Online Gambling in Australia in 2023

--> the legal situation of online gambling in Australia
--> popular games at Australian online casinos
--> trustworthy payment methods for real money play
--> bonuses at Australian online gambling sites
--> Australian online gambling – FAQs
--> back to our list of safe online casinos

Have a look at our key criteria on how we rate safe and legit online gambling sites in Australia. Our expert team thoroughly reviews each online casino to ensure you have a smooth experience from your first deposit until your last.

Using this checklist, you can also learn how to evaluate sites by yourself.

The first thing we look at all online gambling sites in Australia is legitimate licensing. This can be usually found in the footer of the website. The operator must provide an appropriate license number you can verify on the licensor’s website, or a direct a license to the license itself.

The reputable licensors such as Malta Gaming Authority, Curacao and Kahnawake are common licensors of trusted Australian online gambling sites.

Having trusted payment options is crucial for Aussie punters, especially since many banks will prohibit transactions with online gambling operators.

This is why it’s important to have e-wallets, prepaid vouchers and cryptocurrency at your disposal. On top of that, we look for reasonable payout times, little to no fees and reasonable transaction limits.

If you wish to learn the specifics, we go in-depth on payment methods later on in this page.  

The quality of customer support equals the operator’s quality in our eyes. Ultimately, it all comes down to how an online gambling site treats Australian customers. This is an easy test for you to check out yourself, as you can easily contact any casino’s support team before making a real money deposit.

A casino is nothing without its games which is why we make sure the Australian online gambling sites we list are partnered with trusted, safe providers. This includes quality choice in games that range in the hundreds, if not thousands. We ensure you have a solid choice in pokies, classic table games, live casino tables, and misc. games like virtual, scratch cards, keno and bingo.

The bonuses are the main distinction in offline vs online gambling. Online, the play a huge part in the player experience. The welcome bonus, for instance, is the primary attractor for new players. As such, it offers top value to players to entice them to sign-up and deposit.

We look at value of bonus, fairness of terms and similar important factors. This is to make sure you’re getting your money’s worth.

This page is focused on general online gambling in Australia. As such, you will find trusted sites with a proven track record among thousands of Aussie punters. However, we have a special page dedicated to the best Australian real money casinos, where you will find a top list of the best of the best.

The fact is that new Australian gambling sites are often the best choice for Aussie players because of many factors. They offer improved bonuses, better customer support, a fresh and modern design, and more – which we discuss in-depth in our page dedicated to this topic.

The Australian government has a rigorous view on gambling, which has been backed up by the public’s similar views. At the turn of our century, online gambling in Australia was unregulated, so players could easily find online gambling games for real money.

This changed with the Interactive Gambling Act of 2001, which put a stop to all online gambling activities offered to Australian customers – from inside and outside the country as well.

The law clearly states that under the IGA, “it is an offence to:”

• provide a prohibited interactive gambling service to customers in Australia.
• provide an unlicensed regulated interactive gambling service to customers in Australia; and
• provide an Australian-based interactive gambling service to customers in designated countries.

For better or worse, Australian gambling laws are crystal clear and alternative interpretations are not possible. However, it’s important to point out that this act targets providers – not players. Meaning, as a player you cannot get in legal trouble for gambling online.

This is distinctly laid out in the Interactive Gambling Act with the following sentence:

• “The Act aims to limit the harmful effects of gambling on the Australian community. It targets the providers of interactive gambling, not their potential or actual customers.

The Act goes on to explain that players are unable to get guarantees of timely payouts from offshore operators. And. that the government can’t legally protect players who decide to play at pursue online gambling for real money at offshore sites.

Despite all of this, Australian punters continue to gamble online, with a reported spending of over AU$800 million in 2010 alone.

The Australian government looks at gambling winnings are luck, not “hard-work” or a product of skill. This includes professional poker players as well, who are also not subject to taxation.

As such, players don’t have to pay taxes on their online gambling winnings.

When it comes to land-based operators, the burden of taxes is laid on operators rather than the players.

Typically, online gambling sites in Australia offer a variety of games, often ranging in the thousands. In comparison to land-based casinos, the world of online gambling is richer in variety and quality.

Typically, pokies are the focal point of any online casino, making up 90% of the gaming selection. Overall, however, you will find:

• Video and Classic Pokies
• Table Games (Blackjack, Roulette, Baccarat)
• Poker (Texas Hold’em, Caribbean Stud, Three Card Poker)
• Video Poker (Deuces Wild, Jacks or Better, Joker Poker)
• Live Dealer Tables (Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Baccarat, Game Shows)
• Casual Games (Scratch Cards, Keno, Bingo, Virtual Sports)

When engaging in online gambling for real money, you will want to resort to e-wallets, prepaid cards and cryptocurrencies.

These payment options offer ease of use, convenience, and cost-effectiveness. Players can use various payment methods to fund their e-wallets and use the e-wallets to withdraw via ATM or different means.

The e-wallets Neteller and Skrill used to be favorites, but they have been since restricted for Australia customers. That is a consequence of the government’s active efforts against online gambling. In fact, Skrill was faced with multi-million retroactive fees for previously offering these services to players.

Nonetheless, many alternatives are available to Aussie players in multiple categories.  

In the e-wallet section, the most popular options are ecoPayz and MuchBetter, which are available across the globe but especially preferred by Australians. In some cases, you can even resort to PayPal as well, but in reality Australian gambling sites that accept PayPal are not common.  

Prepaid cards are extremely popular since they are not connected to bank accounts or any personal information for that matter. You can simply purchase a prepaid card, and use it to deposit.

The downside is that prepaid cards are unavailable for withdrawals. In that case, an alternative option will be used at the operator’s discretion.

The most common prepaid vouchers at Australian gambling sites are Neosurf and U-Pay.

As we said, many casinos restrict debit cards – but not all. In fact, sometimes you can resort to VISA and MasterCard to make online gambling transactions. In general, it will be much easier for you to deposit through credit and debit cards.

As we previously said, withdrawals can be problematic since many Australian banks refuse to deal with online casino operators. This sometimes extends to deposits as well, completely restricting your use of debit or credit cards – depending on your bank of choice.

An alternative to debit/credit cards is POLi, which facilitates transactions between your bank and the online casinos. However, this payment option is becoming a rarity as well.

Cryptocurrencies are increasing in popularity. They offer unique benefits that especially favor Aussie players because of:

• Total anonymity
• Low fees
• Extremely fast cashouts
• High transaction limits

The downside can be ease of use, or its lack thereof.

The most popular cryptocurrencies at online gambling sites in Australia are:

• Bitcoin
• Bitcoin Cash
• Litecoin
• Ethereum
• Tether
• Dogecoin

As we mentioned, bonuses are integral part of online casinos in Australia and worldwide.

There are several types of bonuses you can claim at an online casino. In many cases, you will be able to continuously claim bonuses for as long as you keep playing.

The welcome bonus offers the best value. It is exclusive to new players, as it is a primary incentive offered by operators to entice newcomers. You can only claim this bonus once, hence its good value.

At an Australian online casino, the typical welcome bonus offers a 100% or 200% match on your first deposit. Sometimes, you will be offered a welcome package that spans across your first several deposits.

The no deposit bonus is the most popular, but also the rarest among online gambling sites in Australia.

The reason for this is obvious. This bonus type is essentially free money, requiring no investment on the player’s part.

You can win real money using this bonus; however, your winnings will be limited. In general, welcome bonuses offer better value and a higher chance of bigger winnings.

We list the top-rated Australian no deposit bonuses in our special no deposit page. We also discover the inner workings of this bonus type, key bonus terms and similar important factors. 

Free spins are extremely common at Aussie gambling sites. They offered to new and regular players alike, and quite frequently to boot. These bonuses provide solid value, especially when paired with deposit bonus cash as part of a welcome package.

Feel free to browse the best free spins offers in Australia - with or without a deposit, in our dedicated page on this topic. 

Existing player promotions include deposit match bonuses, free spins, reload bonuses and frequently cashback bonuses.

Many of these bonuses are often part of a loyalty or VIP scheme for the most loyal players. 

Today, thousands of Australians gamble online everyday, as huge sums are spent at foreign-based online casinos.

This leads us to a simple conclusion, that the government would benefit from regulating the market. They may not tax players, but the taxes on operators can bring in considerable income. At the same time, Aussie players would benefit from a local, regulated market and improved player protection.

As it stands now, foreign sites are the only choice for casino players. On the flipside, these sites offer the finest gaming libraries on the market. The downside is that some payment options are restricted to Aussies, but plenty of options are still on offer.

Having said that, feel free to browse trusted Australian gambling sites and make your choice. You can also read our in-depth reviews to learn more on each brand.

Further up this page our experts gave you the best online casinos in Australia. These were chosen after a strict review process. You can trust these top choices.

Here is a full list of online casinos in Australia as well.