Australia

Online sports and racing betting is legal and regulated in Australia. The federal Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (IGA) sets the national framework and the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) enforces it, while the states and territories issue the actual wagering licences, with the Northern Territory licensing most of the national corporate online bookmakers. The minimum betting age is 18 nationwide.

The IGA specifically bans online in-play (live) betting on sports, so live sports bets have to be placed by phone or in person. Racing is exempt. Online casino games, slots and poker remain prohibited.

In a landmark 2025 decision, ACMA classified prediction markets as gambling rather than financial products and ordered internet providers to block Polymarket on 13 August 2025. Kalshi geo-blocks Australia voluntarily. The government has also flagged a package of IGA reforms, targeted for around 1 January 2027, including bans on wagering ads during live sport and an expanded BetStop national self-exclusion register.

Australia is a gambling-friendly nation in both law and culture. Its laws license genuinely Australian betting sites while doing little to stop citizens from using unlicensed offshore ones, and some estimates suggest 4 out of 5 Australians place the occasional bet.

Since the IGA was amended in 2017, though, the government has cracked down on offshore operators that take Australian customers without a licence, which has made offshore poker sites and online casinos harder to reach. The law still doesn't target individual players, and online betting sites are still widely available to punters, but the choice is shrinking for everything except online sports betting.

How Do Australia's Gambling Laws Affect Betting Sites?

Australian gambling is regulated at two levels. At the top sit the national standards in the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, which set the rules for online gaming across the Commonwealth and matters most to online bettors and operators.

The IGA was sold as a way to limit gambling and fight problem gambling. It criminalised the many foreign operators then serving Australians and banned offshore operators from advertising real-money gambling to Australians.

However, the IGA includes no language that makes it a crime for individuals to visit offshore or unlicensed betting sites. It only targets people who run offshore operations that keep accepting real-money customers from Australia.

The IGA doesn't ban every form of online betting either. Online sports betting is allowed as long as every bet is placed before the game starts, so there's no online in-play betting. A fair number of the world's major gaming brands now hold Australian licences.

Compare an offshore site with a licensed Australian one and you'll notice the local operator offers fewer games and a smaller site. Licensed brands can't offer Australians poker, casino games or in-play betting, while foreign sites face no such limits and offer everything.

Even with fewer options, we recommend sticking with operators that have gone through the licensing process, because they're expressly legal.

The easiest way to check whether a site is licensed is its domain name. If the address ends in .com.au, it's most likely a licensed Australian betting site. Unlicensed sites can't get those domains, so they run on standard .com addresses.

What Did the 2017 Interactive Gambling Act Amendment Change?

The 2017 amendment clarified which gaming activities are legal and brought in new penalties for operators that don't comply. Until then, Australian lawmakers hadn't seriously tried to crack down on foreign sites that kept doing business with Australians.

Online poker, for example, used to sit in a grey area. The original IGA never explicitly criminalised it, but it also gave poker sites no way to get a licence, so many foreign poker sites kept operating in Australia without any licence at all.

The most important change is that any activity not specifically regulated is now illegal for operators, so sites offering online poker and casino games now break the law.

The amendment also brought stricter penalties for operators that keep breaking the law, including bigger fines and criminal penalties for the sites and their key executives. It lets the government notify other regulators about sites that flagrantly break Australian law, too. Those notifications could cost operators the licences they hold elsewhere, since some jurisdictions treat licensed betting sites that break other countries' laws as "unsuitable" and may revoke their licences.

A late change to the bill banned credit betting from February 2018. Before that, Australian punters could run up debts with online bookmakers by betting on credit and losing.

Does Australia Block Unlicensed Betting Sites?

Yes. Since 2017, ACMA has had the power to order Australian internet providers to block unlicensed offshore betting sites under the Telecommunications Act 1997. It started blocking in late 2019 and now and then publishes short news releases when it adds sites to the blacklist, which you can view on the ACMA website.

Sites go on the blacklist for breaking the Interactive Gambling Act, for example by offering online casino games or in-play sports betting, or by serving Australians without a valid licence.

Who Licenses Betting Sites in Each State and Territory?

The states and territories license Australian betting sites. They've traditionally led on regulating gambling and sports betting, but the Commonwealth has taken an increasingly active role, especially in stopping unregulated online betting. The Northern Territory Racing Commission and Liquor & Gaming NSW have been especially active in licensing online operators.

ACMA keeps an up-to-date list of licensed betting sites.

Australian Capital Territory

• Sports Betting Regulator: ACT Gambling and Racing Commission

The ACT Gambling and Racing Commission regulates gambling and sports betting in the Australian Capital Territory, and online sports betting there falls under the territory's Interactive Gambling Act 1998.

Commonwealth law overrides territory law, so the Commission doesn't license online casinos. It licenses sports betting sites and bookmakers based in the ACT.

New South Wales

• Sports Betting Regulator: Liquor & Gaming NSW

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

TAB Limited holds the only in-state wagering licence and is the sole provider of retail betting shops and totalisator betting in NSW. L&GNSW also licenses interstate betting providers that serve NSW customers, and customers of licensed providers can complain to Liquor & Gaming NSW.

Northern Territory

• Sports Betting Regulator: Northern Territory Racing Commission

The Northern Territory licenses a large share of Australia's legal betting sites, and you can see the full list of licensees.

The NT Racing Commission also promotes integrity in racing and betting, ensures fairness, encourages responsible gambling and settles disputes between customers and online bookmakers. If you have a problem with an NT-licensed bookmaker, you can file a complaint.

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 in the state. TAB (formerly UBET QLD) is the only operator approved to run horse racing and sports betting in Queensland, and no other operator can be considered until 2044.

The OLGR regulates wagering under the Wagering Act 1998, Wagering Regulation 1999 and Wagering Rule 2010. Sports betting customers can complain to the OLGR.

South Australia

• Sports Betting Regulator: Liquor, Gambling & Lotteries

South Australia overhauled how it regulates gambling in December 2019. The key reform replaced the Gambling Administration Act 1995 with the Gambling Administration Act 2019, which brought updated advertising standards, new licensing requirements and more.

Liquor, Gambling & Lotteries also licenses interstate operators that offer online betting in South Australia from elsewhere. You can see the full list of licensees.

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's core duties are issuing licences, overseeing gaming and promoting responsible gambling. TAB (formerly UBET) is the only authorised provider of retail betting in Tasmania.

Victoria

• Sports Betting Regulator: Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission

The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) oversees retail sports betting and online wagering under the Gambling Regulation Act 2003. Tabcorp Wagering holds the exclusive 20-year wagering and betting licence, in effect since August 2024, as the only in-state provider of retail betting. Other providers that want to offer online wagering to Victorians must meet a long list of responsible gambling requirements.

Western Australia

• Sports Betting Regulator: Gaming and Wagering Commission

The Gaming and Wagering Commission of Western Australia oversees all gaming, horse racing betting and sports betting in the state. Its duties include enforcing the law, issuing licences, promoting responsible gambling and collecting levies from licensed operators.

Western Australian law lets licensed operators accept internet bets on horse races and sporting events before the event starts, as Commonwealth law requires. Betting operators based in Western Australia must run from a server hosted at a licensed racecourse.

How Do Deposits and Withdrawals Work in Australia?

Deposits and withdrawals are easy as long as you stick with licensed Australian bookmakers. The world's major online bookmakers widely accept the Australian dollar and the main payment methods, including debit cards and e-wallets such as Skrill and Neteller. Credit cards, credit-funded digital wallets and cryptocurrency are off the table, though, because Australian law has banned them for online and phone betting since 11 June 2024.

Getting paid is just as simple. If you win, you can withdraw straight to your bank account or to the e-wallet of your choice.

Licensed sites are built around the AUD, so you deposit, bet and get paid in Australian dollars. Unlicensed offshore sites also accept AUD deposits but convert your money into USD or EUR when you bet or play poker, then convert it back to AUD when you withdraw.