From DStv Premiership to Betway Premiership

For several seasons, South Africa’s top division was known as the DStv Premiership. On 24 July 2024 the Premier Soccer League (PSL) announced a title partnership with Betway, and said the premier division “will now be known as the Betway Premiership”. The new name applied from the 2024/25 season.

So if you see “PSL”, “DStv Premiership” or “Betway Premiership” on a bet slip or in old articles, they all point to the same competition: the top tier of professional men’s football in South Africa, run by the PSL. Bookmakers may list it under any of these names, so search for “Premiership” or “PSL” if you cannot find it.

How the league and cups work

The Betway Premiership

The Betway Premiership has 16 clubs, each playing the others home and away. That makes 240 league matches a season, or 30 per club, in a season that normally runs from about August to May.

At the bottom, the club that finishes 16th goes down. The club in 15th goes into the PSL Promotion Play-offs against two clubs from the second tier, the Motsepe Foundation Championship, with a Premiership place at stake.

For bettors, this matters late in the season. Clubs fighting to avoid 15th and 16th often play very differently from mid-table sides with nothing left to play for, and the play-off matches are a separate small competition with their own markets.

The domestic cups

• MTN8: an early-season knockout for the clubs that finished in the top eight of the previous league season. It starts in the opening weeks of the season, often before teams have found their league form.
• Carling Knockout Cup: a knockout for Premiership clubs, starting at the round of 16 and played in the first half of the season.
• Nedbank Cup: the knockout cup that brings in clubs from the lower divisions, including amateur sides, and runs in the second half of the season.

Cup ties bring two betting traps. First, the 1X2 market settles on 90 minutes plus stoppage time, so a match that goes to extra time or penalties counts as a draw for that bet. If you want the team that goes through, look for a “to qualify” or “to lift the trophy” market. Second, big clubs often rotate their squads in early rounds, especially against lower-league sides, so a short price on a favourite is not as safe as it looks.

Popular PSL markets and how to approach them

1X2 and the draw

The match result is the most popular PSL bet. Draws are a real outcome in any league, and many punters ignore them because they are less exciting to back. Before you back a favourite, ask yourself honestly what price you would need to take the draw instead.

Double chance

Double chance (1X, X2 or 12) covers two outcomes at a lower price. It suits a team you think will not lose but might not win, such as an away side that is hard to break down.

Under and over goals

Total goals markets are a simple way to bet on the style of a match rather than the winner. Check each team’s recent scoring and conceding patterns on the PSL’s own site before you bet, and remember that a single early goal can change how both sides play.

Both teams to score

BTTS needs each side to score at least once. It tends to suit fixtures between teams that create chances but defend loosely, and it can be a poor choice when a strong side hosts a team that sits deep.

Handicaps

When a strong favourite is priced too short to be worth backing on the 1X2, a handicap can give a fairer price. An Asian handicap of minus 1.5, for example, needs the team to win by two or more goals. Read the bookmaker’s rules for each line so you know when a stake is refunded.

Accumulators on a PSL weekend

It is tempting to load a full round of Premiership matches into one multi. Each extra leg multiplies the odds, but it also multiplies the chance that something goes wrong.

Why PSL markets can be thinner than the Premier League

If you compare a PSL fixture with an English Premier League match at the same bookmaker, you will usually find fewer markets on the PSL game. Player props, corners and card markets may be limited or missing, and bet builder options can be narrower.

The reasons are practical. Far more money is bet worldwide on the big European leagues, so bookmakers can price them more precisely and offer more markets. With less betting volume and less detailed data on local matches, a bookmaker carries more risk on each PSL market. It may respond with fewer markets, wider margins or lower limits on how much you can stake.

Bookmakers also set their own overall limits, and these are worth knowing. Scorebet, for example, has a R10,000 single-bet limit and a maximum sports payout of R250,000 a day, while Bettabets caps a single bet at R50,000. Most casual punters will never get near these figures, but check the terms if you bet bigger amounts.

Using live betting and stats responsibly

Live betting suits PSL matches if you are actually watching. You can see whether a favourite is creating chances or struggling, and decide whether the live price reflects that. A few rules help.

• Watch first, bet second. Let the first 15 to 20 minutes tell you how the match is going before you bet live.
• Expect suspensions. Markets close for goals, penalties, red cards and other big moments, and your bet may be rejected if the price moves.
• Do not treat a stream as live. Your stream can lag behind the action, so the price may change before you see why.
• Set a separate in-play budget. Live betting is quick, and it is easy to place far more bets than you planned.

Stats help you form an opinion, but they do not guarantee anything. Use the fixtures, results and logs on the PSL’s official site as your starting point, and look at form over several matches rather than one result. Squad news, fixture congestion during cup runs and travel all matter in the PSL, and none of it shows up in a simple log position.

Picking a bookmaker for PSL betting

For PSL betting, the bookmaker matters more than you might expect, because the range of markets on local football varies from site to site. Start with a licence from a South African provincial gambling board, then look at the sports offering, payments and terms.

Our reviews give each bookmaker a sports score. Playabets, Playbet, Betfred, Lucky Fish and Scorebet score highest for sports in our reviews, followed closely by Sportingbet and Virgin Bet. A few other details may suit PSL punters:

• Betway offers Data Free betting, useful if you follow matches on your phone and watch your data.
• Mzansibet offers 10% weekly cashback and no wagering on Extra Bet winnings.
• Betfred asks for only 4x wagering on its sports bonus, on singles, which suits punters who prefer single PSL bets to multis.

These are the top-rated bookmakers overall in our reviews.

Scores out of 10 from our reviews. 18+ only. Always confirm the current terms on the bookmaker’s own site. How we rate

For deposits, our guides to Ozow, EFT and voucher betting sites show who accepts what. If you are new to betting, read sports betting explained first, and check wagering requirements before claiming a welcome offer.

Frequently asked questions