SCA ruling closes the loophole on casino-style bets at sports betting sites
A Supreme Court of Appeal ruling found it unlawful under South Africa's provincial gambling acts for sports betting operators to offer casino-style games, such as roulette or blackjack, disguised as fixed-odds contingencies.
This directly affects South African players using sportsbook brands that also run a casino-style section, since it is exactly the sportsbook-with-casino-section model this ruling targets.
What the ruling changed
An October 2025 Supreme Court of Appeal ruling clarified that, under South Africa's provincial gambling acts, it is unlawful for sports betting operators to offer casino-style games, such as roulette or blackjack, disguised as fixed-odds contingencies. The National Gambling Board followed up in early 2026 with formal notices to Provincial Licensing Authorities directing them to act against the use of Remote Gambling Servers for unauthorised casino-style games at licensed bookmakers.
In practice, this affects exactly the kind of SA-licensed sportsbook-with-casino-section brands listed on this site; see our methodology for how we flag that distinction.