Top online casinos 2022
We thought this year was never going to end. The Online Casino Review team had flashbacks of 2020, fear of new lockdowns, the dread of yet another new variant on its way, and the wholesale cancellation of flights to anywhere meaning we were stuck right here at our desk (at home, thankfully, so we were at least surrounded by the things that give us comfort).
But it was not all doom and gloom. As the festive season drew closer, so our spirits lifted and – when those dreaded new rules attached to the new Omicron BS variant never materialised – we were able to really start looking forward to the final year end bashes.
Not that the bashes are going to be anything like the legendary “What do you mean the bar’s sold out?” antics of 2018. Or the “Does anyone know what hotel we’re staying in?” confusion of 2019. This year will likely see a far more subdued and intimate seeing out of the year, and a far more personal seeing in the new year.
And that’s just fine! Because what we are really looking forward to is the new offerings that should be hitting our online gambling world come January. With a new year comes a host of new online and mobile casinos, and a bunch of new and exciting games! Right?
Maybe not
While we have certainly been spoilt for choice over the last two years, the massive rush to open up new online casinos seems to have abated just a bit.
And some of those new operators seem to have already fallen by the wayside.
It’s to be expected. When everyone was stuck at home with nothing to do, the appetite for online gambling hit a huge boom. Now that the restrictions have eased somewhat, players are finding that they have discovered those online casinos that really suit South African players and are going to stick with them.
Which is GOOD news for South African online gamblers
Yes, it was super exciting to see all those shiny new online casinos offering all our favourite online casino games. No, some of those operators just weren’t offering the best.
The OCR team tried out a bunch of new online casino for South Africans and, while some of them were very good, none of them were quite set up to be as welcoming as the online casinos that we already put high on our list of favourite destinations for games of chance.
In fact, our top picks going into 2022 reflect the professionalism and experience of those online casinos who have been perfecting their offering to be welcoming, open, and tailored to South Africans.
A last note…
Before we get into our chosen online casinos for 2022, we must point out that our choices are specifically made for South African online gamblers and online casino game fans. We do a very in-depth and personal investigation into each casino, from their licensing to the game offering, from their banking options to their reputation around the web.
We strive to find those gambling partners who offer entertainment, safety, and security for all our readers and fellow games of chance aficionados. And, of course, online casinos that allow us to gamble in ZAR.
Jackpot.co.za
Jackpot.co.za continue to surprise and delight the OCR team. While they hit the scene with a colourful bank this year, they have just gone from strength to strength.
Already offering a choice variety of premium online casino games – and a rather substantial number of them – they really upped the ante by going the whole no wagering requirements route.
You read that right: NO WAGERING REQUIREMENTS!
Jackpot.co.za are the first South Africa focussed online casino to bring in bonuses that don’t have wagering requirements. There are, obviously, still terms and conditions attached to the promos, but the dropping of the wagering requirements really got our attention – it’s the one thing in the online casino world that is continually abused both by players and by casinos. And we’re glad to see them going.
Jackpot.co.za details:
Website: www.jackpot.co.za
License: Curacao
Games: 1,000+. Slots, table games, Live Dealer.
Games providers: various including Betsoft, Blueprint, BGaming, Booming Games, Caleta, Fugaso, Kalamba, NetEnt, No Limit, One Touch, Oryx, Play’n GO, Playson, Spinomenal, Super Spade, Tom Horn, Wazdan, and more.
Live Dealer: Yes
Mobile: Yes
Bonuses: Welcome bonus, cashbacks, Jackpot Happy Hour, Free Spins, weekly and monthly promos.
Tournaments: Yes, regularly!
Loyalty programme: Yes
VIP programme: Yes
PlayLive
It was always going to be a tough choice between PlayLive and Jackpot.co.za for the top spot. Both of these online casinos feature an insane number and variety of games, an easy to navigate platform, top-end security, and trusted and secure banking options. What pushed us to go with Jackpot.co.za was, ultimately, the no wagering requirements innovation.
But make no mistake, when it comes to bringing the power of the international online casino biz to our devices, PlayLive is no slouch. Often billed as SA’s largest online casino, and a pioneer in bringing Live dealer games to our shores, PlayLive is packed with games from premium providers, offers a classy and sophisticated portal, and has more tournaments on the go than a Pokémon convention.
PlayLive are also pioneers in bring same-day payouts to South African online players which is always a bonus when we want to get some of our cash back after a gaming session.
PlayLive is an award-winning online casino having brought home the Global Gaming Awards Best Online Casino in South Africa trophy last year.
PlayLive details:
Website: www.playlive.co.za
License: Curacao
Games: 1,300+. Slots, table games, Live Dealer.
Games providers: various including Betsoft, Blueprint, BGaming, Booming Games, Caleta, Fugaso, Indi Games, Kalamba, NetEnt, No Limit, One Touch, Oryx, Play’n GO, Playson, Pocket Games Soft, Revolver, Spinomenal, Spribe, Super Spade, Tom Horn, Wazdan, and more.
Live Dealer: Yes
Mobile: Yes
Bonuses: Welcome bonus, deposit bonuses, cashbacks, cash drops, weekly and monthly promos.
Tournaments: Yes
Loyalty programme: Yes
VIP programme: Yes
Casino.com
Casino.com is an internationally recognised name in the online gambling industry. Owned by global giants Mansion Europe Holdings Ltd, Casino.com has been around for over two decades and their experience certainly shows.
The games portfolio is impressive with most of the games being provided by industry greats Playtech, although there are a number of other providers on board as well. The experience of twenty-odd years in the running of an online and mobile casino certainly makes the registration and log in process simple, but it’s the actual navigation and usability of the casino.com site that is truly impressive.
What makes Casino.com stand out, especially for South African online gamblers, is the range of progressive jackpots – with the top ones regularly hitting the R6 million+ mark! While Microgaming is listed as a provider, the really BIG Mega Moolah jackpots are not playable for Saffers – a policy from Microgaming which cuts us out of the legal playing of any of their games at any online casino.
However, the choices that are available to us are more than enough to let us forget the slight from the world’s original and most famous online casino games provider. Casino.com also features a sports betting (live and virtual) portal.
One of the biggest pluses on the online casino side is the number of licenses that Casino.com holds in an effort to bring online gambling to as wide an audience as possible. Casino.com currently has licenses from at least three internationally recognised authorities, and if that isn’t enough to convince you of their legitimacy, then the fact that they are consistently lauded for their customer service should tell you how serious they are about bringing gaming to the people.
Casino.com details:
Website: www.casino.com
License: Gibraltar, UK, Italy
Games: Posted as 300+ but there really seem to be many, many more than that.
Slots, table games, Live Dealer, sports betting.
Games providers: The main provider is Playtech but there are others as well including BTG, NetEnt, IGT, Play’n GO, and more.
Live Dealer: Yes
Mobile: Yes
Bonuses: Welcome bonus, deposit bonuses, Drop & Wins, Gold Card Happy Hour, weekly and monthly promos.
Tournaments: Yes
Loyalty programme: Yes
VIP programme: Yes
TuskCasino
TuskCasino is a newcomer to our shores having opened its virtual doors in 2020 but it’s making waves already. The biggest ‘big deal’ from TuskCasino is the sheer number of games on offer – they claim in excess of 4,000 games are available to South African online gamblers!
Apart from the volume of games the site is well structured, and they seem to put a lot of emphasis on making getting around the thousands of games as easy as possible. Which is a huge relief because the choices can be overwhelming. There are games here that the OCR team have never even heard of (Double Ball Roulette is one example). And they have a comprehensive list of different guides and tips to help newer players, so you can see that they are doing their bit to educate and help.
We are keeping a very close eye on TuskCasino and are looking forward to seeing what they do in 2022 to move them up our rankings.
TuskCasino details:
Website: www.tuskcasino.com
License: Curacao
Games: 4,000+.
Slots, table games, Live Dealer, sports betting.
Games providers: so many – including various including Betsoft, BTG, evoplay, Softbet, Amatic, Iron Dog, Quickspin, Wazdan, Thunderkick, NetEnt, Spinomenal, Booming Games, Evolution, Red Tiger, Yggdrasil, and many, many more.
Live Dealer: Yes
Mobile: Yes
Bonuses: Welcome bonus, Reload bonus, refer-a-friend, weekly and monthly promos.
Tournaments: Yes
Loyalty programme: Yes
VIP programme: Yes
Springbok Casino
We have to include a South African-themed online casino in our list for 2022 just because we are very interested to see where this particular online casino is going to be heading.
Springbok Casino is one of the egte Seffrican offerings (although owned and operated by a non-SA company) that has become a benchmark for the online casino industry in the Rainbow Nation. Unapologetically South African, it’s green and gold dominated theme is recognisable to any South African gambler and its option of gambling in Afrikaans shows that this is a casino that is definitely operating with our audience top of mind.
However …
With the number of truly premium online casinos that are now welcoming south African online gamblers and the South African rand, we expect (and hope) that Springbok Casino will rise to the challenge in 2022. Competition is fierce and we are rooting for one of our own to start showing the innovations that are apparent in some of the more international casinos. Things like Live Dealer games, and maybe a few more providers, would go a fair way to elevating springbok Casino.
Springbok Casino details:
Website: www.springbokcasino.co.za
License: Curacao
Games: 300+. Slots, table games.
Games providers: Realtime Gaming
Live Dealer: No
Mobile: Yes
Bonuses: Welcome bonus, deposit bonus, test bonus, cashbacks, Lucky 7, comps, weekly and monthly promos.
Tournaments: Yes,
Loyalty programme: Yes
VIP programme: Yes
One thing we are sure about for 2022
While we cannot predict what will happen on the pandemic, economic, climate change, political, etc fronts, we can predict that 2022 is going to bring us even more thrills from our favourite online and mobile casinos.
New games, new casinos, new jackpots, new friends – it’s all steam ahead for the online casino industry and for south African online gamblers!
Play safe. Play responsibly. Play for fun.
