Punter profile is an opportunity for South African punters to voice their thoughts and experiences with sports betting in South Africa. For each profile we ask sports bettors a set of questions relating to why they bet, their most memorable bets and more.
In this Punter Profile we speak to Lebogang, a punter that hails from Pretoria, and his story is one of the most detailed and interesting punter profiles we’ve had to date, we’re sure that there are many punters out there who can relate to some of the experiences Lebogang describes below.
How long have you betting for?
I started betting in 2018 but it was on and off. I would just register on a sports betting site so that I can get the free sign up sports bonus or double deposit bonus for the first deposit and then leave. But on 01 May 2019 things changed I started taking betting seriously. I remember because LFC was playing Barca in the 1st leg UCL semis. From there I was hooked. I remember I started joining forums and groups to discuss possible outcomes for matches. If I do not have a voucher I would feel sick to my stomach.
Why do you bet?
I started betting for the thrill of it, I would bet with anything under R5 and as soon as I realized that if I wage high I could make serious money and possibly get rid of some of my debts then I started taking it to another level. Especially after the Covid pandemic broke out. I was fortunate enough to still have a job, but people around me lost their jobs, and I felt that I needed to help out where possible, hence I started chasing that big million rand payout.
What is your favorite sport to bet on and why?
Honestly speaking I bet on everything from soccer, numbers, basketball, rugby, cricket, UFC and F1 even Live Games at times. But since there are a lot of soccer matches, I guess I bet soccer most because it is possible to predict the outcome of each game. If I am a bit uncertain I can go for bookings, corners or goals. So, the market it provides is wide enough to cater for my confidence and uncertainty. That’s why I like it.
Tell us about your most memorable bet or biggest win / loss?
For my most memorable bet, there are two that stand out: in the second leg of the UCL semis LFC was hosting Barca and I said LFC would win and Ajax to beat Tottenham. I staked R250 for those two games and LFC gave me goosebumps by winning, and Ajax was playing on Wednesday I remember very well, because that night I went to bed at halftime and Ajax had a 2-goal lead and I was adamant that I had won.
In the morning when I woke up I kept on refreshing my web browser thinking that, I have network issues or Hollywoodbets didn’t update their servers or results. Little did I know that Lucas Moura happened. (Spurs ended up winning 3-2 thanks to a Moura hattrick) I was so sad and angry. I kept on thinking that if Hollywoodbets had a cash out button I would have maybe taken the cash out for R2K after the LFC game.
Little did I know that the cash out button would come back and haunt me in 2020, around April, when few leagues in Belarus & Japan opened midst the Corona pandemic. I remember I played a 22 multibet slip at 866/1 with bets consisting of overs and unders on Sportingbet. The first game started on Thursday and the last one was to be played on Sunday night. On Saturday evening I decided to check my slip and I realized that it was 90th min and the score was level at 1-1 and I needed over 2.5.
When I tried to recheck 10 min later I realized that one of the teams scored at 95 min. I thought to myself this is a sign from God. Maybe I should cash out my R466 I mean I only bet with R25 and they were only 14 games left. Little did I know that all of them would win and the sad thing about Sportingbet, is that even if you cash out they still show the outcome of the next games. That Sunday I was so sick I even went on their Twitter page to vent. I am a reformed man now who no longer believes in cash out.
Which betting sites do you use and why?
I started with Hollywoodbets, went to BetExchange, then to Bet.co.za eventually I stumbled across Betway and I fell in love with the interface of the website. The idea that I could get a cash out offer while certain games are pending was very appealing.
The fact that I could also give my friend a code so that he can play my selection as it is without having to manually select. The quick response of their online chat platform. They didn’t send me from pillar to post when I had to make my withdrawals.
What would you do to improve online betting?
For Hollywoodbets I would create a share bet button, it makes things easier when sharing bets with friends and on social media. BetExchange: they should stop cheating people. Their platform is designed in a way that if you make a selection, I do not know how they do it but the can change it, for example I included New Zealand VS Pakistan(1 day INT) on my multi bet and I said NZ will win some how they twisted it and when I confirmed my booking I didn’t notice and because of this I lost out on a R20K plus payout and when I confronted them they couldn’t care less, hence I never placed a bet on their platform ever since.
For Betway I wish they can improve their EFT to instant. With Hollywoodbets within 2 hours your withdrawal will be in your account, but at Betway you have to wait at times 72 hours, that sucks big time. Bet.co.za should just close shop, the less said about them the better.
Thank you for an amazing read Lebogang! We’d love to have shared Lebogang’s profile picture but he requested that no images of him be shared, as his family do not know he is into sports betting. Which we entirely respect.