The Portapa Ruling: What It Means for SA Betting Players
On 21 October 2025 the Supreme Court of Appeal handed down a judgment that goes to the heart of how South African bookmakers offer slot-style games and Aviator. Nearly a year later, those games are still available at many licensed bookmakers — but their legal footing is contested, and the outcome could change what you see in your betting app. Here is what happened, where things stand, and what it means for you as a player.
The short version: sports betting is not affected. The games section of your bookmaker might be.
Background: betting on contingencies
Online casino is illegal in South Africa under the National Gambling Act 2004. Yet most licensed bookmakers offer games that look a lot like slots, along with crash games and live number games. How?
The answer is betting on contingencies. A bookmaker licence allows fixed-odds bets on the outcome of events and contingencies — traditionally sport and racing, but in principle any uncertain outcome. Bookmakers, with the approval of some provincial boards, have offered slot-style games on that basis: you are not "playing a slot machine", you are placing a fixed-odds bet on the outcome of a random event produced by a game.
The Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board, which licenses many of the large online bookmakers, has regulated this model for years. Casino operators have long argued that it is online casino by another name, and that it takes business from land-based casinos that paid heavily for their licences.
The judgment: Portapa v CASA (21 October 2025)
The case, Portapa v Casino Association of South Africa, came from Gauteng. The Casino Association of South Africa (CASA), representing casino operators, challenged a licensed bookmaking company's offering of casino-type games as contingency bets. The dispute turned on what the Gauteng gambling law permits a bookmaker to offer.
The Supreme Court of Appeal found that such casino-type contingency bets were unlawful under the Gauteng act. In plain terms: a bookmaker licence under that law does not stretch to offering what are, in substance, casino games.
For context, the licensed operator of Supabets, one of the bookmakers we list, is recorded in our data as Portapa 2 (Pty) Ltd. The Supabets review carries the current details.
The National Gambling Board directive
After the judgment, the National Gambling Board asked all provincial regulators to stop authorising betting on contingencies of this kind. The NGB oversees the national system, but it does not issue bookmaker licences and cannot by itself rewrite a provincial act. Its directive is a strong signal about the national regulator's reading of the law, rather than a switch that turns the games off.
The dispute: does it apply outside Gauteng?
This is where it gets contested. The Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board and a number of bookmakers take the position that:
- the judgment interpreted the Gauteng act, and each province has its own gambling law;
- licences issued under the Western Cape's law, and the conditions attached to them, remain valid until changed by that province or by a court dealing with that law;
- the NGB directive does not, on its own, override a provincial board's licensing decisions.
Casino interests and the NGB see it differently, arguing that the court's reasoning about what a bookmaker is doesn't stop at a provincial border. Until a court rules on another province's law, or legislation settles the matter, both readings are being argued.
That is why, as of our last update, slot-style games and Aviator remain available at many licensed bookmakers.
What could change for slot-style games
Nobody knows the final outcome, but these are the realistic possibilities:
| Scenario | What it would mean for players |
|---|---|
| The status quo holds outside Gauteng | Games stay available at bookmakers licensed in provinces that continue to authorise them. |
| Provinces follow the NGB directive | Boards stop authorising contingency games; bookmakers remove or restrict slot-style games and possibly Aviator. |
| Another court case extends the ruling | A judgment on another province's law could have the same effect there. |
| New legislation | The National Gambling Amendment Bill, or a revived Remote Gambling Bill, could either ban these games clearly or bring online gaming into a licensed framework. Neither has been enacted. |
Changes could be sudden, and they could differ by bookmaker depending on which board licenses it. You can see each bookmaker's board on its review, and in our table of licensing boards.
What it means for you right now
- Sports betting is unaffected. Fixed-odds bets on football, rugby, cricket and racing with a licensed bookmaker are clearly within a bookmaker licence.
- Lucky Numbers bets on international draws are a separate product and were not the subject of this case, though any wider regulatory change could touch them too.
- Do not leave large balances in an account because of a particular game. If a game is withdrawn, you should still be able to withdraw your balance, but there is no reason to keep more there than you plan to use.
- Bonuses tied to games — free spins in particular — could change or be replaced. Use them within their expiry and read the terms.
- Do not move to offshore sites. If games disappear from licensed bookmakers, offshore casinos will advertise heavily. They are illegal in South Africa and give you no protection if they refuse to pay. Our guide to checking a betting licence shows how to tell the difference.
How we are handling it on this site
Our rating method scores each bookmaker's games offering as it currently is. If a regulator forces a bookmaker to remove games, we update that review and its games score, and the overall ranking changes with it. We also flag on the betting games pages that the legal basis for these games is disputed.
We will update this post when there is a further court ruling, a board decision or new legislation.
Summary
- 21 October 2025: the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled casino-type contingency bets unlawful under the Gauteng act.
- The National Gambling Board asked all provinces to stop authorising them.
- The Western Cape board and bookmakers dispute that the ruling applies outside Gauteng.
- Slot-style games remain available at many licensed bookmakers for now, but could change.
- Sports betting is not affected.
Whatever happens to the law, the basics do not change: bet only with licensed bookmakers, only with money you can afford to lose, and only if you are 18 or older. If gambling is causing harm, the NRGP helpline is free and confidential on 0800 006 008.
More on this topic: Rules.
About Mzansi Betting Sites. We are an independent comparison site. We are not owned by a bookmaker, we don't write reviews to order, and we have no connection to any operator with a similar name. Scores use six criteria with fixed weights — the full method is on how we rate.
Responsible gambling. 18+ only. Winners know when to stop. If betting stops being fun, use the limits and self-exclusion tools at your bookmaker or call the National Responsible Gambling Programme — free and confidential — on 0800 006 008. More on our responsible gambling page.
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