Low Deposit Casinos South Africa: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know

We believe that online casino gaming should be enjoyable even on a shoestring budget. Far too often, we see casinos claim that gambling should be done for entertainment purposes only. But then, ironically, the same casinos force their members to pay hefty minimum deposits in order to claim bonuses or even play at their casinos. 

Not everyone can cough up upwards of R300 for a few hours of online casino gaming. There is a growing demand within the international online casino market for min deposit casino and the South African market is no exception. 

Are you looking for a casino with a low deposit? Well, look no further because you’ve just stumbled upon a wealth of information and recommendations when it comes to online casinos minimum deposit.  

In this guide, we’re giving South African players a list of thoroughly verified SA-friendly low deposit casino recommendations. In fact, we even walk you through our testing and review process so you understand exactly what you get when you sign up at one of our recommended low deposit casinos. We’re also going to discuss the various factors we take into account when reviewing a casino, the different types of low deposit casinos and address some of the frequently asked questions about low deposit online casinos.

How We Review Low & Minimum Deposit Casinos

  • Game Selection: Even though we have curated this list of recommendations mainly based on low minimum deposits, there are several other make or break factors that we have promptly tested and verified as well. One such factor is that of game selection. The reason most players sign up with online casinos is for the games. The games should be the primary value offering and when you play at one of our recommended online casinos you can rest assured that they have a well-endowed game library. 

These casinos are home to hundreds if not thousands of casino games across various categories like video slots, classic slots, fruit machines, progressive jackpots, roulette games, blackjack games, video poker, and baccarat games.  Many of them even offer live dealer games where you can play with a human dealer through the use of high-definition video streaming brought to you in real time. At our SA friendly minimum deposit casinos, you’ll find games from top notch game providers such as Microgaming, NetEnt, BetSoft, Playtech, Play’n GO, and several other leading vendors. 

  • Casino Bonuses: Aside from the fact that you can play real money games from the comfort of your own home at any time you wish, what is also appealing are the bonuses and promotions that come along with it. The online casino industry is known for offering lucrative bonuses and our low minimum deposit casinos are no different. In fact, not only will you find some hefty bonuses at these casinos, but you will also not be bogged down by restrictive terms and conditions. 

We’ve verified the bonuses by claiming them first hand and we’ve also gone through the bonus terms and conditions with a fine-toothed comb to separate the chaff from the wheat. At these min deposit casinos, you’ll find tons of casino bonuses, which include welcome bonuses for new members, reload bonuses, free bonus coupon codes, free spins, cashback offers, tournaments with leader-boards, and even rewarding loyalty clubs. 

  • Payment Methods: It is very important for an online casino to support a sufficient range when it comes to payment methods, be it deposit methods or ways to cash out winnings. Being real money games, you need to be able to move real money in and out of your casino cashier account in a safe and secure manner. Furthermore, South African players will prefer to use South African Rands for these transactions and that is exactly what you will get with our recommended low deposit casinos online.

A few of our recommendations take banking to another level and future proof it by supporting cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoins, Ethereum and other alt coins. Usually, South African players will be able to make deposits using credit cards, debit cards, e – wallets, bank transfers and even EasyEFT. The casinos we’ve recommended process deposits instantly. When it comes to withdrawals, players will find multiple withdrawal options as well. However, withdrawals usually take more time to be processed than deposits. 

  • Licenses and Certifications: It is a deal breaker for us if an online casino is not forthcoming with their licensing information. We consider this a huge red flag because if a casino does not hold a valid license, then it is basically not a regulated casino and signing up with such a casino is like opening a can of worms. 

If an online casino is licensed by an approved and recognized online gambling licensing authority, there is no reason for them not to publish the license number and other details transparently. Before we recommend an online casino, we take all necessary measures to ensure the casino is licensed and we indecently verify the license validity with the issuer. 

  • Security and Fairness: The web is home to several high quality online casinos, but unfortunately, a few dark corners of the web are also cesspools of unscrupulous and frivolous online casinos. For the untrained eye, it is hard to distinguish the two apart. We’ve done the research and verification for you and when you game at our recommended casinos, you can rest assured you are in safe hands.
  • The casinos we recommend use SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption which means that all of your data is encoded in a way that anyone who is not the intended recipient of the data will not be able to read it. The games at these casinos are driven by a random number generator and this is an algorithm which ensures game results are truly random and hence fair. 

Deposit Amounts

  • R15 Deposit Casinos: These are online casinos that accept players from South Africa and the minimum deposit accepted is as low as R15. So, you can play slots and table games by just depositing R15. 
  • R75 Deposit Casinos: R75 as a minimum deposit might seem high when compared to the R15 minimum deposit casinos, but take the larger picture into account and it is still a relatively low ask for a minimum deposit. A lot of our recommended casinos accept this range as their minimum deposit. 
  • R150 Deposit Casinos: R150 minimum deposit casinos are not something we can classify as a low minimum deposit casino. This is more or less the average minimum deposit you’ll find at international casinos which also cater to South African players. 
  • R300 Deposit Casinos: Online casinos that ask for R300 as the minimum deposit are usually casinos that are better suited for the high rollers and conservative players looking for low deposit casinos would do well to steer clear of such casinos. 

Types of  Minimum Deposit Casino Bonuses 

No Deposit Casino Bonus: Low Wagering

There are different types of low deposit casino bonuses and one of them is the no deposit casino bonus with low wagering. This is basically an online casino that has low or zero wagering requirements. To avoid the exploitation of online casino bonuses, casinos require a player to deposit and wager (playthrough) through a certain amount of money.

For example, 35x wagering requirement for a R100 bonus will mean that you need to deposit and playthrough R3500 before you can withdraw the R100 bonus cash. However, some online casinos now have really low wagering requirements like 5x or 10x or sometimes even zero in order to attract players. 

A no deposit casino bonus is when you sign up at a casino and you automatically receive a bonus even though you haven’t even made a deposit yet.

Minimum Deposit Casino Bonus

This is the most common type of low deposit casino you’ll come across. Such a casino is also called small deposit online casino. Here, the minimum deposit accepted is really low. You can make a first deposit as little as R10 or R15 and you’ll still qualify for the first deposit bonus. Players who are conservative and want to play online casino games for smaller stakes will find these casinos to be perfect for their requirements. 

Free Spins

Free spins are a type of casino bonus offer where an online casino gives you a certain number of free spins on particular slot games. This could be a single slot game or a group of slot games. Using these free spins, you can play the slot games and spin the reels for as many times as the number of free spins you have. By using free spins, you don’t actually have to put any of your own money on the line. Playing with free spins is not only risk free, but if you win, you will still win real money just like you would if you had played with your own money. Some of our recommended low deposit online casinos will reward you with free spins when sign up or after you’ve made your first deposit. 

Games at Low Deposit Casinos 

Low deposit casinos may accept small amounts of money as deposits, but this does not mean that the quality of the casino and the games and services they offer is compromised in anyway. You will generally find a full-fledged game library at low deposit casinos, just like you would at any other traditional online casino. 

At the casino’s that we’ve listed as recommendations for South African players, you will be able to play a variety of games such as slots, table and card games, jackpots, specialty games and live dealer games as well. Being low deposit casinos, the minimum stake of many of these are really low which allows you to continue playing with tiny amounts of money and make low deposits to top up as required.

 Casino Payment Methods Available for Players from South Africa 

Most popular ZAR Payment Method

The low deposit online casinos we’ve recommended will offer players a good range of options when it comes to payment methods. However, one of the most popular payment options for SA players is Paysafecard and we are happy to report that nearly the recommended casinos offer this option. Paysafecard is a simple prepaid card.

You can buy the card at a number of retail shops, outlets and marts and top up the card with a certain amount of money by paying the vendor in cash or through other means. Once the card is funded, you can use the card for online payments. It is a particularly good solution for online casino payments since it can even encourage responsible gambling by setting a hard limit.

PayPal Low Deposit Casino: PayPal needs no introduction. It is one of the world’s most popular payment wallets available on PCs and on mobiles as an app. It is easy to use, secure and a vast majority of online merchants, including online casinos, will accept payments through PayPal. PayPal has a very low minimum transaction amount and is thus well suited for players looking to play at low deposit casinos. 

EasyEFT: EasyEFT is a highly popular banking method in South Africa. Millions of South Africans already use it and low deposit casinos which cater to South African players make sure to support this payment option. In principle, EasyEFT payments work simply by allowing the user to send money from their bank account directly to another bank account without the need for bank cards. It is secure and much quicker than writing a check.

EasyEFT is specifically designed for South Africans and has been seamlessly integrated into all of the major South African Banks. If you have a South African bank account, EasyEFT is going to be available to you.

Pros
  • Play with a shoestring budget
  • Almost the same odds of winning big
  • Losses are easier on the pocket
  • Less risk of gambling addiction since there is lesser risk of chasing losses
  • Play the whole range of casino games
  • Pay with mobile wallets, crypto currencies and a multitude of other payment systems
  • Claim bonuses even with small deposits
Cons
  • Challenging to make mathematically profitable betting strategies for games like Craps and Baccarat
  • Most online casinos won’t accept very small deposits yet (but you can always turn to our recommendations)

These terms can be used interchangeably in the online casino industry and they usually refer to the same thing – casinos where you can make deposits of very small amounts.

Not to be confused with ‘no minimum deposit casino’, which is a casino where there is no minimum deposit limit at all. 

A low deposit casino is essentially an online casino where the minimum deposit amount accepted is very low. 

Generally, an online casino where you can make deposits of as little as R5, R10 or R15 are considered low deposit casinos.

This is the smallest amount you can deposit to claim a casino’s bonus.

Yes, in this guide, we focus on South African players. All of the online casinos that we have recommended are casinos that cater to South African players and you should be able to bank and play using South African Rands at most, if not all of these casinos. 

Just because a casino is a minimum deposit casino, it does not mean it is going to be 100% safe. This really varies from one casino to another and there are a lot of factors to consider such as their licensing details, privacy policy, cookie policy, cybersecurity standards, whether or not they use encryption, etc.

We’ve already checked all of these at the casino we recommend and this is why we urge our readers to stick to these verified casinos. When you sign up with one of the casinos listed in this guide, you can rest assured that you and your sensitive data are in safe hands. 

Yes, there are several bonuses offered at minimum deposit casinos. Apart from the welcome bonus, you can also expect free spins, cashback offers, tournaments and reload bonuses.

Yes. Even though you are playing with free money, any winnings are real money winnings which are added to your bonus balance.

In order to convert bonus balance to real balance and withdraw it, you may have to satisfy the wagering requirements that vary from casino to casino. Some casinos have zero wagering requirements. 

There are several advantages to claiming a no deposit casino bonus. Firstly, you get to play and win real money without actually risking a single penny of your own.

Secondly, you get a real feel for the casino and how everything works so you can decide if it’s the right casino for you before you invest money into it. Last but not least, playing real money games for free is just as fun and exciting as playing with money on the line.

Melissa Kruger

Technical Manager & Copywriter at PlayCasino.co.za