Australia Gambling Sites

Australians are gamblers. This statement is something we all know on some
level and can refer to most choices that they make in life. However, you may not
realize just how much Australians like to gamble. They lose more per capita than
any other country, and it isn’t even close. Check
out this graphic which outlines where Australia stands on the gambling chart.

• Australia Online Gambling Sites
• Australia Sports Betting Sites

In order for a virtual gambling venue casino to make it on our list of high-end, recommended casinos for 2020, it must not only have a rich selection of games belonging to all known game categories (online pokies, progressive games, video poker, table games, specialty games, live casino) but also show proof of high-quality gaming options. Australia is a gambling-friendly nation in both law and culture. Gaming laws in the country allow for the licensing of true Australian betting sites while simultaneously doing little to prohibit citizens from visiting unlicensed, offshore sites. Our mission is to make finding your ideal gambling site easier than ever before. This is why we’ve built and calibrated an algorithm that produces a truly unbiased scoring system, based on the thorough research carried out by our review team. We help you get an at-a-glance understanding of the Australia’s best gambling sites.

The online gambling industry in Australia has been robust since its
inception, and even with regulations in place to limit sites from offering their
games to Australian players, there is continued year over year growth in
revenues.

On this page, we are going to give you an overview of everything you need to
know about the Australian online gambling market and how to find the perfect
site for your gaming needs.

Here Are Our Top Recommended Australian Online Gambling Sites:

When we write a review of an online gambling site, our experts look at the site
from all angles to bring you the most comprehensive review possible. Some of you
like to do the research for yourself; we totally understand, and you should be
looking at the same factors as we are so you can draw your own conclusions. Here
are some topics we are going to cover on this Australian overview page:

• Mobile Games
• Game Offering
• Banking
• Promotions
• Safety and Security

If you are looking for a good place to start, above is our list of the Top 5
Recommended Online Gambling sites. Make sure to check back when you are ready to
gamble as due to the changes in legislation, this list may also change.

Is Online Gambling Legal in Australia?

Well, this answer is about as cloudy as it is for American online gamblers.
As we mentioned at the start of this page, Australians love to gamble. The
Totalisator Agency Board (TAB) manages land based sports betting outlets around
the country, where Australians can enter and place a wager on a sporting event.
Many other forms of live gambling are legal and regulated by different levels of
the Australian government.

Online gambling made it so much easier for Australians to access gambling,
especially in the remote areas of the country, that the government felt they
needed to do something. In 2001, they stepped in and passed the Interactive
Gambling Act. This piece of legislations was written to protect their residents
from being taken advantage of by online casino operators. The IGA didn’t go far
enough though; Australian operators of online gambling sites were allowed to
market to anyone except Australians, and there was essentially no protection
against offshore operators targeting residents. So ultimately the government
took away their ability to tax sites accepting wagers from Australian players;
funds which could have been put to use to prevent gambling addiction.

In 2016, steps were taken to improve this law, and an amendment passed that
made it illegal for Australians to play poker at offshore sites. One major
player in the industry, 888, already closed their Australian poker operations;
others are waiting to see if the amendment is enacted into law. It is hard to
imagine a scenario where a player is prosecuted under this law; it is actually
intended to dissuade sites from accepting their play and their deposits.

As the law changes in Australia, it is important to check back to see how it
affects players. We have a page dedicated to the Australian Online Gambling Laws
which will be updated as more information is acquired.

How to Find the Right Online Gambling Site in Australia

With a cloudy legal climate, it seems like we should just plow forward and
look at the sites that are currently available for Australian players. Given the
propensity for Australians to gamble, it is no surprise that there are hundreds
of options for them to play their favorite games or pokies, so let’s review the
important information that every player should know before making their first
deposit.

Mobile Gaming Options

The online gambling industry is rapidly moving towards mobile play, and this
is indeed true of the Australian market. Betting, especially on sports, is much
more efficient without having to open up your laptop, and online gambling sites
are well aware that this is an excellent way to capture their audience. With so
much in-game betting available these days, Australians want to be able to access
their accounts quickly and easily; most operators have modified their software
to be able to be used on any mobile device via the device’s browser. The player
will have the same options as they would using their PC to access the games, and
with a couple of clicks can be right at the betting screens.

This isn’t always true about the online casino games, however. While software
suppliers are playing catchup trying to make their content mobile-friendly, it
can sometimes be frustrating to find your favorite pokie game isn’t available on
your phone. These graphics-rich games usually take more effort to convert, but
don’t worry; even if you don’t see your game there today, more than likely the
provider is going to release it for mobile in the very near future.

Mobile gaming apps are also very popular in markets where online gambling is
legal. Unfortunately, due to the restrictions placed on the Australian market by
the IGA, there aren’t many options for native apps for players from that
country. Hopefully, with the changes in regulation, there will be a way for
operators to start to add their apps to the mobile platforms’ app stores, as
these are usually a little faster than their browser-based cousins.

Game Selection

A semi-regulated space that allows Australians the opportunity to access
offshore gambling sites for their enjoyment means that these players get access
to essentially all the game types out there. Australians will spend their
gambling dollars on everything, and many sites offer a multitude of different
betting options. If you are a player who likes to spread your gambling time on
various disciplines, then you will want to look for one of these all-inclusive
sites; it means fewer account registrations and depositing, as your balance can
easily be moved from one area to another. Some options for what you might find
at one of the larger multi-channel sites:

• Sports Betting
• In-game betting
• Live Dealer Casino
• Online Casino
• Pokies
• Horse Racing
• Bingo
• Poker

Of course, some players don’t like all the clutter of a big site; if you are
one of these players, you should search out sites that only offer one form of
gambling i.e. a site that only has pokies.

Banking Options

The good news for Australian players is that it is pretty simple to make a
deposit at your online gambling site of choice. The IGA doesn’t put any
restrictions on the banks like the UIGEA does in the U.S., but you will find
that there are also potentially more attractive, safe options for your payments.

The easiest way for Australians to make deposits is by using credit or debit
cards. The deposits are fast, and most Australian banks will allow the
transactions. There are some alternatives for players who don’t want to have
their personal banking information stored on an online gambling site. Companies
like Skrill and Neteller are third-party payments solutions that allow you to
store your banking information on their servers, and then you just transfer
money in and out of the casino via the e-wallet balance. These methods are
usually the easiest way to get paid by these sites, which is the good problem we
hope all of our players have to deal with when they are playing at an online
gambling site!

Online gambling sites add and drop processors all the time, so when we review
a site, we list all the possible options for our players, and these reviews are
regularly updated to reflect these changes.

Promotions and Bonuses

Whether you are a fan of the pokies or want to bet the big cricket match, you
are going to need to make a deposit at an online gambling site before you are
able to bet there. One thing that players should be looking for from a value
standpoint is if their site offers any bonuses or promotions for making a
deposit. These bonuses are quite commonplace and are meant to entice players to
either deposit more or play more depending on the style of promotion.

There are many types of bonuses available to players. No-deposit offers such
as free spins or chips give a player a way to be rewarded for just registering
an account. This is an excellent way to test an online gambling site to see how
their games play and with a chance of making some real cash. Welcome bonuses can
be tailored to a particular type of gambling, sometimes within the same site
itself. For example, many sites will offer different terms for their bonuses for
poker players versus sports betting. As the style of wagering is different
between sports, poker, horse racing and casino, it is important to find a site
that offers you the best value for the game in which you plan to use your money.

Also, when you are shopping different offers, you should take note of an
online gambling site’s come and loyalty programs. These programs are an
excellent way to stretch your deposit, but many of these promotions require you
to register separately.

Make sure you take the time to read the terms and
conditions of a site’s promotions; having that knowledge in advance can save
some headaches later on.

Finding a Secure Online Gambling Site

We strive to bring you all the information, good or
bad, about a site you may plan to visit. While the industry has done a great job
in the last 20 years to guard against scammers and delinquents, an industry
without proper regulation can still fall prey to people who are just in it to
steal your money.

The Interactive Gambling Act was designed to protect players, but
realistically there isn’t much that the Australian government can do to fight a
faceless enemy from another jurisdiction. It is therefore up to players and
sites like ours to carefully research the sites we want to play at to be as sure
as possible that we are not being taken to the cleaners.

Australia Online Gambling Sites

The best place to start the safety review (and the first thing we do when
reviewing an online gambling site) is to head to the homepage of the site. There
you will find out exactly how safe the site is, at least from a software
perspective. Sites who have their software audited by a third party will display
the logo for that company if they receive a passing grade; it doesn’t mean that
they can’t be up to no good elsewhere, but at the very least you will know that
your gameplay is taking on the exact form it should be. On the homepage you
should be looking for logos for companies like TST, eCogra and Gaming
Associates; there will also likely be a link from those logos to an overview of
the testing process itself.

Conclusion

Should you be gambling, Australians? Who are we to stop you…you seem to
already be deep into the game.

All we can do is tell you that if you follow our recommendations, you will
find online gambling sites that are open to play from Australians covering all the
major games. As long as monitor the changing laws, you can get online and start
enjoying the gambling you love from the comfort of your own couch!

Australia is a gambling-friendly nation in both law and culture. Gaming laws in the country allow for the licensing of true Australian betting sites while simultaneously doing little to prohibit citizens from visiting unlicensed, offshore sites. The people are even more pro-gaming with some estimates positing that 4 out of 5 Australians are known to place the occasional wager.

However, the government has recently taken steps to crack down on offshore operators who accept customers from Australia without proper licensing. This development has made it more difficult for Australians to visit offshore poker sites and online casinos. The law still does not target individual players, but selection is becoming increasingly limited for all activities other than online sports betting.

I’ll get into the nuts and bolts of the legal landscape below, but for now let’s just sum it up and say that online betting is still widely available for individual punters. If you’re not interested in the legal mumbo-jumbo, let’s just start with a quick list of the best Australian betting sites according to reputation, variety of gaming options and ease of use:

Best Australian Betting Sites

The rest of this page will provide a brief overview of how online gaming works in Australia. I have verified that this information is all correct, but things are bound to change – especially in Australia where gaming activities are regulated by the federal government as well as each state and territory. Below, I will try my best to make sense of it all and present this information in a way that makes sense to the average person.

How Gaming Laws Affect Australian Betting Sites

Gambling in Australia is subject to two sets of regulation. At the highest level, we have a set of national standards put forth by the Interactive Gambling Act of 2001 (source). This piece of legislation set the stage for online gaming across the commonwealth and is what most concerns internet gamblers and operators.

The Interactive Gambling Act (IGA) made its way through the Australian legislature in 2001. It was sold as a way to limit gambling in the nation and fight the potential for problem gambling. In short, the IGA criminalized the many foreign operators that were offering their services to Australians at the time. The IGA also prohibited offshore operators from advertising real money gambling to Australian citizens.

However, the IGA includes no language that makes it a crime for individual people to visit offshore or unlicensed betting sites. It only targets those who run offshore gaming operations that continue to accept real money customers from Australia. Offshore poker sites and casinos are the biggest offenders in this regard.

We should also note that the IGA does not outright prohibit all forms of online betting. The law does allow online sports betting as long as all wagers are accepted before the start of any game (i.e. no in-play betting allowed). A fair number of the world’s major gaming brands now hold licenses in Australia.

If you visit an offshore site and then compare that to one of the licensed operators inside Australia, you will notice that the local operator has fewer gaming options and a smaller website. This is because licensed brands are limited in what they may offer to citizens: no poker, no gambling and no in-play betting. Foreign websites operate under no such restrictions and therefore offer the full range of gaming options.

Despite there being fewer options at licensed sites, we do believe it’s best to stick with operators that have taken the time to go through the licensing process. The reason being is that (1) it is expressly legal and (2) most of the best international betting sites are already licensed in Australia anyways.

The easiest way to determine if a site has a license to operate is to look at the domain name. If the website’s address ends in .com.au, it is most likely a licensed Australian betting site. Unlicensed sites are unable to get similar domains and therefore operate from standard .com domains.

Until recently, there had been no serious attempts by Australian lawmakers to crack down on foreign sites that continue to do business with citizens. That has changed with the passage of an amendment to the IGA that has clarified the legality of certain gaming activities and instituted new penalties on operators that do not comply.

For example, the legality of online poker was left in a somewhat grey area previously. The original IGA never categorically criminalized online poker even though it also included no language that would make it possible for poker sites to acquire gaming licenses. Thus, a large number of foreign poker sites continued to do business in Australia despite lacking a licence of any sort.

The amendment to the IGA has resulted in several key changes to the legal gaming environment in Australia. Most importantly, any activity not specifically regulated is now considered illegal for operators. This means gaming sites offering online poker and casino now violate the law.

Additionally, the law is imposing stricter new penalties on operators that continue to break the law moving forward. Bigger fines and criminal penalties apply to those sites and their key executives – but that’s not all.

The IGA Amendment Bill also grants the government the authority to notify other regulators of sites that flagrantly violate Australian law. These notifications could end up costing those operators the licenses they hold in other countries. In some jurisdictions, licensed betting sites that violate laws in other parts of the world are considered “unsuitable” and run the risk of having their licenses revoked.

The amendment also prohibits all forms of in-play betting once and for all. Licensed Australian betting sites had been using a technical and legal loophole to offer a form if in-play betting even though it is illegal to do so. That practice has been put out of business.

One late change added to the bill has also put an end to credit betting that began in February of 2018. Prior to the ban, punters in Australia could actually go into debt to bookmakers if they received credit and then placed losing wagers.

In 2017, the Australian Communications and Media Authority(ACMA) was given the authority to order local internet service providers (ISPs)to block access to unlicensed offshore betting sites in line with theTelecommunications Act 1997.

The ACMA began internet blocking in late 2019 and occasionally publishes short news releases announcing the additions of unlicensed betting sites to the blacklist. Australians can view a list of blacklisted websites on the AMCA website here.

Offshore betting sites are added to the blacklist based on violations of the Interactive Gambling Act. Among those violations are betting sites that offer online casino games, in-play sports betting or that offer their services to Australians despite not holding a valid licence.

State and Territory Gaming Laws

States and territories comprise the second level ofgoverning in Australia. The states have traditionally taken the lead inregulating gambling and sports betting, but the Commonwealth has taken anincreasingly proactive role with a particular focus on stopping unregulatedonline betting.

Licensing of Australian betting sites is still handled atthe state and territory level, though. The Northern Territory Racing Commissionand Liquor & Gaming NSW have been particularly active when it comes toissuing licenses to online operators.

The AMCA maintains an up-to-date list of licensed betting sites here.

Australian Capital Territory

• Sports Betting Regulator: ACT Gambling and Racing Commission

The Australian Capital Territory regulates gambling and sports betting through the ACT Gambling and Racing Commission. Online sports betting in the Australian Capital Territory is regulated according to the Interactive Gambling Act 1998.

However, note that Commonwealth law supersedes territory law and therefore the ACT Gambling and Racing Commission does not licence online casino sites. Instead, the Commission licenses sports betting sites and bookmakers that are headquartered in ACT.

New South Wales

• Sports Betting Regulator: Liquor & Gaming NSW

Liquor & Gaming NSW (L&GNSW) oversees the conduct of racecourse betting, retail betting and online wagering in New South Wales. L&GNSW licenses a handful of online betting sites and totalizator betting providers.

TAB Limited holds the only in-state wagering licence and is the sole provider of retail betting shops and totalizator wagering in New South Wales. Interstate betting providers that provide their services in NSW are also licensed by the L&GNSW. Customers of licensed betting providers may file a complaint with Liquor & Gaming here.

Northern Territory

Australia Sports Betting Sites

• Sports Betting Regulator: Northern Territory Racing Commission

The Northern Territory licenses a large number of Australia’s legal betting sites and a full list of licensees can be seen here.

The NT Racing Commission is also responsible for promoting integrity in racing and betting, ensuring fairness, encouraging responsible gaming and resolving disputes between customers and bookmakers. Customers who have a problem with a bookmaker licensed in the Northern Territory can file a complaint here.

Queensland

• Sports Betting Regulator: Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation

The Queensland Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation (OLGR)oversees all horse racing betting and wagering activity across the state. UBETQLD is the only operator approved to conduct horse racing and sports betting inQueensland, and additional operators cannot be considered until 2044.

The laws under which the OLGR regulates wagering are the Wagering Act 1998, Wagering Regulation 1999 and Wagering Rule 2010. Sports betting customers can file a complaint with the OLGR here.

South Australia

• Sports Betting Regulator: Liquor, Gambling & Lotteries

South Australia significantly reformed the way it regulates and oversees gambling within the province in December 2019. Among the key reforms were repealing the Gambling Administration Act 1995 and replacing it with the Gambling Administration Act 2019, which includes updated advertising standards, new licensing requirements and more.

Liquor, Gambling & Lotteries also licences interstate operators that offer online betting in South Australia but that are headquartered elsewhere. A full list of licensees can be seen here.

Tasmania

• Sports Betting Regulator: Tasmanian Liquor and Gaming Commission

Tasmania regulates gambling and wagering under the Gaming Control Act 1993. The Liquor and Gaming Commission issues licences, oversees the conduct of gaming and promotes responsible gambling as its core duties.

Additional regulations regarding the conduct of bookmakers in Tasmania are available here. UBET TAS (TAB) operates as the sole authorized provider of retail betting in Tasmania.

Victoria

• Sports Betting Regulator: Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation

The Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation (VCGLR) oversees retail sports betting and online wagering under the Gambling Regulation Act 2003. Tabcorp Wagering holds a single 12-year betting licence as the only in-state provider of betting.

Other providers that wish to offer online wagering to Victorian customers must adhere to a long list of requirements related to responsible gambling. Customers can file complaints about sports betting and other gaming providers here.

Western Australia

• Sports Betting Regulator: Gaming and Wagering Commission

The Gaming and Wagering Commission of Western Australiaoversees the conduct of all gaming, horse racing wagering and sports betting inthe state. The Commission’s duties include ensuring compliance with the law,issuing licences, promoting responsible gambling and collecting levies from licensedoperators.

Western Australia law allows licensed operators to accept internet wagers on horse races and sporting events prior to the start of the event (as required by Commonwealth law). Betting operators headquartered in Western Australia must operate from a server hosted at a licensed racecourse.

Making Deposits and Getting Paid

Making deposits and getting paid is no problem as long as you stick with reputable bookmakers, both licensed and unlicensed. The Australian dollar and all the major payment methods are widely accepted by the major bookmakers of the world. This includes simple credit card deposits, debit cards and e-wallets such as Skrill and Neteller.

Getting paid is equally straightforward provided you only do business with safe Australian betting sites (hint: see my recommendations above). If you win a bunch of money, you can request a withdrawal straight to your bank account or via a credit to the e-wallet of your choice.

Licensed betting sites do make it a little easier because they are designed from the ground up to be compatible with AUD. You can deposit in AUD, place your bets in AUD and then get paid in AUD. Unlicensed companies headquartered in other countries also accept AUD deposits, but they require you to convert your money into USD or EUR when you actually place bets or play poker. Those sites then perform a currency exchange back into AUD when you withdraw.