Best Online Bitcoin Casinos in South Africa
Bitcoin casinos may have had a murky name in the past, but that’s all ancient history now. Blockchain technology is here to stay.
Top Online Bitcoin Casinos in South Africa - December 2024
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Benefits and Drawbacks
One of the key benefits of using a bitcoin casino is bonuses. Casinos can not react to real-time changes of the digital currency’s valuation. So, if there’s an offer for 0.1BTC at the time they publish the deal, its value could increase by 10%, 50%, or even double in a tiny amount of time.
When you leave your funds in a bitcoin casino, they aren’t just sitting there dormant like fiat funds. Instead, they act as an investment. You could leave BTC in your account worth R 100 and, when you log in a month later, it could be worth R 200 or more.
Of course, this is a drawback and a benefit. Bitcoin fluctuates wildly, but it can go in both directions. So, using the same example as before, that R 100 of BTC you leave in your account could drop to R 90, R 75, R 50, or even lower. This, of course, is under the presumption that you’re aiming to trade your BTC for Dollars in the future.
Bitcoin Casino Bonuses
There are certain payment methods which are excluded by casinos offering bonuses. But even though bitcoin seems like the type of payment which casinos could take out of any bonus scheme, it’s not; we’ve found countless bitcoin bonuses. Most times, casinos will offer you exclusive casino bonuses when using bitcoin or other cryptos.
Usually, if you’re using a bitcoin-friendly casino, most bonuses there will be accessible through bitcoin deposits. But this isn’t a one-size-fits-all rule, so make sure you check the individual T&Cs for each promo before you try to claim it.
Bitcoin vs Fiat Money
Bitcoin is becoming an increasingly viable option for those of you who want a wholly digital currency, and the number of bitcoin casinos in South Africa is a testament to the appetite players have for this. But fiat money—or real money, to most of us—has merits which bitcoin doesn’t. So, which option makes the most sense?
Bitcoin exists entirely online, as numbers on a screen. You can create as many free bitcoin wallets as you need, and it only takes a minute to make one. There’s no uploading of passports or rifling through last month’s post for a utility bill.
You can get exclusive offers at selected casinos when you deposit with bitcoin, and the money you leave in your account could increase in value. Of course, it could just as easily (and quickly) lose value.
Fiat covers all other types of payment that we’re used to, with currencies like GBP, USD, EUR and so on. The key benefits of fiat over bitcoin are that it’s accepted everywhere, and that it’s much more stable. Without meaning to go full moon boy, we could debate the merits of inflation, government impact on costs and so on—but the main thing is that, if you leave R 100 in your account as fiat, it will not change much if you have a month away from the slots.
Our guide for using Bitcoin Casinos in South Africa
For a lot of payment methods, the process for opening an account or making a deposit is similar. But not with bitcoin casinos. If you’re new to crypto, you certainly need to tread carefully and make sure you don’t expose your private keys to anyone. If you’re used to crypto, but this is your first time using a bitcoin casino, you probably already know the main bits and pieces.
Whichever category you fall into, our guide to bitcoin casino payments will sort you out. Here’s what you need to know:
How To Open a Bitcoin Account
If you’re completely new to crypto, we’d recommend reading up extensively about what bitcoin is and how it works, just so that you feel more comfortable. But once you’re up to speed, it’s not that tricky.
Find a trusted website which allows you to create a bitcoin wallet. Exodus is a popular choice for people who are just starting out. Creating a wallet requires very little information. You won’t even need to provide a name or address. What you will receive is a private key, which is a way to unlock your wallet—and you should never share it with anyone. You’ll also receive a seed phrase, which is a backup, in case you ever lose access to your wallet. Write this down on a piece of paper (don’t email it to yourself), as this could prove vital at a later stage.
How To Deposit
Once you’ve got your wallet, you’re ready to play at bitcoin casinos, right? Wrong! You need to add some funds now, and that requires an additional step.
The best way to add funds to your bitcoin wallet is through an exchange. Join a popular crypto exchange like Binance, or its up-and-coming sister site Mandala (MDX). Sign up and then upload funds via bank transfer, debit card, or whatever floats your boat.
Your funds will usually land quickly unless there’s a significant event in crypto which is clogging up the blockchain. Once your funds arrive, you can trade them for bitcoin using a market such as BTC-GBP. Next, go to your exchange balance and send the funds to your personal wallet. This then needs to be confirmed on the blockchain, which usually takes a matter of minutes.
After that, you’re ready to deposit and play at a bitcoin casino!
How To Withdraw
When it’s time to withdraw your bitcoin casino winnings, it’s a very similar process to depositing.
You can visit the cashier of the casino and click ‘Withdraw’, then select ‘Bitcoin’ to begin the process. The funds will land in your personal wallet. But, because you can’t cash out BTC to your bank, you need to switch it back to fiat first.
Send your coins from your personal wallet to your crypto exchange and do the opposite of the trade you made earlier, switching BTC for GBP. Depending on the exchange you’re using, you’ll usually be able to cash out straight to your bank directly from there.
If your exchange doesn’t allow you to cash out, you may need to send your funds back to your personal wallet again, and then to an exchange that allows bank transfers. Note that you shouldn’t send funds directly from one exchange to another; always go via your own personal wallet, to keep an obvious trail in case funds go missing.
This, again, is under the assumption you want to withdraw in fiat funds. If you’re looking to keep your cash in crypto, you can disregard the last couple of steps, which would speed things up a lot.
Payment Timeframes
Bitcoin casino payments can slow to a snail’s pace. In the past, payments took days to process. This is usually the result of a massive number of people all using the network at the same time. For example, if the market suddenly crashes.
However, with each passing year, the blockchain has expanded and become more reliable. This means that systems handle payment times at bitcoin casinos in minutes.
Fees and Costs
There are ‘gas’ fees attached to every transaction on the bitcoin blockchain, but they’re small enough that you’ll barely notice them (unless the network is exceptionally busy). It is then up to the casino whether they want to add a charge for using bitcoin. Seeing as most bitcoin casinos want you to use this method, there are usually no hidden fees.
Conclusion
Online casinos and bitcoin were born to be together. Instead of a physical blackjack table with a wad of notes in your pocket, you can play at a digital table with digital currency to dig into. All online, all at your fingertips, all instant.
Many of the perceived worries about bitcoin casinos have evaporated in recent years, and there are plenty of established sites which you should use if you’re in the market for a crypto casino.
Frequently Asked Questions
Bitcoin casinos follow the same rules and regulations as any other online casino, which means it’s equally safe playing with bitcoin as it is fiat. Just make sure your chosen bitcoin casino has a valid gambling license.
You shouldn’t try to upload funds straight from a crypto exchange to a bitcoin casino. If something goes wrong, you’ll struggle to trace your funds. Instead, move your BTC from the exchange to a personal wallet, then the casino.
Many casinos with bitcoin as a payment method will allow you to claim a bonus when using it, such as a bitcoin first deposit bonus for new players. You’ll find suggested bitcoin casinos on this page.
Choosing the best bitcoin casino has just as many variables as any other online casino, which means there’s no single best bitcoin casino. However, we’ve recommended our top picks in our bitcoin casino guide.
You cannot buy bitcoin directly from a bitcoin casino; they’d need a crypto currency exchange license to allow that. Instead, you buy your coins at an exchange and transfer them to your chosen bitcoin casino.