When mobile betting first arrived in South Africa, navigating your way around betting sites was difficult—the user experience was clunky and unintuitive. Then everything changed.
With the big price drop in data and mobile technology to consumers from around 2010, many more people gained access to smartphones. With the rapid growth of mobile users in South Africa, many businesses, including betting companies started building their websites and software for easier access from smartphones.
Today, we use our phones for everything from news and social media to banking, and of course, the convenience of placing mobile bets too. With betting companies now continuously innovating to deliver a better mobile experience, punters have more betting options than ever and the user experience has been completely transformed.
This article will help you learn more about mobile betting apps, types of mobile betting, mobile betting features and how to download our favourite mobile betting apps.
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What is a Mobile Betting App?
The easiest way to think of a mobile betting app is as an extension of any bookmaker’s website. It gives you access to the same sports matches and markets, Betgames and live games they offer, all conveniently accessible from your phone or tablet. Using a mobile betting app, you can deposit money, place bets, follow live games and withdraw your winnings all from the palm of your hand.
Mobile Apps, Mobisites & Desktop Sites Explained
Depending on which bookmaker you use, there are often three ways you can place bets on your smartphone. Many bookies have a mobisite you can visit, which is a simplified version of their desktop site but easier to navigate on your phone. The second way and best way to place a mobile bet is to use a mobile betting app. Designed especially for smartphones and tablets, mobile betting apps offer the best possible user experience.
Then, some bookies only offer a desktop site which can be very difficult, if not impossible to navigate on your phone. We won’t call them out here, but please guys, if you’re one of these bookies, upgrade your offering to at least include a mobisite, it’s 2020!
Why Should I Bet with a Mobile App?
There are three main benefits of betting on a mobile app. Firstly, some mobile apps make betting faster because navigation is often simpler than on desktop sites. Secondly, having a mobile betting app allows you to place bets wherever you have a signal, whether you’re in a sports bar, taking a walk or on public transport. Thirdly, using a mobile app makes betting on sports in-play much easier and more convenient.
How do I Place a Bet Using a Mobile App?
The process for placing a wager on a mobile betting app is usually very similar to using any bookmaker’s desktop site.
Step 1: Open the mobile betting app and log in to your account
Step 2: Tap on the sport you want to bet on
Step 3: Tap on the game you want to bet on
Step 4: Navigate to the site’s betslip
Step 5: Enter your stake and tap ‘Submit’ or Place Bet’
Why is In-play Betting Easier on a Mobile App?
One of the biggest advantages of using a mobile app is how much easier it is to place live bets. When you are betting in-play, the faster you can get your money down the better. Mobile betting apps make it easier to navigate from one menu to the next, so you can find your selections and add them to your bet slip faster than when sitting in front of a computer. Even on mobile, all bookies enforce a short delay of 2-3 seconds before your in-play bet is accepted, but using a mobile app means you’re ready to hit the ‘Submit’ button faster!
Mobile Betting App Features
The great thing about using a mobile app for betting is that most give you access to all the handy features you have on the desktop site from your phone or tablet. This means that all your favourite sports betting markets, as well as features like in-play betting, price boosts, cash out, best odds guaranteed and more are available.
Which Mobile Betting Apps Offer a Welcome Bonus?
If you haven’t already claimed your welcome bonus, most bookies offer a 100% match on your first deposit up to a certain amount. We recommend opening accounts with all bookies that offer these sign-up bonuses so you can claim as much free money as you can! Find out more about the awesome deposit bonuses available here.
Some bookies also offer a free bet for first-time mobile app users but there are no offers around that we know of at the moment.
What Types of Bets Can I Make on a Mobile App?
The world is truly your oyster when betting using a mobile app. As many punters now bet almost exclusively on their smartphones and tablets, bookies are creating mobile apps with every feature of the desktop site built-in. This means there usually aren’t any compromises to make when using a mobile app. Whether you want to bet on sport, Betgames, Lucky Numbers or live casino games, mobile apps give you the freedom to bet on whatever you like from wherever you are.
Mobile Betting Apps & Odds
Thankfully, to make things easier, the betting odds you get on a bookmaker’s desktop site are the same as what you will find on their mobile app. So the answer to the question of which mobile betting app gives you the best odds depends on which bookie you use.
Why We Love the Betway Mobile App
The Betway experience we know and love integrates seamlessly onto their mobile app. Not only is there an extensive list of sports and betting markets available, but punters also have access to features like cash out and their bet boost and money back promotions. Basically, if you can do it on the desktop site, you can do it on the Betway mobile app too.
Fans of Betgames and Lucky Numbers will also be pleased because on the Betway mobile app you can play all of these too. The Betway mobile app uses less bandwidth and loads even faster than the website, which is hard to imagine. You can also use the mobile app to set up handy notifications about upcoming games and promotions. Like on the Betway desktop site, the minimum stake for all mobile bets is R1 to help you get on more of the action!
Download the Betway mobile app here.
Why We Love the Sportingbet Mobile App
One of the very first bookies in South Africa to introduce a mobile app, the Sportingbet product is extremely user-friendly and easy on your mobile device’s storage space. You can find it all here. From a staggering collection of sporting events and exotic markets, to Betgames and live casino games like Dreamcatcher or Monopoly, there is something for everyone on the Sportingbet mobile app.
The Sportingbet mobile app is a pleasure to use and always very reliable and responsive. We have used it in all kinds of environments and love its functionality which is closely modeled on the desktop site with an incredible selection of in-play sporting action to choose from. Like on the Sportingbet desktop site, the minimum stake for all mobile bets is R1.
How to Download the Sportingbet Mobile App
Step 1: Open the Google Play Store/Apple App Store on your Android phone/iPhone
Step 2: Search ‘Sportingbet’ and tap the ‘Install’ button
Step 3: Go to your phone’s security settings and tick ‘Allow Unknown Applications’
Step 4: Once the installation process is complete, open the app to start betting
What is the Best Mobile Sports Betting App?
With new bookmakers entering the South African market all the time, there is a growing number of mobile betting apps too. Assessing them and deciding which is the best isn’t easy because a lot of them are very good and it mainly comes down to personal preference. There are however some apps we like to use more than others because we have found them to be fast, reliable and easy to use.
Are you looking to find the best sports betting apps to bet on the go? You’ve come to the right place! We’ve listed all the best betting apps in South Africa, as well as how to download and install them. There are several different apps available to South Africans on both Android and IOS. Usually you need to install these yourself as they have no play store coverage, but don’t let that bother you as the process is very simple. We’ll be explaining how to each bookmakers app.
More on bookies mobile apps
Betway App
Before you click Download, you need to follow a few easy steps:
Please note that the Betway Mobile App can only be downloaded through this page. Read ‘How to Download’ before downloading
- Visit the Betway site
- Go to the Settings icon on your Android device
- Tap on Security
- Under Device Administration, tick the box next to Allow Unknown Sources
- A box will appear – tap OK and then come back to this webpage
- • Click on the “Download the Android App” banner at the top of this page
- A box will appear – tap OK and the app will start downloading automatically
- Pull down from the top of your screen to view notifications (this will show you the progress of the download)
- Once the app has been downloaded, click Install
- Once installed, click Open and sign up or log in
Downloading the app on your iPhone
If you have an iPhone and want to download the Betway Mobile app, all you have to do is click here. Once done, you’ll be redirected to the iTunes Store where you will be able to download the app onto your iPhone. Logging in can be done with your existing username and password.
Hollywoodbets App
Hollywoodbets don’t have a dedicated IOS or Android app at the moment. However they have built their mobile site to resemble the same experience as being on an app. It’s pretty good too, you can visit the Hollywoodbets mobile site here.
Sportingbet App
Sportingbet App Android
The Sportingbet App for Android is not available on the google play store, in order to use the app you’ll need to register a Sportingbet account, which you can do here. Once you’ve created an account you can download the Sportingbet App to your phone from here.
Simply download and then run the Sportingbet App APK, login and you’re all set to bet on your mobile.
Sportingbet App IOS
It’s fast and easy to install the Sportingbet App on Apple devices, you simply need to find Sportingbet in the iTunes store and download it. If you are struggling to find the app we’ve linked it here for you.
Playa bets App
How to download the Playa Bets Android App
Below are Instructions for downloading and installing the app:
- Allow installing applications outside the Google play store: Settings > Security > Unknown sources > Allow > OK
- Click at “Download Application” above and click OK
- In notification drop down menu, select APK file
- Click Install
How to download the Playa Bets iPhone App
Below are Instructions for downloading and installing the app:
- Open the Apple App store on your iPhone or iPad.
- Search for Playa Bets
- Click on the “GET” button
- The app will start to download.
We’ll be adding more Sports Betting Apps from South Africa when more bookmakers launch their apps. Let us know in the comments which app you use the most.