War of Bets in South Africa: BetGames' Live Card Duel of Player and Dealer
War of Bets is BetGames' live card game for two sides, the Player and the Dealer. Each gets one card face up, the higher card wins, and two cards of the same value make a War. BetGames' company timeline lists the launch under 2016. You can bet before any card is dealt and again once the Player's card is on the table, on the result, the colour, suit or value of a card. BetGames gives the RTP as 95% and rates the volatility Low.
Figures from provider data, September 2026. The RTP is the figure the studio publishes; check the ranking and the game's own info screen before you deposit.
On this page
What War of Bets looks like
Images: BetGames, official game page (betgames.tv).
One card each: how a War of Bets draw runs
War of Bets is dealt in BetGames' studio from a shoe of six standard 52-card decks. The dealer gives one card face up to each side, the Player always first, and the side with the higher card wins the draw. Aces count only as the highest cards and deuces as the lowest; suits do not rank.
If both cards have the same value, say a seven of hearts against a seven of spades, the draw ends in a War. In BetGames' words, "War (Tie) outcome wins, both Dealer and Player loses": bets on the War are paid and bets on either side are lost.
A scanner built into the table reads each card's bar code as it is dealt, and the game runs around the clock, with dealer and card changes shown live.
Two betting rounds in one draw
Every draw has two chances to bet, split by the Player's card.
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First round, before any card
Back one or more of the 25 bets before the deal. -
The Player's card
The dealer turns the Player's card face up and new odds appear for the second betting round. -
Second round
Bets made in the first round have no influence on the second, so you can back the same outcome again at the new odds, or a different one. -
The Dealer's card
The Dealer's card is turned face up, the result is settled and the next draw begins.
The 25 bets and their chances with a full shoe
BetGames' demo lists 25 bets in four groups: Main bets, Colour, Suit and Value. Colour, Suit and Value bets come for each card. Chances are our arithmetic for a fresh six-deck shoe of 312 cards; odds are the range in four first-round readings of the demo on 1 October 2026.
| Bet | What wins | Chance, full shoe (our sum) | Demo odds, first round |
|---|---|---|---|
| Player wins or Dealer wins | The side's card is higher | 144 in 311, 46.3% | 2.04 |
| War | Both cards have the same value | 23 in 311, 7.4% | 13 to 13.5 |
| Red or black | The card's colour | 1 in 2 | Red 1.98 to 2.14, black 1.71 to 1.83 |
| Club, diamond, heart or spade | The card's suit | 1 in 4 | 2.95 to 4.50 |
| Value 8 | The card is an eight | 1 in 13, 7.7% | 15.5 to 21 |
| Less than 8 | Deuce to seven | 6 in 13, 46.2% | 1.74 to 1.83 |
| More than 8 | Nine to ace | 6 in 13, 46.2% | 2.27 to 2.31 |
| Face card | Jack, queen or king | 3 in 13, 23.1% | 4.43 to 5.00 |
| Pip card | Ace to ten | 10 in 13, 76.9% | 1.17 to 1.21 |
Why the odds move from draw to draw 📊
BetGames' rules define odds as a number "determined on the basis of mathematical probability of an outcome" that may change in the course of a draw. In the demo's first reading the suits ran from 3.10 for clubs to 4.43 for spades, though each suit is a quarter of a fresh shoe; we read that as the odds following the cards left in the shoe. A red Player card read 1.98, 2.08 and 2.14 within minutes.
So the full-shoe chances are a guide, not the price of a given draw: the War's 13.5 times 7.4% gives almost 100%, more than BetGames' 95%. With 52 cards left, four of each value, a War is 3 in 51, about 5.9%. Both are our arithmetic. The shoe is changed once fewer than 40 cards remain, and three to six cards, a random number, are discarded from the top of the new one.
With odds worked out from the probabilities, tracking the cards yourself is no way around the house edge, and no staking pattern beats it either.
What the second round looks like in numbers
Once the Player's card is showing, the main odds swing with it. BetGames' own screenshot shows a second round after the Player drew the jack of spades: Dealer 4.28, War 13.00, Player 1.34. By our arithmetic with a full shoe, the Dealer then needs a queen, king or ace, 72 of the 311 cards left, about 23%, while 216 of them, deuce to ten, give the draw to the Player.
The demo's readings on 1 October 2026 swung both ways: Dealer 1.14, War 10 and Player 12 in one second round, Dealer 3.67, War 16 and Player 1.39 in another, and War at 7.15 in a third. In second rounds the demo priced only the three main bets and the ten on the Dealer's card. In rand, at that demo price of 12: R10 on the Player returns R120 if the Player wins (our sum).
Burned cards, cancelled draws and claims
Rules 5.1 to 5.3 cover a deal that does not go to plan.
- Burned card. A card shown face up before betting closes, or one that cannot be scanned, is announced, discarded and replaced from the shoe; the draw goes on.
- Cancelled draw. A scanner fault, mixed or misplaced cards, a technical failure or a dealer mistake such as dealing out of order can cancel a draw. All bets are then void and stakes returned.
- Claims. A claim about a result or a technical issue is addressed to the operator within 30 days of the draw (rule 8.2). Rule 4.1 leaves the minimum and maximum bet to the gambling company.
War of Bets RTP and volatility
BetGames gives War of Bets's return to player as 95%.
BetGames rates the volatility as low, but in War of Bets the bet you pick moves it: a bet at short odds wins often and pays little, one at long odds rarely wins and pays a lot.
Paying for War of Bets in rand
War of Bets is in the lobby at 12 operators we list: all of them take Ozow and cards; 9 take Capitec Pay; 11 take cash vouchers.
The smallest first deposit for War of Bets among them is R1, at Luckyfish.
War of Bets winnings are paid by EFT to an account in your own name, after FICA.
Get FICA done first · How to deposit in rand · Every payment method
Is War of Bets legal in South Africa? 📜
War of Bets is a live dealer game. In South Africa you find it at licensed bookmakers, next to their sports markets.
All 12 operators we list for War of Bets hold a South African provincial licence.
Before you play with real money ⚠️
Set your War of Bets budget and a deposit limit before the first round, not after a losing one. If it stops being fun, the South African Responsible Gambling Foundation helpline is free on 0800 006 008.
Pros, cons and verdict ⚖️
- One card each and the higher wins: rules that fit in a sentence
- A second betting round after the Player's card is shown
- Volatility rated Low by BetGames
- A War loses every bet on the Player and the Dealer, with no second deal
- Odds change from draw to draw, so a price seen once is not the next one
- BetGames' page gives odds of 1.01 to 100; our readings of the demo ran 1.09 to 21
War of Bets is BetGames' 2016 card duel: one card for the Player, one for the Dealer, a War on equal values, and a 95% RTP with low volatility by BetGames' own figures. The second betting round opens with the Player's card on the table. Set a limit before the first draw.
War of Bets FAQ ❓
What happens to my bet on the Player if there is a War?
It loses. BetGames' rules say that when both cards have the same value, bets on the War are paid and bets on the Player and the Dealer are lost. There is no extra deal to break the tie.
How likely is a War in War of Bets?
With a fresh six-deck shoe, 23 of the 311 cards left after the Player's card match its value, about 7.4% by our arithmetic. It changes as the shoe empties, and the demo's War odds moved between 7.15 and 16 in our readings.
Is the ace high or low in War of Bets?
High. BetGames' rules count aces only as the highest cards and deuces as the lowest. For the value bets that puts the ace in More than 8, and the Pip card bet covers ace to ten, while jack, queen and king are face cards.
Can I bet after the Player's card is dealt?
Yes. Once the Player's card is face up, new odds appear and a second betting round opens. First-round bets do not affect it, so you can back the same outcome twice at different odds.
Is War of Bets dealt by a random number generator?
No. A dealer deals real cards from a six-deck shoe in BetGames' studio, a table scanner reads each card's bar code, and the rules say dealer and card changes are shown live.
Where to play War of Bets in South Africa
Licensed South African operators we have found carrying War of Bets, each with its licence and our score, and the date where we saw the game in the lobby ourselves. Ordered by that score. How we score Offers checked September 2026.
Also carrying War of Bets. Bonus, payment and payout terms for each are on its review.
