Playa Bets Expert Review: New Betting Platform, Is It Safe?
Playa Bets had already been in business for nearly a quarter of a century when it launched its online sports betting site in 2014. Established in 1990, Playa Bets is an online bookmaker that is licensed and regulated in several African countries, including South Africa and Kenya.
In this Playa Bets betting review, our experts will take you on a full tour of the sportsbook’s site. We will show you everything Playa Bets gets right alongside those areas that could use some improvement. When you reach the end, you’ll have more than enough information to decide whether Playa Bets is the next sports betting site for you.
Playa Bets Key Features
Live Streaming
Mobile App
Deposit Bonus
24/7 Support
Ongoing Promotions
Esports Betting
Partial Cash Out
Bet Builder
Casino Games
Live Casino Games
Poker
VIP ProgramOur experts were pretty happy with the variety of features at Playa Bets. The sportsbook offers all of the standard features you’d expect, like Bet Builder, Cash Out, and profit boosts. One of the most interesting features is Multibet Moneyback. If you wager on a parlay with 7 or more legs and it misses by one, you will receive up to 1,000x your stake back. Of course, earning 5% weekly cashback makes those cold streaks a little less painful.
Playa Bets features a pretty solid live betting vertical that covers an above-average selection of sports and small-market leagues. Expect to find plenty of live betting opportunities no matter what time it is. Then there are the pre-match menus, which offer odds on almost any type of bet you can think of. An MLB menu typically serves up over 100 betting options, while a major football match can offer over 3,000 options
A Comprehensive Playa Bets Review of Bonus Offers
When our experts were working on the Playa Bets sportsbook review, the bookmaker was offering each new customer one of two welcome bonuses. The first is a risk-free up to R1,000 that you can use on your first wager on a Euro 2024 selection with even odds or greater. If your stake loses, Playa Bets will refund the stake amount up to R1,000.
Your second option is a risk-free bet on your first wager on the Durban July Main Race. If you bet a minimum of R50 on a Durban July Main Race selection with odds of 2.00 or greater and it loses, Playa Bets will return your stake up to R1,000.
With both of these offers, the refund you receive must be wagered three times on any live or pre-match betting market with even or greater odds. As you may gather from the time-limited nature of these welcome bonuses, Playa Bets frequently changes its welcome offers.
Extensive Guide to Playa Bets Sports Betting Markets
Playa Bets’ betting menu is well-rounded in terms of sports coverage. When we conducted this Playa Bets sportsbook review, 30 different sports were being offered. They are:
| Soccer | Basketball | Tennis | Cricket | Rugby |
| American Football | Aussie Rules | Baseball | Boxing | Darts |
| Field Hockey | Formula 1 | Futsal | Golf | Cycling |
| Athletics | Handball | Motorcycle Racing | Ice Hockey | MMA |
| Snooker | Table Tennis | Volleyball | Water Polo | Biathlon |
| Cross Country | Swimming | Surfing | Horse Racing |
Mobile Expreince
It’s important to consider what real users and other experts have to say. This is why our experts visited sites like Trustpilot and Reddit as they conducted this PlayaBets.com review. These platforms allow customers to praise or pan online bookmakers. Let’s look at a few of the comments.
● “Their services are fully licensed, meaning they strictly follow all the required rules, providing a safe environment for their users.”
● “Navigation is effortless, and it can all be done from within the menu so you do not have to load several pages before arriving at the event you want.”
● “Playa Bets is a great betting site if you’re a sports or eSports bettor, especially since all the incentives they have can only be claimed on their sportsbook. If a casino is more your speed, the site does have games for you, but you won’t be able to get any bonuses while you’re playing.”
● “Playabets is the most pathetic sports betting platform in SA and probably the world. They have betting rules on their website but they don’t stick to their own rules. Example. I placed a bet in baseball. The game was interrupted and finished the next day.”
● “Waiting in live chat que for over 30mins yet says im number 1 in que. No assistance at all Then why offer live chat of nobody is attending to the chats.”
Our review team also often checks existing user ratings on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. However, since Playa Bets doesn’t yet feature an iOS app, and its Android app is not offered on the Google Play Store, there were no existing Playa Bet reviews to assess.
Customer Support
When our Playa Bets bet review team contacted the Playa Bets customer support representatives, we had a very positive experience. The agents were polite, professional, and ultimately helpful. The sportsbook offers support by live chat, the telephone, WhatsApp, or email. Customer service is even available 24/7. However, It would be helpful if Playa Bets added an FAQ section for do-it-yourselfers.
| Phone | +27 0788001018 |
| [email protected] | |
| Social Media | @playabetssa |
Deposit & Withdrawal Options at Playa Bets (Updated 2024)
Playa Bets doesn’t support the most extensive range of payment options, but it offers most of the standard South African-friendly options, including credit cards, debit cards, Instant ETF, and online banking. You can instantly deposit as little as 20 rand. You will also need to complete the FICA process if you want to deposit more than R25,000.
Speaking of FICA, you must complete the verification process before withdrawing funds. Also, Playa Bets can only process your first withdrawal into your bank account. After that, you can choose another option. Playa Bets usually processes withdrawals within 48 hours.
One thing we haven’t mentioned yet is that Playa Bets operates land-based betting shops that can quickly process your deposits and withdrawals, although the most you can withdraw from a Playa Bets retail outlet is 10,000 rand. You can check out the table below for more details.
Payment Methods
| Payment Provider | Fee | Process Time | Minimum Deposit | Deposit | Withdrawal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | No | Instant | R20 | ||
 | No | Instant | R20 | ||
 | No | Instant | R20 | ||
 | No | Instant | R20 | ||
 | No | Instant | N/A |
Currencies
| Symbol | Name | Code |
|---|---|---|
| R | South African Rand | ZAR |
| /- | Kenyan Shillings | KES |
Playa Bets Sportsbook Review: Pros and Cons
Pros
An established brand with 30+ years of experience
Licensed in multiple countries, including Kenya and South Africa
Attractive welcome bonus and existing user promotions
Great betting features like Bet Builder, profit boosts, and Multibet Moneyback
Impressive football betting menus
Top-notch customer support via live chat, the telephone, and WhatsApp
Cons
Lack of live-streaming
Odds margins for major events get quite high beyond moneylines, spreads, and totals
High odds margins outside of mainstream sports leagues
Step-by-Step Guide to Playa Bets Registration
Let’s start this Playa Bets Sportsbook review by showing you how easy it is to open a new account and get started. You can sign up from your desktop, the HTML5-optimized mobile browser site, or the dedicated Playa Bets app. Playa Bets only has an Android app, but the site states that the iOS version should be released later in 2024.
Once you arrive at the Playa Bets sportsbook lobby, just follow these simple steps.
- 1
Hit the “Join” button at the top-right corner of the screen. This will launch the registration form.
- 2
Enter your mobile number, email address, and full name. Create a strong password and enter any Playa Bets promo code you’d like to use. Remember to agree to the terms and conditions.
- 3
Submit the form. You will immediately receive a verification code via SMS. Enter that code into the provided field and smash the “Activate Account” button.
- 4
Congratulations! You now have an active Playa Bets account.
You should know that you will also be required to verify your age and identity, as per rules under FICA (the Financial Intelligence Centre Act of 2001) and its regulators, like the KZN Gaming & Betting Board. You do this by uploading documents that verify your identity, like your passport or driver’s license, along with your proof of address, such as a recent utility bill or bank statement. If you don’t do this, you won’t be able to withdraw.
Live Betting on Playa Bets: Wager on Games as They Happen
Live betting has become immensely popular over the past several years. This exciting feature allows sports bettors to place wagers while a game is in progress. Because matches are always progressing, the live odds are continually changing, which means you need to act fast when a favourable live wager appears. The overall live betting experience at Playa Bets is pretty good, but it would be far better if the sports betting site offered live streaming.
When you open a betting menu at Playa Bets, you will see all of the most popular bet types, like moneylines, totals, and spreads.
However, you will also have plenty of other betting options at your disposal like:
| Alternative spreads | Alternative totals | Half-time, quarter, period, and inning betting |
| Exact score | Winning margin | Next team to score |
| When will the next goal be scored? | Will the game go into extra time? | 1X2 & Double Chance |
While the typical Playa Bets betting menu offers fewer options than a pre-match menu, it will still cover a vast array of different and interesting betting options.
Playa Bets Review: Exploring Security Measures
Playa Bets is as secure as an online sportsbook can be. The site uses the latest SSL encryption technology, which protects all communication with the site. Any data that Playa Bets retains is stored on encrypted databases that are further protected by firewalls, while all supported payment methods comply with PCI DSS protocols.
Review Conclusion
This Playa Bets review confirms that Playa Bets is a safe and legitimate South African betting operator that is licensed and regulated. You can be confident that the sportsbook will treat you right and keep your private information secure. Playa Bets offers a generous welcome bonus along with several key betting features like Cash Out, Bet Builder, Multibet Bonus, and more. Furthermore, the variety of sports and betting markets compares to most big bookmakers.
We feel that this site is best suited for novices who want to learn the ropes. The site offers competitive odds, but savvy bettors who shop for the best prices will likely find better odds at one of our other top South African bookmakers. If you want to learn more about this established bookmaker, check out some of the links on this page and head to the sportsbook today!
Promote Responsible Betting
Playa Bets keeps you safe by providing you with an array of safe gambling tools. You can go into your account profile and set weekly or monthly deposit limits. These can help prevent overspending. You can also take a temporary time out or self-exclude if you need a break. Playa Bets provides customers with contact information for gambling support networks like the National Responsible Gambling Program. If you want help with keeping your gambling safe, Playa Bets has the tools.
FAQs
Yes. Playa Bets is licensed in multiple countries, including Kenya and South Africa. It uses many modern security tools like SSL encryption and firewalls to keep you and your information secure.
In Playa Bets’ terms and conditions, the sportsbook states that the website is not intended for use in countries where gambling is illegal. It is your responsibility to know and comply with the laws of the jurisdiction you are in, and Playa Bets Sportsbook does not assume any responsibility under any law outside of South Africa.
In other words, the sportsbook is telling you that it doesn’t have country restrictions. However, you need a South African mobile number to sign up, which makes it nearly impossible for bettors from other countries to make real money wagers at Playa Bets – even those with a VPN.