South African iGaming accounts for a significant portion of the continent’s iGaming market, predicted to hit 12.7bn USD this year and 19.4bn USD by 2030. The country, according to iGamingBusiness, has emerged as the market to watch and may exceed 5m by 2030. In many of the most popular games, sound design plays a bigger role than players may realise. From high-energy slot machines to quiet strategy-focused games, each style of iGaming uses audio in a different way to influence the game’s pace, as well as our focus and emotions.
Slot games and high energy
Slots are the most music-driven type of iGaming. They usually use looping tracks, upbeat rhythms, and celebratory “winning” sounds to keep the energy up (players should remember that profit is never guaranteed, and slots are always based on luck). Even when nothing significant is happening on screen, there’s usually background music playing.
The purpose is simple: slots are repetitive, and music is used to make that repetition feel entertaining rather than dull. Bright jingles for wins, rising tones for near-misses, and fast-paced loops are used to encourage a sense of momentum, even while the gameplay remains fundamentally the same.
In South African online casinos, like others around the world, these soundtracks often borrow from pop and electronic styles. The idea is to make gameplay feel lively and accessible.
Table games are calmer
In table games like blackjack and baccarat, instead of loud or fast music, the music is likely to be more ambient and softer. These games demand focus and involve more difficult decisions, so heavy music would potentially get in the way. Instead, a player might hear gentle shuffling cards, a spinning wheel, or ambient tones that melt into the background.
These online sounds create a setting resembling a traditional, physical casino table. In recent years, the idea of recreating physical casinos has advanced with games like video poker, where an online player sees a real-life, real-time dealer.
Crash games don’t use music as much
In crash games, sound design is usually more minimal. A well-known game is Aviator, where the audio is built around suspense rather than music. There may be a rising engine sound as the multiplier increases, creating a sense of pressure. The moment before a crash may be silent or nearly silent, possibly increasing focus.
A gamer who wants to play Aviator in South Africa may notice it feels very different from slots. The quieter audio experience is part of that difference.
Sports betting – even quieter
Some sports betting platforms use stadium-inspired sound effects in virtual sports and promotional features, but most live betting dashboards are silent or just use subtle interface sounds.
Sports betting is generally about considering the factors that might affect a team or athlete’s chances of winning, then clicking a few buttons to place a bet. That’s a very different process than playing slots, for example, and so the sound design and (lack of) music is naturally very different.
Music in the wider gaming world
Across all iGaming formats, sound is used to guide our attention. Fast music increases excitement, calm tones encourage focus, and silence builds tension.
Music and sound effects can influence how long a session feels, how we make decisions, and how we experience wins and losses.
In the wider gaming world, console games like Final Fantasy are notorious due in large part to their soundtracks. Games writer Quinton O’Connor has praised the wistful atmospheres of tracks like ‘Over the Hill’, and said almost every composition on Final Fantasy 6 was a “masterful composition”.
Then there are more obviously music-focused games; Polygon recently reported on 2026 music games including Mixtape, Wax Heads, and Dead as Disco. The latter is said to take Batman: Arkham-style free-flowing combat and place it in a rhythm game.
Perfect Tides: Station to Station, while not a music game in the same way, is influenced by music culture. It’s a point-and-click adventure following a year in the life of a creative writer as she struggles to balance life commitments.
Rhythm games arguably peaked in popularity in the 2000s with titles like Guitar Hero. The original was ranked as one of Rolling Stone’s greatest music games of all time. Guitar Hero 3: Legends Of Rock grossed more than 830 million USD by 2011, more than the entire Call of Duty series to that date.
Music has been such a big part of gaming that there have been several books published on the subject. Rolling Stone contributor Scott Steinberg wrote about the hits (including Guitar Hero) and flops of the genre; guitarists can find songbooks based on video game music; and composers buy dedicated tomes on how to compose for games.
In short, music is a big part of iGaming – and gaming as a whole.
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