Live sports betting takes the fun of betting on your favourite matches to the next level! And thanks to the wide range of live sports betting markets and odds available at various betting sites in South Africa, it’s more popular than ever! How live sports betting works is similar to pre-match betting except the match has already started and the odds change constantly throughout the game.
What makes live sports betting exciting is that you place bets while the match is underway, which can sometimes make it easier to predict what will happen next. Some punters like to bet live on teams which are ahead in the match to improve their chances of winning. Others like to hedge their bets (bet on the other team live) to minimize risk. Some sports bettors even use live sports betting to get bigger odds than before the match started.
We preview the best Live Sports Betting sites in South Africa, so you know how and where to get started with live betting. But before that, let’s talk a bit about how live sports betting odds and markets work.
Live Sports Betting Odds
It’s not unusual for the pre-match odds for any team or player to change from one day to the next. Bookmakers adjust their pre-match odds for many reasons which we explain in detail in our betting on live games with Betway guide, but these don’t change nearly as much as they do for live sports betting.
Why? Because with live sports betting, there’s new information to consider almost every second that goes by—like a goal being scored or a team getting closer to winning. Whether the odds for your bet move with you (get bigger) or against you (get smaller) depends on what’s happening in the match.
Live Sports Betting Markets and Betting Sites
Some of the bets available on live sports such as ‘Match Winner’ are the same as with pre-match betting. But there are other live sports betting markets which you can only find once the match has started. Below are some popular live sports betting markets for soccer available at Betway, Sportingbet, Hollywoodbets, BET.co.za and Gbets.
Next Goal: Predict which team will score the next goal after you place your bet. This applies only to the next goal scored, it doesn’t matter who scores later on or wins the match. Whenever a team is attacking dangerously or they’ve missed a few golden opportunities, is a good time to place this live sports bet. You can also select ‘None’ if you think the match is dying out and no more goals will be scored.
Which Team Wins the Rest of the Match: The score is reset to 0-0 as soon as your bet is placed. To win, the team you bet on must score more goals than their opponents from that point onwards. If no goals are scored then your bet loses. A good time to place this live sports bet is when a good team gets off to a bad start and concedes an early goal. Take this live betting opportunity by backing them to recover and win the rest of the match!
Recommended Live Sports Betting Sites
We’ve listed some of the best and most trusted South African betting sites that offer live betting below. Each bookmaker offers a unique betting experience and bonuses, so punters have a wide variety of choice when it comes to live sports betting.
Betway Live Sports Betting
Log in to Betway and place wagers on a wide range of live sports such as soccer, tennis, cricket, rugby and volleyball. You can make predictions based on a team’s possession, dangerous attacks, how individual players are performing and how many goals or points they’ve scored. Cash out is available on many different sports and markets too, should you be looking to close your bets out early.
- See our Betway review for more
Sportingbet Live Sports Betting
Sportingbet has one the best live sports betting platforms in South Africa with unique betting markets you won’t find anywhere else. Up-to-the-minute statistics are available on all live matches plus you can keep a close eye on the action with their soccer, tennis and basketball streams. You can also use great features like cash out on live bets.
- See our Sportingbet review for more
Hollywoodbets Live Sports Betting
The live sports betting interface at Hollywoodbets is something to behold. Make sure you go to their new desktop site to see all that’s on offer. Their match tracker lets you know what’s happening in the game while you place live bets on markets like Match Winner, Totals and more. You can also use handy features like cash out on your bets.
- See our Hollywoodbets review for more
BET.co.za Live Sports Betting
With their massive range of markets on soccer and cricket, live sports betting at BET.co.za is hard to beat. For soccer punters, Power Bets give you an even better way to play live by predicting a goal to be scored within a period of your choice. The later the goal, the more you can win!
- See our Bet.co.za review for more
Gbets Live Sports Betting
Gbets is one of the few South African online bookmakers where you can bet on live esports like Counterstrike Global Offensive. The Gbets live betting interface is easy to use and the Quick Bet function can help you get your money down almost instantly.
- See our Gbets review for more
How to Place a Live Sports Bet
- Click “Live”, “Live Sports”, “In-Play” or “Live Betting” to view sports matches which are underway.
- Choose your sport, league and bet type from the navigation bar and drop-down menus.
- Select an outcome from the list of live matches.
- Your bet will be added to your betslip where the market, current odds and match score will be shown.
- Odds are updated constantly, so your bet will expire if you don’t enter your stake and place it quickly.
- If your bet expires, the system will prompt you with the new odds before confirming your bet. Make sure you’re happy with the updated odds before clicking “Place Bet”.
Know the rules for Live betting
All online bookmakers in South Africa aim to ensure all odds displayed on their site are accurate, but mistakes can happen. If incorrect odds are given for any reason, they reserve the right to cancel all bets on that game or market. The same rule applies when a bet is placed after the outcome is already known and the punter gains an unfair advantage.
With Live Sports Betting the chances of bookmaker errors are increased, so be aware of that. A good rule of thumb is don’t take a bet where the odds seem too good to be true. Even if you win, you probably won’t get paid out the money and your betting account might even be closed by the bookmaker. It’s just not worth it! If you aren’t sure about any betting rules, always ready the site’s terms and conditions.
Do you bet on live sports? We’d love to know which sports and South African bookies are your favourites. Tell us in the comments below.
