Complete review of Hollywoodbets: the titan of Africa

Before learning how to win bets on soccer and other sports at Hollywoodbets, let’s review everything that awaits you at this great bookie!

Being insanely popular across South Africa, this online bookmaker operates internationally, most notably in the United Kingdom and Ireland. There are many promotions, with a welcome offer among them. The bookie provides soccer and about 25 other sports alongside numerous bet games. However, apart from soccer, horse racing and cricket, odds are scarce and not that high. One can cash out Hollywoodbets tickets when the option is available.

You can place a live bet during a match and a prematch one too. Notably, there is an old website version and a new site: the former one is ultra lite and optimized for feature phones and bad internet connections, while the latter one is modern and created for computers.

In this Hollywoodbets review, Takebet Zimbabwe has researched all of it: you’ll get to know how to register an account, discover the payout limits, learn to bet on soccer and win, understand how to withdraw money from Hollywoodbets and the ways to deposit funds. We cover claiming bonus offers and promos, using betting codes, downloading their mobile app and much more!

General overview: who owns company and more

Hollywoodbets is a sports betting company originating from South Africa. According to trustworthy Hollywoodbets reviews of the past, its history began in 1986: as a small company named Winning Form, it handled selling horse racing cards to South African customers.

Back in 2000, the company entered the still young South African sportsbook industry with business operations in Durban. In 2006, the company got online with the launch of their sports betting website for those asking to play online at Hollywoodbets from home.

The owner of Hollywoodbets is currently an international corporation named Hollywood Group. It includes at least 10 companies across South Africa, the United Kingdom and Ireland as well as Mozambique with over 5,000 employees.

This is by far the biggest bookmaker in South Africa. The Hollywoodbets net worth clearly equals billions of South African rands, which translates to hundreds of millions of US dollars. The chief operating officer of the bookie is Suren Rampersadh. Its headquarters are still in Durban, South Africa.

The Hollywoodbets official website is www.hollywoodbets.net for South African sports betting enthusiasts, with www.hollywoodbets.co.uk for the UK, www.hollywoodbets.ie for Ireland and www.hollywoodbets.co.ke for Kenya.

How reputable is the sportsbook?

There are around hundred Hollywoodbets shops under a few gaming licenses issued by authorities in Gauteng, Eastern Cape, Western Cape, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal. The company owns a legit sports betting site in South Africa, which operates online under control of the local National Gambling Board along with the Financial Intelligence Centre of South Africa. The firm participates in the National Responsible Gambling Programme.

As for the UK operations of the company, it is licensed and controlled by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UK GC) under account number 53028. In Ireland, it holds a license under the number 1014845 from the Irish Revenue Commissioner in the Irish National Licence Excise Office.

The official office of the Hollywoodbets International Limited is situated at Clinch's House, Lord Street, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM99 1RZ — 131803C.

In 2018, at the Gambling Industry Awards held in South Africa, Hollywoodbets was awarded prizes for the Best Sports Betting Campaign, Best CEO and Best Employer.

In 2019, Holly woodbets became a sponsor of the Phaka rugby show on Supersport. They also help cricket teams that are in need of the support and equipment. For example, this betting company created a partnership with Kingsmead Cricket Ground planned until August 2024.

In 2019, former South African Champion, horse racing jockey Anthony Delpech, joined Hollywoodbets as a brand ambassador alongside former cricketer Mike Procter.

These are the basics you need to know about Hollywoodbets before you register!

Register account online: steps marked out for Hollywoodbets

When wondering about playing at Hollywoodbets, sign up is where you start. Their online registration form is overly difficult compared to international bookmakers, but it is mostly influenced by South African government requirements faced by all legit sports betting sites here.

Here is how to proceed with Hollywoodbets account registration:

1. Enter the betting site or complete your Hollywoodbets app download.
2. Tap on the REGISTER button. The form will appear. Fill out the fields with your full name, gender and title, ID number or passport details, mobile phone, email and full home address. State the source of your income too — it’s mandatory.
3. Submit the form after opting in to their T&C, confirming you are over 18 years of age and acknowledging that you understand the withdrawal policy of this bookmaker.
4. To activate the account, enter the 4-digit code received in the SMS.

Once it’s done, you will get an email with a link you can use to log in at any time.

Login to sportsbook: Hollywoodbets access for online customers

Right after a bettor registers with the bookmaker, an online access opens up. To log in to Hollywoodbets sportsbook is very easy.

Follow these steps to complete your Hollywoodbets account login:

1. Access the website of the bookie in your country.
2. Tap on the login button in the top section of the site. On the old desktop version in South Africa, there is a login form in the top right corner of a page.
3. Provide your username and password.
4. Tap LOGIN to access your account.

FICA verification of account owner

In order to completely activate Hollywoodbets account, you will need to provide FICA documents that include a copy of your identity papers, such as an ID document or a passport, as well as a proof of address. The latter can be a utility bill, a statement of a retail account or an ordinary bank statement from the last three months with your address and your name on it.

While researching, we’ve found three different ways to verify your Hollywoodbets registration.

Self-service online

You can upload FICA documents on the website to activate an account online.

Here is how you use FICA self-service:

1. Tap on UPLOAD FICA.
2. Enter the identification code of your betting account and cell phone number.
3. Select and upload your preferred ID document and a proof of address papers.
4. Tap on SUBMIT.

Make sure all documents are readable. Thus you will ensure the quickest possible verification.

Email verification

Make a scan or a photocopy of your documents and send them by email to fica@hollywoodbets.net. Your details should be successfully approved within 1-3 business days.

FICA drop off

You can submit FICA documents offline in South Africa by finding the nearest Hollywoodbets betting shop. There is a list of bet shops on the official website of the bookie: it is there to help customers who wonder how to bet on sports not online, but offline — by choosing the right spot to place a wager. Use it to select a branch where you can submit your FICA papers.

Old and new Hollywoodbets promotions tried and covered

We’ll guide you now through Hollywoodbets bonus terms and conditions as well as the most interesting old and new promotions and betting offers that this website showcases.

Apart from a welcome offer, there are numerous Hollywoodbets bonus offers for existing players to choose from and time-limited promotional Hollywoodbets jackpots and punter challenges.

Welcome offer: R25 upon registration

After completing your registration online for a betting account, you’ll automatically use a welcome bonus offer granted for your sign up and thus get a 25 ZAR Hollywoodbets free bet.

This is a no deposit promotion that has a 24 hours validity period. During the said period, you need to go through their wagering requirements and bet your 25 ZAR once on any game with the odds of 5/10 (0.50 South African Decimal; 1.50 Standard Decimal) or greater.

In the UK and Ireland, there is a welcome offer too, though a deposit one: you can receive a free bet of 5 GBP/EUR four times, but only after you bet 10 GBP/EUR in cash.

There is no way to withdraw these bonuses, but any winnings can be paid out.

Soccer accumulator money back (x10)

Are you wondering how to win soccer bets at Hollywoodbets even when losing, and multiplying your stake up to 10 times along the way? Sounds crazy, but that’s possible here!

You get this bonus when you lose on the last selection in a soccer multiple bet. Acca should contain only three-way 90 minute outcomes, such as 1x2 (win draw win) predictions.

The refund will depend on your stake, number of selections and odds on your bet slip:

1. Double your refunded stake if you place an accumulator of 8+ selections with odds greater than 5/1 (5.00 South African Decimal; 6.00 Standard Decimal) — with a maximum cashback of 1,000 ZAR on Hollywoodbets.
2. Multiply your refunded amount by five times when there are 11+ selections with odds greater than 10/1 (10.00 South African Decimal; 11.00 Standard Decimal) — with a maximum money back of 2,000 ZAR at Hollywoodbets.
3. Get back 10 times more than you’ve lost if you have 15+ selections with odds greater than 25/1 (25.00 South African Decimal; 26.00 Standard Decimal) — with a maximum cash back of 5,000 ZAR on Hollywoodbets.

Multiple bonus

This betting promotion runs from time to time and lets you get up to a 30% enhancement on the odds of your soccer accumulators. The more legs you have in a multiple bet that you win while playing online at Hollywoodbets, the higher your payout rate will be with the bonus.

Example: you add five selections to your accumulator with odds of 7.50. Since there are five legs, you get a 10% increase on your odds. The result will be 7.50 + 10% = 8.25.

If your stake is 100 ZAR and you win, you will get a payout with 125 ZAR added on top.

For example, the terms and conditions of the Hollywoodbets 15% bonus state that your accumulator must include from 11 to 15 selections in order to get the odds boost.

Refer a friend promotion

Earn one of the Hollywoodbets free vouchers of 50 ZAR for every “successful friend”, who has to register an online account in order to be a new client. To qualify as a “successful friend”, your mate needs to spend at least 75 ZAR on sports betting after he signs up for Hollywoodbets: 25 ZAR worth of the welcome bonus plus 50 ZAR worth of deposited cash.

Stick with our Hollywood bets sportsbook review and follow this step-by-step guide to claim a free voucher:

1. Log in to the betting website and tap on ACCOUNT.
2. Tap on REFER-A-FRIEND.
3. Enter your friend’s South African mobile phone number and tap on SUBMIT.
4. Wait for your friend to place a bet of 75 ZAR minimum to get your free voucher.

Seasonal bonuses on Hollywoodbets

Usually there are one or two seasonal promotions on Hollywoodbets.

The bookie partners with South African retail establishments like SPAR supermarkets or Global Petroleum Garages to offer prizes worth tens of thousands rands in the form of groceries, gas and more. Sometimes there are betting competitions for tipsters in soccer or horse racing.

Check the “Promotions” directory on their website to get info on current promos.

Payment options

The Hollywoodbets sportsbook offers the following banking options for sending money to your account and receiving payouts in South Africa: betting shops, direct and instant bank transfers, credit cards, top up vouchers, Zapper QR codes, CashSpend wallets and mobile money payments provided by Standard Bank, First National Bank, ABSA and Nedbank. Some are available both for deposit and withdrawal, others are used either to send or to receive money.

In the UK, deposit and withdrawal options in Hollywoodbets are Mastercard and Visa debit and virtual cards, Neteller, Skrill, PayPal, Paysafe, Rapid Transfer, Neosurf, Hollywoodbets TopUp Vouchers, Pay By Mobile, Astropay. The minimum deposit equals 5 GBP, the maximum deposit equals 5,000 GBP and the minimum withdrawal equals 10 GBP for the United Kingdom.

In the Republic of Ireland, deposit and withdrawal options are done via Mastercard and Visa alongside Neteller, Skrill, PayPal, Paysafe, Rapid Transfer and Astropay. The minimum deposit is 5 EUR, the maximum one is 5,000 EUR and the minimum withdrawal is 10 EUR for Ireland.

Let’s make you acquainted with all the options of deposit and withdrawal in South Africa!

Currencies accepted

In South Africa, you can create your Hollywoodbets account in South African rand (ZAR) only.

In the United Kingdom and Ireland, British pounds and Euro are available, respectively.

Recapping ways to deposit funds to Hollywoodbets

There are few methods of funds deposition at Hollywoodbets in South Africa:

• Betting shops
• Direct EFT (bank transfer)
• Instant EFT (bank transfer)
• Credit/debit cards
• Zapper QR code
• Top up vouchers
• SendSpend wallet
• ATM machines

Funds will be instantly credited to your account regardless of the chosen Hollywoodbets deposit method, except for the direct EFT, which takes from 24 to 48 hours during working days.

Note: no matter the method, if your deposit exceeds 5,000 ZAR, you may need to upload a copy of your ID. If it exceeds 25,000 ZAR, you will be asked to upload proof of your residence.

Direct EFT

One can top up his sports betting account online via Payfast from four selected banking establishments: First National Bank, ABSA, Standard Bank or Nedbank. For this, you will need to use services of the chosen bank while minding the account credentials of the bookmaker.

Below you will find Hollywoodbets banking details for direct EFT deposits.

There are no special minimum and maximum limits for direct EFT deposits at Hollywoodbets.

You can also launch an ATM deposit to your sports betting account: use the same FNB, ABSA, Standard Bank or Nedbank ATMs for this. You’ll need your betting account ID as a reference.

Instant EFT

Deposits with instant EFT are possible with Payfast, Ozow (I-PAY), OWNPAY, Peach Payments and SID from the Hollywoodbets bookmaker. These payment providers may change.

To use instant EFT deposit, a bettor must have access to one of the relevant internet banking services and make use of it to replenish his online sports betting account with Hollywoodbets. Note that any funds will be deposited to your online account only after they are cleared by a payment provider.

Follow the next steps to make an instant EFT deposit to Hollywoodbets:

1. Select “Pay Fast Deposit” in the deposit section of the sportsbook website.
2. Input the desired amount and proceed to Payfast.
3. Write down your email, your first name and surname to continue.
4. Choose a bank.
5. Save the payment details and the unique beneficiary reference number you will get in the next window and make a deposit with your internet banking using these details.
6. Tap on the COMPLETE button under the form after you are done — and that’s it!

Payfast imposes a minimum deposit in Hollywoodbets of 5 ZAR. Another provider SID has installed a maximum deposit amount for Hollywoodbets of 199,999 ZAR. There are no other minimum or maximum limits for instant EFT deposits at this online bookie at the time of writing.

Credit card payment

When it comes to bank cards, Hollywoodbets accepts Mastercard, Visa and American Express payment systems supported by Virtual Card Services, PayU and Peach Payments.

This is how to deposit to Hollywoodbets online account with your banking card:

1. Select “Credit Card” in the deposit section of the betting website.
2. Choose an amount you wish to send to your betting account.
3. Enter your bank details in the “Secure Credit Card Payment” window and tap on PAY.
4. Use the one-time password in the 3-D Secure window to finish the transaction.

Zapper QR code and SendSpend wallet

The Hollywoodbet sportsbook allows QR code payments with the Zapper mobile application.

To pay, you need at least one credit card with a positive balance stored on Zapper. Then you scan a QR code provided by Hollywoodbets and complete the transaction in your Zapper.

Alternatively, you may use SendSpend digital wallet to deposit to Hollywoodbets. For this, you will need to use the SendSpend mobile app with a positive money balance on it.

Top up vouchers

You can purchase fixed-priced vouchers at various South African retailers (e.g. supermarkets or gas stations) and Hollywoodbets betting shops countrywide to top up your account with cash.

Vouchers can be 10 ZAR, 20 ZAR, 50 ZAR, 100 ZAR, 500 ZAR, 1,000 ZAR, and 5,000 ZAR.

Sometimes Hollywoodbets free vouchers are offered as prizes in new promotions by the bookie.

Basically that’s all there is to know about the ways to deposit here!

Withdrawing money out of Hollywoodbets: all options

Takebet Zimbabwe will tell you all you need to know about Hollywoodbets withdrawal terms and conditions.

There are few options of withdrawing funds from Hollywoodbets in South Africa:

• Betting shops
• Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)
• Standard Bank Instant Money
• FNB eWallet
• ABSA Cash Send
• Nedbank Send-iMali
• Nedbank Mobimoney

So first of all, anyone wondering how to withdraw money from Hollywoodbets can visit their betting shop. Due to security considerations, the maximum withdrawal limit at Hollywoodbets is 5,000 ZAR only for bet shops. The bookie asks to use other methods for larger payouts.

Secondly, one can use EFT to transfer large amounts of money to one’s banking account in South Africa. International banking accounts are not supported. There is a Hollywoodbets minimum withdrawal limit for electronic funds transfers which equals 50 ZAR. No maximum is strictly imposed, but you should know that withdrawal times equal 24 hours for EFT payouts.

Finally, one can withdraw from Hollywoodbets with popular mobile money wallets provided by such banking establishments as First National Bank, Standard Bank, ABSA and Nedbank.

There is both a maximum withdrawal amount and a minimum limit on Hollywoodbets for mobile money: the former equals 100 ZAR while the latter equals 3,000 ZAR per day and 25,000 ZAR per month. Withdrawals to Standard Bank Instant Money, ABSA Cash Send, FNB eWallet and Nedbank Mobimoney alongside Send-iMali are possible for South African mobile numbers only.

Once the withdrawal is made, a client receives an SMS with a confirmation PIN.

As per Hollywoodbets withdrawal terms and conditions, any transaction via mobile money may take up to 24 hours and is subject to banking hours (e.g. working hours).

Ins and outs of playing and winning at Hollywoodbets

So how does Hollywoodbets work exactly? The gambling website offers over 25 different sports and a fine selection of over a hundred betting markets in soccer, but quite scarce choosing options in other sports compared to world bookies. There are also many options of placing bets on horse racing events.

Let’s proceed to simple instructions on playing sports bets in soccer, cricket, rugby, tennis, basketball and any other sports. After you register Hollywoodbets account online and send money to your wallet on the betting site, you are all but ready to make your first wager!

Stay tuned to our review and learn how to place a bet on Hollywoodbets:

1. Browse the betting site and choose a sport.
2. Select a country and/or a tournament (e.g. English Premier League).
3. Choose a fixture and tap on MORE to see all the odds.
4. Tap on the odds of your bet and enter a money amount in the bet slip.
5. Tap on SUBMIT.

One of the answers to the question of how to win when playing on Hollywoodbets and make money is accumulator, a bet of many selections with high odds. This bookmaker lets you bet on accumulators (also called multiples). Mind that the higher your payout is, the greater risk you take. If one selection of your accumulator loses, you will lose the whole bet.

Here is how to launch accumulator bets with Hollywoodbets online:

1. Make two or more selections by tapping on the odds.
2. Move to the “Multiple” block on the bet slip and enter the amount.
3. Tap on SUBMIT.

If you use the old website version, you will need to choose a bet and tap on either BET (for a single), or MPLA (for a multiple bet), or YNK (for a yankee). On the new website version, choose if you want to bet on a yankee or other types of multiples from the bet slip.

You can take up to 50 selections in your acca on the Hollywoodbets betting site.

Apart from sports betting, at this bookie you will find the following gambling products:

• Spika Zonke video slots and jackpots
• Live bet games and casino
• Aviator prediction game
• Jika Sports
• Golden Race live games
• Lucky Numbers games

Sometimes there are new Hollywoodbets jackpot promotions with millions of rands in prizes.

These are all the basics of playing at this sportsbook!

Note: don’t forget that thanks to one of the new promotions, you receive up to a 30% odds boost for your accumulator depending on the number of selections in the multiple.

Sports and competitions to gamble on

To understand how to play Hollywoodbets in-depth, first learn all the sports they offer.

There are over 25 sports available on the bookmaker website:

• Soccer (football)
• Horse racing
• Cricket
• Rugby union
• Rugby league
• Basketball
• Tennis
• Ice hockey
• Volleyball
• MMA
• Boxing
• Esports
• American football
• Golf
• Badminton
• Baseball
• Beach volley
• Cycling
• Darts
• Floorball
• Motorsport and more

When getting our Hollywoodbets review ready, we’ve bumped into such big tournaments as the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League, the Premier League, Spanish La Liga Primera, German Bundesliga, Italian Serie A and South African Premier Division.

You will find soccer competitions from over 50 countries, including rare stuff like the England National League (North and South), Spain Amateur, Tanzanian Premier League and more.

In tennis, the Hollywood sports bet site offers gambling on ATP and WTA fixtures as well as Grand Slams. The bookie also covers ITF and Challenger tournaments. And behold! You will even find Simulated Reality Men’s and Women’s Leagues with the same betting options as for real tennis events.

Researching basketball, we’ve found both top and local basketball leagues from more than 25 countries. The list includes tournaments like the NBA, Liga ACB and other top names.

In cricket and rugby union, you will find local tournaments and matches from overseas. Major and many small cricket and rugby events in South Africa, India, Australia, the UK are present here.

Array of betting options

There are around 130 betting markets offered for top soccer matches at this online bookmaker.

The most popular Hollywoodbets soccer betting markets are:

• 1x2
• Draw no bet
• Half time full time
• Halves betting
• Team to score
• Under over goals betting
• European handicaps (3-way)
• Correct scores
• Multi goal betting
• Goalscorers
• Goal intervals
• Statistical prop bets: cards, corners and bookings
• Combined bets and more

This sportsbook also offers bookings to bet on, with fixed numbers ranging from zero up to 12+ yellow cards per soccer match in general. Of course, this number varies from game to game. Nevertheless, this sports betting site has super wide soccer betting options for you to win on.

If you are about tennis, you can make your betting tips on the match or set winner and wager on some tennis correct scores. When it comes to basketball, options are not so diverse as well, with the winner betting, half time full time and quarter outcomes only. Sadly, this betting site misses out on handicaps and over under totals both in tennis and basketball.

In cricket, Hollywoodbets offers betting on the full-time match winner and the outcome including Super Over, who will bat first, the first wicked method, runs at fall of first wicket, the highest opening partnership, the most match sixes, a fifty and a hundred to be scored and more.

In rugby union, one could bet only on the winning team at the time of writing this review.

When playing horse racing on Hollywoodbets, you need to know bet options too:

• SP (on a particular horse runner)
• WIN (on a particular horse runner)
• PLACE (on a particular horse runner)
• Open/Win
• Open/Place
• Exacta
• Trifecta
• Quartet

We want to underline that apart from soccer, horse racing and cricket, options of bets are poor.

Hollywoodbets payouts: maximum limits for soccer and more

There are Hollywoodbets maximum payout limits imposed for all sports betting winnings.

The highest possible potential payout you can get on Hollywoodbets in a day, no matter how much you bet and on which odds, equals 1,500,000 ZAR. However, soccer payouts may be even higher: the limit is as high as 20,000,000 ZAR for a winning accumulator with 25+ selections or more. It also gets bigger for some other accas and Bespoke Bets. There is a maximum payout for separate bets on Hollywoodbets, which is stated in the T&C of the bookie.

Below are Hollywoodbets soccer payouts including a bonus.

Maximum payout limits for horse racing also stand out — find them below.

While betting on any other sports, as well as eSoccer, you’ll get the following Hollywoodbets potential payouts: 50,000 ZAR for singles, 200,000 ZAR for doubles, 300,000 ZAR for trebles, 1,000,000 ZAR for multiples of four to nine legs and 5,000,000 ZAR for accumulators with more selections. Maximum payouts for doubles and trebles are the same as for soccer.

One also needs to understand what is a minimum and maximum stake at Hollywoodbets. The maximum is not specified and is largely dependent on the event — top matches have the highest maximum limits for stakes. The minimum at Hollywoodbets is 1 ZAR.

Live betting platform: our experience

You can enjoy your Hollywoodbets live bets in the in-play section of this bookie. With the help of our review, you’ll find out how to play in live mode and what is on offer at this sportsbook.

Using the old website or the mobisite, find the button “Live In Play” on Hollywoodbets. On the new betting site version, locate the “New Live In Play” button in the website navigation among sports and products. Tap on it to be redirected to the new live bet page of the bookmaker.

Here is how to place a live bet in the in-play section:

1. Choose a live fixture and press on VIEW MARKETS to see all available options.
2. Tap on the odds of the chosen bet to add it to your bet slip.
3. Enter the desired amount of money and tap on PLACE BET.

In the “Live In Play” section, betting markets are mostly the same as in prematch. In soccer, they offer over under goals, team to score, handicaps, combined bets. You can bet on the next goal and the winner of the rest of the match — something absent from prematch.

Speaking about useful features, Hollywoodbets provides a live match tracker for soccer, basketball and tennis. It’s quite similar to stats, where you can see every single detail of the match you wager on. You can figure out scores, timings, cards, ball possession and more!

Exercising cash out option on Hollywoodbets

If you are used to a cashout feature to sell bets back to a bookie, that's possible but restricted.

A cashout feature works for the following wagers on Hollywoodbets:

• Selected accumulators only
• Selected range of betting markets only
• Soccer matches only
• Prematch only

Hollywoodbets cash out meaning is as in any other online sportsbook: one can sell his bet back to the bookmaker before the actual conclusion of the match, with either getting a chunk of the possible winnings or a part of the initial stake, depending on how the odds have changed.

How to cash out on Hollywoodbets:

1. Log in to the betting website and visit the “Recent Bets” section.
2. Tap on the CASH OUT icon near any bet with a cashout available.

You can cash out multiples only if one or more selections have been finished.

Odds quality in soccer and other sports

One can easily find out that Hollywoodbets soccer odds are below average and are even lower for other sports. The margin lying in the odds is around 4-5% for top soccer leagues, which is quite high. It reaches 7-8% even for big markets in less popular tournaments.

Takebet Zimbabwe has reviewed soccer odds margins for the 1x2 betting market in fixtures from both international and local soccer leagues, as well as in tennis and basketball (3-way or 2-way depending on the sport). You’ll get an idea of how much you can win on Hollywoodbets.

Mind that all odds below are South African decimal odds and NOT standard decimal odds.

Hollywoodbets odds explanation

While you can use fractional odds at this online bookmaker, the default format is decimal. And this is where explanation of Hollywoodbets odds is needed: decimal odds at this sportsbook are South African, and these are different from the international format of decimal betting odds!

Basically, you just need to add one (+1) to South African decimal odds to get standard ones. For example, if Hollywoodbets offers you the odds of 0.90 on Chelsea to win a game, that means 1.91 in the standard decimal format. Just add 1 — and you’ll get your standard decimals!

Booking bets with codes

One has an opportunity to book a bet with Hollywoodbets betting codes. Afterwards this booking code and the corresponding bar code can be used to place the same bet in a betting outlet.

To create a Hollywoodbets booking code for betting, you need to choose a wager and add it to your bet slip. Then, instead of confirming the bet, you tap on the BOOK THIS BET button. The output will be a betting code and a bar code which you can either print or email yourself.

To create betting codes, you don’t even need to go through login at Hollywoodbets!

Download and install mobile app of Hollywoodbets

There is no way a smartphone owner can install Hollywoodbets app: download is not available, because there is no mobile app for Android (i.e. Samsung) or iOS (iPhone/iPad).

However, this betting site is 100% compatible with all mobile devices, and you can download a mobile application for lite feature phones. For this, tap on APP FOR BASIC FEATURE PHONES in the menu and then on DOWNLOAD. If you are a bettor from South Africa, you can also ask promoters in any of the sportsbook outlets to install their phone application for you.

Once you are done downloading the Hollywoodbets mobile app, follow the next steps:

1. Find the mobile app in “Applications”, “Games” or “Extras” on your cell phone.
2. Open the application and type in your username: phone, email or an account ID.
3. Tick the checkbox to agree with the terms and conditions of Hollywoodbets.
4. Tap on LOG IN.

Now it’s done, and you can play on mobile through the app!

Official website user experience: old and new version

This South African sports betting site is optimised for both desktop and mobile clients.

There is a new website version that was created for computer users only and is accessible via their standard old website or by a direct link. On mobile, you can either use Hollywoodbets mobisite or, if you have a basic feature phone, install their mobile app.

The design of the old website version is rather old-fashioned and cluttered. On mobile, you will be met with one long menu of all the products and features this bookmaker has to offer, including traditional sports for betting, “Live In Play” platform of Hollywoodbets, punter competitions for horse racing and soccer, betting games from Ezugi and Evolution brands, Jika Sports and Fantasy League Betting, sporting results, Same Match Betbuilder and more.

Above the mobile menu, there is a login/profile header, a search bar and a rotatable list of the most popular sports and betting options — perfect for a new client of this bookie to start with.

Mobile version of Hollywoodbets also offers access to a blog with FAQ articles and “how to” videos, which covers numerous burning questions such as betting online, withdrawing money and depositing funds, winning soccer bets and more — many of the questions Takebet Zimbabwe covers.

As for the new desktop website for computers, all sports, live betting products and features are accessible from the left-hand navigation menu, while lists of tournaments, sporting events and the betting odds appear in the center section of a web page. When you tap on the odds offered for the bet of your choice, it will appear in the bet slip on the right side of a page.

Accessing your betting profile is possible from the upper-right corner of the new website.

At the time of writing this Hollywoodbets review, there was no new website for smartphones.

Sporting live streams: are there any?

Currently, the company doesn’t offer live streams of sports events. In the “Live In Play” section on Hollywoodbets, you can wager on a fixture while it is unfolding and track what’s going on in the chosen match, but unfortunately you can’t watch live broadcasting of any game.

Customer support

Contact customer care to get help from Hollywoodbets: placing bets on sports and playing games, withdrawing and depositing money and more questions can be easily answered by the experts of the company.

You can reach Hollywoodbets customer care via:

• Live chat
• Email
• Phone call (for South Africa)
• Whatsapp
• Twitter, Instagram, Facebook (@Hollywoodbets)

After trying Hollywoodbets live chat, we can say that their managers answer rather quickly, no more than five minutes of waiting, but replies are copy-pastes from their terms and conditions.

There are different email addresses for different questions in South Africa:

• hwhelpline@hollywoodbets.net (general inquiries)
• deposit@hollywoodbets.net (deposit-related questions)
• withdrawals@hollywoodbets.net (withdrawal-related questions)
• bankdetails@hollywoodbets.net (other payment-related questions)
• fica@hollywoodbets.net (account verification)

In the United Kingdom, the support email address is support@hollywoodbets.co.uk. In Ireland, support@hollywoodbets.ie is the email you want to write to if you have any questions.

Hollywoodbets email support usually replies within 24 hours.

Another option of reaching a customer representative is dialing 0873537634 in South Africa — the one and only telephone helpline for all the questions, as well as for placing a bet.

On Whatsapp, you should contact the following numbers in South Africa:

• 071 446 0778 (deposit inquiries)
• 082 369 0351 (withdrawal inquiries)
• 087 353 7634 (FICA inquiries)

You can also look up Hollywoodbets’ betting shops on the bookmaker’s website and visit one!

5 things about Hollywoodbets you should know before betting

1. In January 2020, a 41-year-old police officer from Gauteng beat the current payout record with Hollywoodbets by winning 5.7 million ZAR in Lucky Numbers.
2. Hollywoodbets has the unique “Book-a-Bet” feature: it allows you to create a ticket online on both desktop and mobile even without logging into your account. Afterwards, you can place this wager in the nearest Hollywoodbets branch while skipping the queue.
3. This online bookmaker accepts only South Africa Rand (ZAR) currency on the hollywoodbets.net website, but one can bet with British pounds and with Euro on the separate Hollywood betting sites for UK and Ireland, respectively.
4. In March 2019, Hollywoodbets was ranked eighth on the list of the Top 50 Gaming Sites Worldwide published by the international iGaming Business magazine.
5. This betting website offers a basic mobile app for lite feature phones.

Advantages

Hollywoodbets provides lots of events and competitions of different levels in approximately 25 sports — and this richness is not restricted to soccer, cricket or horse racing.

There are over 130 betting markets to choose from when it comes to the top soccer. Horse racing is rich and cricket is solid. You can bet live on these and other sports here.

There are numerous quick bet games, fantasy, live casino and video slots apart from sports betting. You can participate in a Punters Challenge and other betting contests with prizes.

The promotions on Hollywoodbets are not that numerous, but great nevertheless: one can achieve from 2.5% to 30% odds boost on soccer accumulators or get a cash back from a multibet with only one leg losing which can amount to as much as x10 of your initial stake.

This betting site allows its users to make deposits in many ways: from instant EFT and bank cards to an ATM machine or direct bank transfer from a branch. When it comes to withdrawals, choosing options are almost as diverse — betting shops, EFT and cell phone cash send services with such banks as First National Bank, Nedbank, ABSA and Standard Bank.

Disadvantages

If you are up for betting on anything aside from soccer, cricket or horse racing, you may find the choosing options offered here rather poor. Hollywoodbets soccer odds are average or even lower than that, with the same situation in other sports.

There is no adaptive mobile version on the new website version at the time of writing, so owners of smartphones on fast internet connections have to do with the old mobile betting site.

There is a cash out Hollywoodbets offers, but it is very restricted: soccer only, prematch only, accumulators only — and even then, not all qualifying accas can be cashed out.

You will find no live streaming of sporting events here, which is kind of good to have nowadays.

There is a Hollywoodbets free bet of 25 ZAR for newcomers — a rather small welcome offer.

Expert feedback on the online sportsbook

Overall, Hollywoodbets deserves positive feedback — it is the biggest South African online sportsbook for a reason. However, to stay that way, it should update its online presence faster and more broadly. They may find it hard to compete with huge international bookmakers in tennis, basketball, ice hockey and other sports apart from soccer, cricket and horse racing. Having a few great bonuses for current players, Hollywoodbets offers a quite low welcome offer.

That said, with tens of betting shops and retail presence in South Africa, unbelievable amounts of deposit and withdrawal options, great soccer and horse racing betting, games and live casino, enthralling bet challenges — there are literally hundreds of options of how to play and win your bets with Hollywoodbets, so this sportsbook is a great choice for a South African!