Excluded Countries: Australia, France, Holland, Spain etc.

Payment Methods: 1Voucher, Capitec Pay, OTT Voucher, Visa, OZOW, Zapper, Secure EFT, BluVoucher, EasyPay, MasterPass, Bank Cash Deposit

Bonus: R 3,000 deposit match bonus

Terms and Conditions: 5x rollover, R 20 minimum deposit, new customers only

Support: FAQ, Live Chat, Email

Rating: Odds 4.6 Promotions 4.7 Mobile 4.6 Other 4.8

Pros

  • Good welcome bonus with fair terms
  • All bonuses can be claimed on mobile
  • Secure and fast payments

Cons

  • Only available on Android
  • No phone support available

3. Melbet

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SA Cricket Betting Offers Explained

A top South Africa sportsbook platform will give cricket punters various promotions and bonuses to maximise their bankroll and ramp up their excitement for the sport. Here are some of the common cricket promotions you can expect to encounter on a sports betting site.


Cricket Free Bets

A Free Bet grants you a specific amount of free money to bet on a cricket market of your choice. Instead of using your own funds, a Free Bet allows you to place a wager using a bonus amount. If your bet is successful, your payout is calculated based on the Free Bet amount and the odds. However, it's important to note that any potential winnings do not include the return of the Free Bet stake as part of the payout. For example, using a 10 Free Bet on a winning bet with odds of 2/1 would yield a payout of 20, whereas a 10 stake from your own cash balance would return 30.


Cricket Welcome Bonus

Welcome Bonuses are promotions offered to new users when they first sign up to a site and make their first deposit. These bonuses can range from extra cash to Free Bets, refunds if your first bet loses, or even boosted odds.

Deposit Bonuses

Deposit Bonuses provide you with additional funds to wager with when you make a deposit, typically represented as a percentage increase. It's common for deposit bonuses to come with wagering requirements, so always review the terms and conditions before attempting to withdraw any bonus-related winnings. For instance, depositing 20 with a 100% deposit bonus would boost your bankroll to 40.

Risk-free Cricket Bets

Similar to Free Bets, a risk-free bet allows you to use your own cash from your balance to place a wager. The advantage is that if the market you bet on loses, your stake will be refunded back to your balance. For example, if you bet £10 on a cricket match and the team loses, your £10 stake would be returned.

Boosted Odds

Boosted odds are an effective way to drastically increase potential winnings when betting on cricket. Look out for enhanced odds on favoured players or teams in a match. Leveraging boosted odds can lead to more lucrative returns. Keep an eye on cricket betting sites for these advantageous odds boosts.
 

A Quick Look at the Best SA Cricket Betting Sites

Our goal is to find the very best options when looking for a new cricket betting site. To help you decide on your next cricket betting site, we've analysed the key contenders below.


Best Cricket Betting Site – bet365

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Why we like it
bet365's welcome offer of Bet 10, Get 30 in Free Bets is one of the best available, and all of your 30 Free Bet tokens can be used to bet on cricket. Add this to their vast selection of odds markets and extensive match coverage, plus a robust BetBuilder tool, and bet365 fast becomes the best cricket betting site available.


Best Cricket Betting Site for Odds – Betway

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Why we like it
Betway have a great selection of cricket matches to bet on, plus a deep market of odds to give you more choice when making a bet on the cricket. Their cricket odds are frequently some of the best available and feature daily odds boosts to make your cricket bets even more valuable.


Best In Play Cricket Betting Site – Unibet

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Why we like it
Unibet is one of the only cricket bookies where you can live stream matches. When a match isn't streamed, you can track the action with live play-by-play graphics and match statistics. Being able to keep up with the action whilst placing In Play cricket bets is a must, and Unibet offer the best coverage around.
 

Variety of Cricket Formats


 

Test matches

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The longest format of cricket, lasting for five days. Each team gets two innings to bat, and the team with the most runs at the end wins. It is the oldest and traditional format of cricket and only 12 national teams in the world have got the status to play Test cricket. England and Australia play a traditional 5-Test series known as the Ashes. It is one of the most exciting bilateral competitions in the cricketing calendar and is fiercely battled on the field. England’s fierce competitors in the cricketing fraternity besides Australia are India, Pakistan, South Africa and South Africa. Whenever the English team travels to these countries or hosts Test matches domestically, it attracts huge eyeballs and TV ratings alongside a high number of users betting on these exciting Test matches.


 

One Day Internationals (ODIs)

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Limited-overs format where each team gets 50 overs to bat. The team with the most runs at the end wins. More number of international teams play this format than in Test cricket. A World Cup is held every four years and was introduced in 1975. The English team had a good run in the 2019 edition finishing as champions at home but had a horrible tour as they failed to defend the trophy in India in the next edition played in 2023. England’s one-day international side is full of talented players and is one of the most competitive teams in the world. The team has the top 3 highest scores in one-day internationals to their name and attracts eyeballs wherever it plays this particular format.


 

Twenty20 (T20)

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The shortest format of cricket, lasting for just three hours. Each team gets 20 overs to bat. The team with the most runs at the end wins. This can be known as the most popular and most played cricket format in the recent years. Every leading cricket country has a T20 league of its own. England has 2 special leagues in the T20 format with the T20 Blast and The Hundred ball competition. Hundred has got T20 status by the ICC but is slightly different than the T20 format itself. Other major T20 leagues in the world are Indian Premier League (IPL), Big Bash League (BBL), Pakistan Super League (PSL), Caribbean Premier League (CPL), etc. Different tournaments have different rules or playing conditions to make it more interesting and fiercely fought. It is the most followed format in modern-day cricket and lasts a little over 3 hours.


 

Twenty20 Internationals (T20I)

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Similar to T20s, but played between national teams. The rules in T20 international cricket are the same no matter where the games are played. Every cricket playing nation registered with the ICC has attained T20 international status making a big influx in T20 internationals to be played all over the world. England has an exciting T20I side and are two time T20 World Cup champions having won the silverware in 2010 and more recently in 2022. The T20 World Cup is a biennial event and is the most exciting T20 international tournament.


Coverage of Popular Tournaments

Cricket World Cup

The premier international cricket tournament, held every four years. It was first played in the year 1975 with England playing the sole hosts until 1983. Since 1987, other nations have also hosted the tournament with the England side not tasting success until 2019. It is considered as the biggest cricket tournament in the world and is also covered by majority of the bookmakers drawing huge interest among punters in every single match.

Ashes series

A Test match series contested between England and Australia. It is considered as the oldest rivalry in the game’s purest format. Both the teams contest in a fiercely competitive 5-match series touring each alternately. The brand of cricket draws eyeballs from not just the 2 nations’ fans but from all over the world. It is one of the most followed Test series in the world and has full attention from the punters as well.

Indian Premier League (IPL)

The IPL is a professional Twenty20 league in India, featuring the best players from around the world. It is considered as the best T20 tournament in the world with its broadcast rights only second in the market to NFL. Ten teams participate in the tournament with over 200 players getting an opportunity to showcase their talent to the world in 2-month window. It is the biggest T20 spectacle in the world.

Big Bash League (BBL)

A professional Twenty20 league in Australia, featuring the best players from around the world. It is also one of the oldest T20 tournaments and is known for fierce competition, city-based club teams and innovative rules that are brought in at a regular basis to make it an exciting competition.

T20 Blast

A professional Twenty20 league in England. Known as the T20 Cup in its earlier years, this tournament is responsible to bring official T20 cricket to the world. The success of this particular tournament led other countries to follow suit and helped launch T20 international cricket. The tournament hosts over 130 matches per season with 18 participant counties making it the T20 league with most number of teams and matches attracting millions of eyeballs and interest from punters.

County Championship

A first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. It is also the biggest First-Class tournament in the world with 18 teams contesting in approximately 125-126 matches per season. The teams are divided into two divisions with two teams relegating and promoting at the end of every season. Played in the traditional English summer, the competition is highly followed and involves players from all over the world.

Metro Bank One Day Cup

A limited-overs cricket competition in England and Wales. It is played in the List A format and has seen various changes in its format over the years. Currently the tournament is played in the 50-over format with 18 teams featuring in 77 matches per season divided into 2 groups.

The Hundred

A new 100-ball cricket format launched in England in 2020. It is the latest format launched by the England & Wales Cricket Board with both the men’s and women’s tournaments being played simultaneously in England. Top players from all over the world participate in the league which involves teams playing 100 balls per innings. 8 teams participate in both the men’s and women’s category. ICC has awarded T20 status to recognize the matches played in the men’s Hundred league.

Major League Cricket

A professional Twenty20 league in the United States. It is sanctioned by USA Cricket with top players featuring for the 6 teams. 3 of the six teams have owners who have teams in the Indian Premier League bringing the rivalry to the American league.

Pakistan Super League

The PSL is a professional Twenty20 league in Pakistan. Top players from all over the world feature for six teams in this fiercely played contest. It draws big viewership and is known for its high scoring games. It is one of the most successful T20 leagues in the world.

T20 World Cup

The premier international Twenty20 cricket tournament, held every two years. It is the biggest international tournament played in the T20 format with the best teams in the world featuring in the biennial event.

Wide Range of SA Betting Markets

Match winner

Bet on which team will win the match. Punter shall assess both teams, the playing conditions and recent form amongst other important factors to determine the winner and put wager on the team of his choice.

Next batter out

Bet on which batsman will be dismissed next. It is an exciting market as it is very hard to predict which batter can be dismissed next. There are 11 unique modes of dismissals in cricket and predicting the next batter out is an exciting prospect.

Total innings runs 

Bet on the total number of runs scored by a team in their innings. The important factor in this market is the batting order, the batter’s recent form and the pitch conditions.

Top batsman

Bet on the batsman who will score the most runs in the match. It depends on the recent form of the batter, the batting order and matchups with opposition bowling attack.

Top bowler

Bet on the bowler who will take the most wickets in the match. Some pitches suit the spinners whereas some tracks and conditions are a dream for pace bowlers to dominate in the match.

Player of the match

Bet on which player will be named player of the match. The player with the best performance in the match to help decide the course of the match is usually awarded the player of the match. A player of the match could be also awarded to a player on the losing side.

Runs at the fall of the next wicket

Bet on how many runs will be scored before the next wicket falls. It is another interesting market and is highly competitive. Judging by the pace of the match, how settled the batters are and how good the bowling attack looks on the day can help predict and win in this market.

Tips and Strategies for SA Cricket Betting

If you’re new to betting on cricket, then there are a few tips and strategies you can follow to get better value out of your cricket bets.

Check the weather

When betting on a cricket match, it's essential to monitor the weather closely. Poor weather often leads to no play, significantly affecting the game's outcome. Even varying weather conditions during play can impact the match: sunny conditions tend to favour batsmen, while overcast conditions are more favourable for bowlers.

Keep an eye on pitch conditions

The condition of the pitch significantly influences the scoring of runs and the taking of wickets. Insights can be gathered from the toss result – pay close attention to the captain's decision to bat or bowl, as this can reveal expectations about the pitch's behaviour.

Research match statistics

In cricket, every event is recorded as a statistic, giving cricket punters access to extensive data compared to other sports. To maximise your chances, conduct thorough research, gather comprehensive stats, and analyse them to help you place better bets on future cricket matches. Only wager on bets that you identify as offering the highest value.

Conclusion

The South Africa cricket betting market is a huge prospect for punters as it is a multi-format and a multi-dimensional game where everything is an event. Right from the toss to the presentation ceremony where the player of the match award is declared, everything could be predicted and bet on. With the amount of cricket played domestically and internationally, tons of betting websites and applications allow betting on cricket and offer some pretty decent odds. Some of the best bookmakers have been mentioned above. Head to their pages, register yourself and enjoy betting responsibly.