Cricket Betting in South Africa: Rain, Ties and Settlement Rules
Rain, a tie and a draw are part of cricket, and each one changes how a bet is settled. This guide explains the common cricket markets and shows how four South African bookmakers settle those cases under their own published rules.
On this page
SA20 and the Proteas
SA20 is South Africa's T20 league, played in the southern summer. When we read sa20.co.za on 15 October 2026, it said Season 5 gets under way on 17 January 2027, opening with Sunrisers Eastern Cape against Pretoria Capitals at St George's Park in Gqeberha. The six teams on its site are Durban's Super Giants, Joburg Super Kings, MI Cape Town, Paarl Royals, Pretoria Capitals and Sunrisers Eastern Cape, and its fixture list ran to 21 February 2027, with qualifiers and an eliminator before the final.
The Proteas, South Africa's national side, play international cricket, and the bookmakers' rules below treat Test matches apart from one-day and T20 matches: a Test can end in a draw, a limited-overs match cannot. Dates and start times move, so check the official fixture lists on sa20.co.za and cricket.co.za before you rely on them.
The common cricket markets
Which of these a bookmaker offers on a match is shown on its own site.
- Match betting. A bet on which team wins. In a T20 or a one-day match the market usually has two outcomes, and the rules decide what happens after a tie. In a Test there are three: either team or the draw.
- Draw no bet and double chance. Draw no bet returns the stake if a Test ends in a draw. Double chance covers two of the three Test outcomes in one bet, so its price is lower than either outcome on its own.
- Runs markets. Over or under a line for the runs in an innings, the whole match or a group of overs, and the same for fours and sixes. The rules below void many of these bets when rain cuts the overs.
- Player markets. Top batter, top bowler or a named batter's runs. At Apexbets and ZARbet a selected player who does not bat or bowl loses a top batter or bowler bet.
- Multibets. Several selections combined into one bet, where every selection has to win. Our multibet calculator shows what a combination returns before you place it.
How each bookmaker settles a cricket bet
Each cell is our short summary of the bookmaker's own betting rules on its own site, read on 15 October 2026. Rules change and each bookmaker's own page is the one that counts, so read it before you bet. Interbet's row comes from its published live (in-play) betting rules for T20 and one-day cricket and applies to live bets only. A dash means that page says nothing specific on the point.
| Bookmaker | Match bet in a rain-affected game | A tie in a T20 or one-day match | Runs markets when overs are cut |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apexbets | Settled under the official competition rules, so a result they produce stands; a match decided by a bowl out or the toss of a coin is void | Tie not priced: the official result where the rules name a winner, such as a super over or a bowl out; else dead heat | One-day: void if the overs are cut by 5 or more; T20: void if cut by 3 or more; unless already decided |
| ZARbet | Settled under the official competition rules, so a result they produce stands; a match decided by a bowl out or the toss of a coin is void | Tie not priced: the official result where the rules name a winner, such as a super over or a bowl out; else dead heat | One-day: void if the overs are cut by 5 or more; T20: void if cut by 3 or more; unless already decided |
| SuperSportBet | Settled on the official result; void if there is no official result | Rules name no winner: dead heat; a bowl off or super over: the official result | Void if under 80% of the scheduled overs could be bowled, unless already decided |
| Interbet (live bets only) | General live rules: a match not completed, through interruption for example, voids undecided markets | Super overs do not count unless stated; a tie the rules leave undecided, or decide by a coin toss or drawing lots: undecided markets void | Every undecided market: in a T20 all scheduled overs must be played; in an ODI at least 90% of an innings' overs at the time of the bet; unless the innings ended naturally |
Test matches and abandoned games
The same four bookmakers' rules, on Test matches and on games that are abandoned or cancelled. A dash means the page says nothing specific on the point.
| Bookmaker | Test match: draw or tie | Abandoned or cancelled |
|---|---|---|
| Apexbets | Official result once a ball is bowled; a tie is a dead heat and draw bets lose | Outside interference (not weather): void unless the rules declare a winner; cancelled and not replayed within 24 hours: void |
| ZARbet | Official result once a ball is bowled; a tie is a dead heat and draw bets lose | Outside interference (not weather): void unless the rules declare a winner; cancelled and not replayed within 24 hours: void |
| SuperSportBet | A first-class tie is a dead heat between both teams; draw bets lose | External factors: void unless the rules declare a winner; cancelled and not restarted within 48 hours: void |
| Interbet (live bets only) | - | Cancelled before any play: void unless replayed within 48 hours |
What the rules mean for your bet
Rain is the case that comes up most. When a T20 or one-day match is shortened, the competition's playing conditions set a revised target and produce the official result; the ICC lists the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method among its rules and regulations. Apexbets and ZARbet settle match bets in weather-affected games under those official rules, and their rules for markets such as a fifty in the match or a batter's runs say in so many words that "Duckworth-Lewis counts". SuperSportBet settles on the official result and voids the bet when there is none. None of the four pages uses the newer name, Duckworth-Lewis-Stern.
Runs markets are treated differently. A line of 160.5 runs means little if the innings is cut to 12 overs, so the bookmakers void such bets once enough overs are lost: Apexbets and ZARbet at 5 overs lost in a one-day match and 3 in a T20, SuperSportBet when under 80% of the scheduled overs can be bowled. A bet already decided before the cut, such as an over on a line the innings had already passed, stands at all of them.
Where a competition settles a tie in a T20 or one-day match with a super over or a bowl out, Apexbets, ZARbet and SuperSportBet settle the match bet on the official result. Where the rules name no winner, they apply dead-heat rules; ZARbet's general rules explain that in a two-way dead heat half of the bet is treated as a winner and half as a loser. In a weather-affected match, Apexbets and ZARbet void bets if it is decided by a bowl out or the toss of a coin. Runs, fours and sixes hit in a super over do not count in their runs markets, and SuperSportBet says the same of its fours, sixes and match runs markets.
In a Test the draw is a selection of its own, so a bet on either team loses when the match is drawn, rain or not; Apexbets and ZARbet say weather is not outside interference and the official result stands once a ball is bowled. A tie in a Test, which is rare, is a dead heat at all three and bets on the draw lose. For a multibet, ZARbet's general rules say a bet with a void selection is settled on the remaining selections only.
How cricket odds and the margin work
Odds tell you what a bet returns, and they also carry the bookmaker's margin. Our example: a T20 match prices both teams at 1.87. A R100 bet at 1.87 returns R187, your R100 stake plus R87. Each price implies a chance of 1 / 1.87, about 53.5%, and the two sides together come to about 107% instead of 100%. The extra 7 points is the margin built into the odds, and it is how the bookmaker earns over many bets.
To compare prices written as fractions or in American style, use our odds converter. Following the teams closely does not remove the margin or make a win likely, and any cricket bet can lose.
Sports, cash out and streaming by bookmaker
This table lists the bookmakers we review with the sports their own menus show and what they state about cash out and live streaming. Every value is the one in the brand's review and changes with it; the betting hub compares all of them.
| Bookmaker | Licensed in | Sports | Cash out | Live streaming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Betway SA | Western Cape, MpumalangaLicensed in the Western Cape and Mpumalanga | Soccer, cricket, rugby, basketball, tennis, football, horse racing, Formula 1, golf, table tennis, baseball, UFC/MMA, boxing, volleyball, ice hockey, esports, soccer tote | Early Cash Out, in Betway's words 'an early payout on your bets before they are settled' | 'Live sports streaming' is listed among the app's features, and 'Streams' is an entry in the sport menu |
 Luckyfish | Mpumalanga +2Licensed in 3 provinces | Soccer, horse racing, esports, tennis, rugby, cricket, golf, Formula 1, American football, Aussie rules, baseball, basketball, boxing, cycling, darts, field hockey, futsal, floorball, handball, ice hockey, MMA, snooker, table tennis, volleyball, water polo, motorsport, winter sports | 'Early cash-out options' on sports bets (its App Store listing) | - |
 SuperSportBet | Western CapeLicensed in the Western Cape | Soccer, rugby, cricket, golf, horse racing, MMA 'and more' (its App Store listing); the site's menu has Sports, Horse Racing and Lucky Numbers | - | - |
 YesPlay | Western CapeLicensed in the Western Cape | Soccer, basketball, cricket, tennis, rugby, baseball, volleyball, ice hockey, table tennis, American football, handball, futsal, Aussie rules, MMA, boxing, snooker, darts, field hockey, water polo | - | - |
 Tic Tac Bets | Northern CapeLicensed in the Northern Cape | Football, cricket, Formula 1, boxing, MMA, rugby, tennis (the sports linked from its home page) | - | - |
 Gbets | Western Cape, MpumalangaLicensed in the Western Cape and Mpumalanga | Football, rugby, cricket, golf, tennis, basketball (the categories Gbets names), plus esports and virtual sports | Cash Out and Partial Cash Out on selected events pre-match and live, on single and multiple bets, marked with a ($) logo; not on free bets | - |
 Sportingbet SA | Western CapeLicensed in the Western Cape | Football, rugby, horse racing, basketball, tennis, golf, cricket, Formula 1, entertainment and political betting, virtual sports (its App Store listing) | Cash Out with an Auto Cash Out value you set, 'to exit your bets before the match has ended'; Edit My Bet on selected markets pre-match and in-play | 'Watch FREE live match streaming on up to 25 live sports events per day' (its App Store listing) |
 ZARbet | Western CapeLicensed in the Western Cape | - | Cash Out and Partial Cash Out on selected events pre-match and live, on single and multiple bets, marked with a ($) logo (its Sports Terms and Conditions) | - |
 Hollywoodbets | Western Cape +4Licensed in 5 provinces | Soccer and 'comprehensive soccer and sports betting options', horse racing, Lucky Numbers (its App Store listing names no full list) | 'The ability to cash out your soccer multiples' (its App Store listing) | - |
 10bet SA | MpumalangaLicensed in Mpumalanga | Soccer, rugby, cricket, horse racing, NFL, NBA, tennis, golf, F1, MMA, plus niche sports such as table tennis, Gaelic football, hurling, handball, speedway, snooker and squash (its App Store listing) | - | - |
 Lulabet | Western CapeLicensed in the Western Cape | Soccer, rugby union, cricket, horse racing, tennis, basketball, MMA, boxing, table tennis 'and many other international sporting events' (its own FAQ) | - | - |
 Supabets | MpumalangaLicensed in Mpumalanga | Soccer, cricket, rugby, tennis, basketball, table tennis, golf, volleyball, ice hockey, handball, MMA, boxing, eSoccer, American football, darts, baseball, water polo, floorball, futsal, cycling, esports, field hockey, motor racing, Nascar | - | - |
 Interbet | Western CapeLicensed in the Western Cape | Soccer, rugby, tennis, golf, cricket, motor sport, American football, baseball, basketball, boxing, cycling, darts, esports, futsal, handball, ice hockey, snooker, volleyball; horses, live sport, Soccer 6 pools and numbers are separate sections | 'Cash Out may be available during a Live Betting event' (its FAQ) | - |
 Bravobet | Western CapeLicensed in the Western Cape | - | '100% Pre-match Cashout': a pre-match bet can be cashed out without commission when the odds have not moved or have shortened, with a commission when they have lengthened | - |
 Easybet | Western Cape, Eastern CapeLicensed in the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape | Soccer, rugby, cricket, tennis, basketball 'and more' (its App Store listing) | - | - |
Each value is what the operator states on its own site or App Store listing, the same as in its review; "-" means we could not read it. We have not deposited or withdrawn with them. The order follows how we rate.
Before you open an account
Sports betting in South Africa is licensed by the provinces, so look for the board's name and the licence number in a bookmaker's footer or terms. Our guide on how to check a bookmaker's licence shows how to match that number against the board's own list.
Bet within a limit you set
A cricket bet is a way to spend money, and every bet can lose. Set a limit before you deposit, never chase losses, and keep betting apart from money you need. You must be 18 or older to bet.
If betting stops feeling like a choice, the South African Responsible Gambling Foundation answers on 0800 006 008, and our responsible gambling page has more help.
Cricket betting FAQ
What happens to my cricket bet if rain shortens the match?
A match bet is usually settled on the official result under the competition's rules: Apexbets and ZARbet follow the official competition rules, and SuperSportBet voids the bet only when there is no official result. Runs markets are voided once enough overs are lost, unless already decided.
Does a Duckworth-Lewis result count for betting?
At Apexbets and ZARbet the match bet in a weather-affected game follows the official competition rules, and their rules for player fifties and a batter's runs state that Duckworth-Lewis counts. SuperSportBet settles on the official result.
What happens to a match bet if a T20 is tied?
If a super over or a bowl out decides the match, Apexbets, ZARbet and SuperSportBet settle on the official result. If the rules name no winner, they apply dead-heat rules. In a weather-affected match, Apexbets and ZARbet void bets if it is decided by a bowl out or the toss of a coin.
Do runs in a super over count?
Not in the runs markets. Apexbets and ZARbet leave runs, fours and sixes of a super over out of their match runs, fours and sixes markets, SuperSportBet does the same for its fours, sixes and match runs, and Interbet's live rules ignore super overs unless a market says otherwise.
What happens to my bet if a Test match is drawn?
The draw is one of the three outcomes in Test match betting, so a bet on either team loses and a bet on the draw wins. A draw no bet stake is returned. A tied Test is a dead heat at Apexbets, ZARbet and SuperSportBet, and bets on the draw lose.
When does the SA20 start?
On 15 October 2026 sa20.co.za said Season 5 starts on 17 January 2027, with Sunrisers Eastern Cape against Pretoria Capitals in Gqeberha, and its fixture list ran to 21 February 2027. Check the league's own site for the latest dates.