How we rank

Criteria for Ranking We Use at Top Bets

Choosing the best betting sites requires more than just picking popular sites. To objectively pick the right sites for betting, we considered key features that make a good platform. Here are the rigorous evaluation tools we used to find the best online platforms for betting in Tanzania;

Customer Experience and Rating

When it comes to choosing the right product, customer experience and rating are perhaps the most important factors to consider. Real-life customers are the best source of objective and unbiased information about the said product.

In this case, the first place we looked were reliable sources for real-life customer reviews and experiences. Through customer reviews, we evaluated features such as user experience. Moreover, we used the same criteria when we were testing the betting sites.

Here are the questions we asked about user experience;

• Is the website user-friendly and easy to navigate?
• Does the bookmaker have a user-friendly iOS and Android app?
• Is the site consistent in offering cost-friendly and competitive odds?
• Is customer support easily accessible and responsive?
• What is the overall experience? Do customers find cashing out easy and quick?
• Has there ever been any safety concerns about the site or bookmaker before?
• What is the overall bookmaker’s reputation among punter communities and discussion forums?

In addition to exploring customer experience and reviews, we paid attention to other essential factors that make a great betting site.

Betting Options Available: Markets and Types

A good betting site offers a perfect balance of sports offerings along with casino options.

Sports Betting

In sports, 20+ sports and at least 100 different competitions a day should be the general rule of thumb. The best sites for betting will feature sports, such as;

• Football
• Basketball
• Tennis
• Table tennis
• Baseball
• Volleyball
• Hockey
• Horse racing
• Motorcycle racing
• Cricket
• American football

But, for the platform to truly offer value, you want to be able to find different leagues, championships, and competitions at the local, national, and international levels. For instance, if you are a Tanzanian punter and football fan, you want to be able to access games, such as the Tanzanian premier league, African leagues, European leagues, and international/continental competitions, among others.

Betting sites with comprehensive sports betting markets will even cover more exotic sports to give you an even wider betting chance. These include options such as;

• Snooker
• Futsal
• water polo
• Lacrosse
• alpine skiing
• Hurling

Large betting sites, like MeridianBet, have gone the extra mile to include entertainment in their sports betting market option. Depending on the season, you can find interesting events to bet on, like music competitions, such as the Eurovision, or special sports events, like the Olympic Games.

Casino

Other than sports betting, a good betting site should offer an extensive library of casino options. Betting platforms will typically include popular games, like League of Legends, and proprietary games you can only access through the particular bookmaker.

A good betting site will include the following casino offerings;

• Aviator games
• Slots
• Jackpot
• Poker and video poker
• Table games

Live Betting

Sites with extensive live betting markets give punters a chance to earn more. This is because you get the chance to place in-play bets (the opposite of pre-match bets). Sites like MeridianBet and Parimatch offer over 100 matches a day and let you choose from a variety of sports.

Unfortunately, you can also find good sites, like Betpawa, with limited live betting offerings. Nonetheless, they may come with their perks. For example, while Betpawa only features 3 live betting sports options, including football, it covers an extensive variety of football matches all day long.

Most betting sites also give you access to many virtual sports live betting opportunities to still let you earn even when there aren’t real-life live games at the time. The best part is virtual sports give you the same real-life sports options, whether you like football, basketball, tennis, or volleyball, among others.

Types of Betting

An extensive betting market should also be paired with equally extensive bet types. Generally, most types of bets go well with most sports. However, at times, you will need to pick a particular bet type to pay with a specific sport to boost your winning chances, as part of your betting strategy. Therefore, it goes a long way to have a varied bet-type lineup.

For instance, if you are betting on a football game, it’s a good idea to choose a bookmaker that offers three-way odds. A popular bet type used in football, the three-way odds bet lets you bet on an outcome of your choice, i.e. team A win, team B win, or draw.

Similarly, betting on American football (NFL) offers the potential for more winnings when you go for a bookmaker with a broader betting selection. With an NFL match, you can take advantage of bet types, such as totals, multi-leg, props, point spreads, moneylines, and futures, among others.

Check out the common types of bets offered by bookmakers in Tanzania;

Straight Bets

Straight or single bets are just as their name suggests – referring to a single wager placed on a game or event.

• Moneyline: A common straight bet, moneyline bet lets you bet on the event outcome. A good example is a 3-way moneyline or 1X2 bet where you wager on the Team A win, Team B win, or a tie.
• Double chance: A double chance bet lets you choose to wager on two correct outcomes out of three. For example, in a football match, the outcome for your team of choice is usually a win, a loss, or a draw. This means you can choose the outcomes as team 1 to win or draw, team 2 to win or draw, or team 1 or 2 to win. So, if team 1 wins or draws, your wager wins. Unfortunately, the lower risk in this bet means the odds are usually lower too.
• Points spread or handicap: A point spread or handicap is a wager that gives the underdog player or team more advantage to even out the winning chances of either team or payer. The underdog is given extra goals or points – known as spreads. Other punters refer to this practice the opposite way by crippling the top dog player or team and removing points – also known as a handicap. In a point spread bet, the punter wagers on the margin of the victory and chooses the winner with the stipulation that they win by certain points or goals for the player to win.
• Totals or over/under: A totals or over/under bet is a wager placed on whether the total points or goals scored in the game will be higher or lower than the provided value. Unlike other bets. punters in this bet wager on the total points or goals scored in the game or event and not individual team performance, points, or goals.

Combination Bets

Also known as parlay bets, combination bets typically connect multiple results on different bets into a single bet. To win the bet and earn the most, the punter must not lose any event in the parlay.

• Teaser: A type of parlay, a teaser bet lets a punter combine all their bets of two different games and allows them to adjust the point spreads. By letting you adjust the spreads, a teaser bet is less risky and can help you potentially up your wins.

Other Bets

Props: Props bets are wagers placed on specific events during a game that doesn’t directly affect the final outcome or results of it. This can be anything from the player or team performance to the statistics. A prop bet can be done in a single/straight or combination/parlay bet.

Other common bets include correct score or goal bets, odd/even bets, and half-time/full-time bets- they work just as they sound.

Payment Methods

A good betting site must make the payment process a breeze, whether depositing or withdrawing. In Tanzania, many betting sites have opted for mobile money wallet payments. Mobile money wallets are typically powered by cellular networks and are a commonly used and convenient transactional method for Tanzanians in urban and rural areas. The best betting sites facilitate mobile money payments via all the major networks.

These include;

• Vodacom Mpesa
• Tigo Pesa
• Airtel money
• Halo Pesa

In addition to mobile money wallets, some bookmakers operate physical kiosks across the country and allow punters to use these kiosks/shops for payment transactions. This is a great way to diversify the payment methods in case cellular networks experience signal issues.

You will also find different bookmakers adopting additional payment methods, like the Selcom Huduma or Kwik Pay app. Fewer betting sites also allow payment through major credit or debit cards, such as Visa and Mastercard. This method is less commonly used by punters in the country, however.

Betting sites in Tanzania transact using the local currency, i.e. Tanzanian shillings, ensuring a seamless betting experience. Doing so also ensures you enjoy optimal earnings on your winnings without the extra charges and adjustments that come with foreign currency.

The currency is another great way to test the bookmaker’s legitimacy. If a betting site in Tanzania operates in a currency other than Tanzanian shillings, it’s highly likely to be operating illegally. Similarly, very little to no betting platform in the country currently accepts crypto.

Promotions and Bonuses

Many of the best betting sites in Tanzania offer promotional offers and bonuses as a way to incentivize new customers and retain existing ones. When shopping for a bookmaker, look out for welcome bonuses as they can help start you off well in your betting journey.

You can also look out for the promotional offers the bookmaker runs to give you an idea of how generous they are with their offerings. Many sites will have a dedicated promotions page where you can note down their current promotions.

Typical promotions and offers come in the form of;

• Welcome bonuses
• Free bets
• Cashback
• Discounts