How we pick and review sites
How OCB chooses which betting sites to cover, what goes into a review, how we sum up what players say, and the test we'll add next.
On this page
Every site on OCB goes through the same steps before it appears, and every fact carries the date we checked it. Here’s how it works.
1. The licence comes first
We only cover sites licensed by a South African provincial gambling board. We take the company, board and licence number from the site, then find them on the National Gambling Board’s verified operators list or the board’s own list. Searching the licence number or company, rather than the brand, matters, because they’re often different. The review shows the date we checked.
2. What’s on offer
We go through each site’s menus and lobbies and record what it lists: the game types, the studios, the extras. Where a site doesn’t publish something, such as a total game count, we show it as [slot] rather than guess.
3. The offers, in rands
We read the terms of each welcome offer and note what you get, what you bet first, which games count, the time limit and any cap on winnings. Then we work it through on a real deposit, because “15x” means nothing until it’s “R1,500 on slots”. Offers change often, so each one shows the date we read it.
4. Getting paid
Deposit methods and minimums, withdrawal routes, minimums and fees, and the payout speed each site states. We quote the site’s figure as the site’s figure, until our own test gives us a timed one.
5. What players say
This is the part most comparison sites skip. For each site we read its public reviews and ratings and sum them up. The rules we follow:
- Named, public sources only: HelloPeter, Trustpilot, app stores and other public forums, each with the score, the number of reviews and the date we read it.
- Themes, not individuals. We paraphrase what keeps coming up. We don’t name reviewers or quote private groups.
- Praise and grumbles, every time. We report both, whoever the site is.
- No one-off claims as fact. A single dramatic review isn’t a finding. Recurring themes are.
- Context on the scores. Some platforms let companies invite happy customers; complaint sites draw people with problems. We say which is which.
- Re-checked regularly. Scores carry the date we read them and are refreshed at least every 90 days.
6. Our own test, coming next
We’ll open an account at each site with our own money and record five things, each with the date:
- Sign-up and FICA: what was asked for, and how long approval took.
- First deposit: the method, and how quickly it landed.
- Welcome bonus: whether it credited as the terms describe.
- Withdrawal: from request to money received.
- Support: the channel, and the time to a useful answer.
Each review shows “OCB test coming soon” until its results are in. Star ratings come with the test, never before.
What we won’t do
No offshore sites, whatever they offer.
No paid positions. Our tables are A to Z, and “best for” labels come from facts.
No invented figures. A number we haven’t found shows as a [slot].
No operator sign-off. Sites can correct a fact; they can’t approve a review or remove a complaint.
How often it’s redone
Offers are re-checked at least every two weeks, banking terms and licences at least monthly, and player scores at least every 90 days. Every figure shows the date it was last checked.