The Most Popular Sports to Wager On in South Africa

South Africa has a variety of sports that stoke up a lot of passion in its people - and the country takes immense pride in its impressive sporting heritage…especially after it lifted the international sporting ban that persisted for decades.

While South Africans certainly like to head over to sites such as casinos.com, there is even more passion for putting their money on their favourite sports teams and players.

When you try to pin down what is actually the biggest sport in any country, many answers might arise. However, in South Africa, there is no doubt that the following list certainly covers the most popular options for sports betting.

Rugby

Arguably, the most popular and beloved of all sports in South Africa is rugby, which has more than 430,000 players registered.

In 1995, South Africa hosted its very first major international sporting event - the Rugby World Cup, where the National Team defied the odds - but embodied the country's indomitable spirit to claim victory.

One of the nation's most iconic images is that of Nelson Mandela presenting the Webb Ellis Cup to rugby captain Francois Pienaar.

They are no strangers to victory either. In fact, in total, the Springboks have lifted the trophy four times - more than any other country and one ahead of the other great rugby nation, New Zealand. It is no wonder this sport has the heart of the South African people.

Football

Football (soccer) is another one of South Africa's most beloved sports - having attracted over 2 million players - and many more fans.

Both Bafana Bafana and the Premier Soccer League attract massive audiences and have the ability to evoke real national pride despite a history of segregation lasting a century.

The country's hosting of the 2010 World Cup really boosted football's popularity in the country, and since the end of apartheid, South Africa has taken part in three World Cups, including hosting the 2010 tournament.

It has also played an important role as a founding member of the Confederation of African Football, hosting the Africa Cup of Nations twice and lifting the title in 1996.

Cricket

In 2012, the South African National Cricket Team, The Proteas, earned the distinction of becoming the first team to earn the number-one ranking in all three cricket formats in the world.

Although they have earned a reputation for being 'chokers' and not being able to advance beyond the semi-finals in major cricket tournaments like the Cricket World Cup, ICC World T20, or ICC Champions Trophy, the sport remains incredibly popular in South Africa.

The game is particularly popular within English-speaking communities, Afrikaans-speaking whites, and the Asian/Muslim communities.

Golf

If you're looking for the world's best golf courses, you'll find many of them are located in South Africa, and indeed, the world-class quality of these courses is one of the main reasons it is such a popular sport in the country.

Indeed, golf holds a major position as one of the nation's most successful individual sports, with the country making a big impact on the sport during the 1950s and 1960s, thanks in the main, to Bobby Locke.

Locke won the British Open four times within nine years and gave South Africa a name on the international stage. Gary Player further solidified the country's presence in the sport during the 1970s, earning him the nickname "The Black Knight" as he joined the exclusive group of five players who managed to win all four majors in their careers.

Other notable South African golfers, including Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Trevor Immelman, Charl Schwartzel, and Louis Oosthuizen, have also won major titles.

Cycling

Perhaps not the most obvious sport you might consider when thinking of popular South African sports, but cycling is becoming very popular in the country. The nation now hosts two of the biggest individually-timed cycling events in the world - including the Cape Town Cycle Tour, which regularly boasts over 35,000.

South Africa has also seen its fair share of success on the international cycling scene, with Johannesburg-born Robert Hunter making history in 2007 as the first South African to claim a stage victory in the Tour de France and Daryl Impey continuing this success by wearing the esteemed yellow jersey as the tour leader in 2013.

Other Popular Sports

These are just some of the sports that are massive in the country, but there are plenty of others that attract a lot of attention. Horse racing has a longstanding tradition in South Africa and is a popular sport for betting enthusiasts with prestigious events like the Durban July and the Summer Cup.

Athletics, particularly events like the Comrades Marathon and various track and field competitions, also attract plenty of attention. Major tennis tournaments, Formula 1, combat sports such as MMA and boxing and US sports such as basketball are also starting to gain a lot of traction.

Sports and sports betting in South Africa extends way beyond these categories. This is a country that loves sports - and is pretty great at it, too.