Most poker hands end with players folding out long before the river card.The action at SA online poker rooms is thick and fast, and whatever time of day or night you log on, you are guaranteed to find some of the best standard of poker games in the world being played. Check out our full list of Online Poker Sites for South Africans here.
Online poker in South Africa get more fans every year, and that trend doesn't look like it will be slowing down anytime soon.
As online poker sites become more powerful (not to mention more popular), it's getting easier for players like you to get in on the action in 2020 and win real money from the comfort of home.
Our top rated SA poker sites offer you:
- A huge selection of poker variants for you to enjoy.
- Safe and secure gaming at reputable international sites.
- Massive welcome bonuses to shift your poker in to high gear.
So, if you're ready to start playing on the top South African online poker sites in 2020, keep reading through these pages and find out everything you need to know. From the best deposit options, and finding great bonuses and software, to working out where the law stands on poker online, you don't need to look any further!
South African Poker Sites Changed Everything!
South Africa has a long history of restricted gambling but things have changed dramatically in just the last couple of decades.
With many online poker sites' SA options now opening up, players are finally free to win real cash playing their favourite card game, that simply wasn't the case a few years ago.
Best of all, South African Texas Hold'em players can compete with other poker players from around the world on a 24/7 basis. Online sites simply deliver more action than you've ever had before!
Only Choose the Best Sites
If you live in South Africa, online options are wider than ever but you'd better look before you leap because some of the choices are far from ideal.
The most popular poker rooms offer tons of traffic, fair policies, and even bonus money for new players. However, if you end up at the wrong site, you might find yourself facing impossible odds against a rogue operator that wants nothing more than to rip you off. The only way to be sure is to play with pre-approved websites, and that's where we come in.
At PokerSites.co.za our expert team is made up of real South African players just like you, and they have one job: to point you in the right direction so that you only play with the best South African online poker sites in the business!
Online Poker South Africa Newspaper
To ensure that you never have to deal with dodgy businesses, our reviewers test, evaluate, and compare all of the biggest names on the net. What's the end result? An extensive guide to only the top Internet poker websites around. For the best poker sites, SA players are catered for right here.
South Africa Poker Sites FAQ
Looking for more information on the best legit poker sites SA has to offer? Don't worry - we're used to getting questions from our readers. Take a look at some answers from common questions we get about South African poker sites. If we haven't answered your query below, don't hesitate to contact us.
Q. Is online poker legal in South Africa?
A. South Africa poker sites still live in one of those grey areas legally (anti-gambling legislation exists but there's questionable enforcement). Luckily, the government is currently seriously considering changes to the law to allow for fully regulated online gambling. Remember that free-play poker sites SA firms offer are also totally legal.
Q. What software do I need?
A. You'll want to download the free poker online software that all of the rooms recommended here offer. It only takes a couple of minutes to download and install a client, so there's no really reason not to get it.
Q. Can I play online poker on my mobile?
A. Yes. The best sites that South Africa mobile companies support are always riding right on the cutting edge of gaming technology - and that definitely includes mobile poker. Secure connections and approved apps make mobile gambling more than possible: it's slowly becoming an essential for top poker websites. And, as smartphones become the norm, expect to see this option becoming a lot more freely available. You'll find poker apps easily available for all devices, including Apple iPhone, iPad and Android.
Q. Do I have to play for real money?
A. No, you don't. For all good poker sites, SA players can enjoy free play options whenever they like, and on pretty much any game they want to play. In 2020, while the legal situation settles, free-play games are a great way to practise and get used to different forms of poker online before you make the final decision to open a real money account somewhere. Check our ratings and comparisons and open a play account; then you're all set to make the SA currency switch!
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There are lots of things us South Africans do really well but simplicity isn’t one of them! So it’s no surprise then that the laws and regulations about poker in ZA are a bit confusing.
When you’re trying to understand something that’s murky and complex, the beginning is always a good place to start. It’s also simpler if you look at the laws governing offline and online poker separately.
Carry on reading to find out about the start of South Africa’s poker laws, where they stand right now and most importantly, whether you’ll be arrested for playing a few hands down at the bar or at an online poker site.
Online Poker
It depends where you look for the facts but according to all the most trusted poker industry sources and public government information, (http://www.justice.gov.za/sca/judgments/sca_2011/sca2011-155.pdf) , gambling at online poker websites operating from South Africa is completely illegal for South Africans.
So why do some people talk about playing legal poker online from SA? Are they crazy? Hold tight, this is where it starts to get confusing.
While the South African government has now clarified its position on online poker, the reality is that the existing Internet gambling laws are aimed at frightening gambling operators out of the market, not at actual poker players. No real money Internet poker player in South Africa has ever been prosecuted and that’s why South African’s keep flocking to legal international online poker rooms.
The National Gambling Act: Reinvented
Until fairly recently the National Gambling Act of 2004 was literally the only piece of legislation crafted to deal with online gambling (or interactive gambling as the government calls it). It stated that it was illegal to offer or engage in online gambling games.
In 2008 online poker was still being played up and down the country, so the government decided they may as well get in on the revenues. The National Gambling Amendment Act of 2008 was then published with the aim of legalising and regulating the online poker market. Unfortunately, later in the year of 2008 many offline, land-based casinos in SA teamed up with anti-fraud protective agencies to argue against the introduction of the new, more relaxed rules.
The casinos did this because they didn’t want all their customers going to spend their gambling Rand online instead of at their poker tables and slot machines. The anti-fraud authorities opposed it because it would mean there would be a whole new arena for them to search through and the responsibility of overseeing all online poker transactions sounded a bit too much like hard work!
The final blow for legal online gambling in South Africa came in the summer of 2010. Online gambling at international gambling sites based outside of SA was banned too. This time they didn’t just aim the law at operators either, the government promised to punish the players themselves too.
Luckily for poker fans, the government did a terrible job of outlining what counts as ‘gambling’ and so poker is currently back and fighting fit. Online poker has returned to its good old grey home where no one has nailed down the law and no player has ever been fined.
But wait, there’s more! In mid January 2020 a member of the South African parliament called Geordin Hill Lewis brought the whole thing back up again. He wanted the government to take another look at regulating the online poker market by settling on a final version of the National Gambling Amendment of 2008 which had been left abandoned.
In February 2020 Hill Lewis introduced his Remote Gambling Act to parliament.
The Remote Gambling Act is still being discussed and poker players around SA are holding their breath. They could be holding it a long time though, because here’s what a Department of Trade and Industry representative had to say to South African Independent Online News, “In our view no amount of control will adequately curb the harm that may be caused to South African citizens by online gambling, hence we reiterate that it must remain a banned activity.”
Legal Land-Based Poker In SA
There are around 40 land-based casinos or poker rooms with legal poker tables in South Africa and each offline gambling venue must have the correct licenses to operate in the province they are based in.
Playing poker for real money, against friends, in the comfort of your own home or even on the beach is illegal but it is not heavily policed.
To Recap
Online poker is not clearly illegal in South Africa, as long as you play at an international poker website. We can show you the best international poker websites for you to play at from South Africa, so make sure you check out our reviews page.
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