How We Rate Betting Apps

Every app on this site has a rating out of five, and this page explains where that number comes from. It is not a feeling and it is not a payment. It is four things, weighed the same way for every bookmaker, using facts read off the bookmaker’s own site on a South African connection.

The four things that decide a rating

• The licence. Only a bookmaker licensed by a South African provincial board is legal to bet with, and it is the first thing we check. No licence, no listing. A bookmaker that holds more than one provincial licence, and prints the numbers in its footer, scores higher than one that says only that it is licensed.
• The welcome offer as it really is. We read the offer on the bookmaker’s own promotions page, not a banner. An offer with clear published terms scores higher than a bigger offer whose terms are hidden until you have signed up. No fixed welcome offer is not a fault on its own, but it is stated plainly and it costs a little against bookmakers that give new customers something real.
• What the app is actually good at. Sports coverage from the PSL to the European leagues, live betting, the betting tools, Aviator and the casino side, and lucky numbers. An app that gives you tools the others do not, like early payout or loss cover on multis, moves up. An app that runs well on a cheap phone moves up.
• Getting money in and out. How many real ways to deposit the bookmaker lists, whether you can top up with cash or a voucher, whether you can draw cash without a bank card, and whether the bookmaker publishes its withdrawal times. Wide, cheap, honest cashiers score best.

What the numbers mean

• 4.5 and above. An app we would hold as a main account. Strong on all four things, with at most one real gap.
• 4.0 to 4.4. A good app with a clear reason to have it, and a clear reason it is not the top pick. Usually a specialist: racing, numbers, a particular bonus or a particular way to pay.
• Below 4.0. Licensed and usable, but there is a better option for almost every reader. We say which one and why.

No licensed bookmaker on this site scores below 4.0 at the moment, because every one of them does at least one thing well. That will change as we work down the list of licensed operators, and a low score will be explained as carefully as a high one.

What moves a rating up

• Publishing the full terms of a welcome offer in plain text, on the site, before you sign up.
• Betting tools the rest of the market does not have.
• Cash and voucher deposits, and cash withdrawals at an ATM or over a counter, for readers without a bank card.
• A real app on Android, iPhone and Huawei, with the bookmaker’s own written steps for each.
• A published withdrawal time and a help line that answers.

What moves a rating down

• Advertising a welcome figure while keeping the stages out of sight until you are in.
• No native app, or a download route that is not explained.
• A thin sportsbook away from the headline leagues.
• Withdrawal times that are not published anywhere.
• A family of side apps that make it hard to find the one you actually bet on.

What does not move a rating

Money. Some of our links are affiliate links and a bookmaker may pay us when you open an account through one. That payment does not change the score, the order on the comparison page, or a single word of the review. A bookmaker that pays us more does not move up, and a bookmaker that pays us nothing does not move down. Our editorial policy covers the rest of how we work.

How often we re-check

Welcome offers change week to week and apps change with every update, so a rating is only as good as the last check behind it. We re-read the bookmaker’s own pages when we hear of a change and on a rolling basis, and we update the review and, if it warrants it, the score. A bookmaker that publishes its bonus terms tomorrow will see its rating reflect that.

One honest flaw, every time

Every review on this site names at least one thing the app gets wrong, and a section on who should look elsewhere. A review with nothing bad to say is an advert, and you can get those from the bookmaker. The comparison of all the apps together is on our best betting apps in South Africa page.