Gaming Down Under – What’s Legal And What’s Not In APAC

Australia has a huge gambling industry, but the legal side of it isn’t always easy to figure out. Plenty of people assume that if sports betting is legal, everything else must be too. But that’s not really how it works.

The rules depend on what you’re betting on. Sports, horse racing and lotteries are all one category. Casino games are another. Once you understand that split, the rest starts to make a lot more sense.

The Law Behind It All

Most online gambling rules come from the Interactive Gambling Act 2001. The law is designed for providers rather than players. Companies that offer online casino games to Australian players can face pretty big financial penalties. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) can also have illegal gambling websites blocked.

That’s why offshore casino sites often come up in conversations about Australian gambling. Some are still accessible, but they aren’t operating within Australia’s legal framework. Anyone using them does so without the consumer protections that come with licensed Australian operators.

The law hasn’t stayed the same either. A 2017 update strengthened enforcement and removed the online in-play betting loophole. In 2023, licensed operators were also banned from accepting credit cards and cryptocurrency.

But the federal law is only one part of the picture. Each state and territory has its own regulator that looks after licensing, compliance and gambling venues in its jurisdiction.

What’s Actually Legal?

Australia isn’t short on legal gambling options.

If you want to place a bet on a football match, a horse race or another sporting event, you can do that legally through a bookmaker licensed in Australia, before an event begins. Lotteries, keno and scratch tickets are legal through state licensed lottery operators, while casino games can be played in licensed land-based venues.

Live online betting is a different story. Once the match, race or event has started, in-play betting isn’t allowed under the current legislation. If you want to place a bet online, it has to happen before things get started.

And online casino games, like pokies, blackjack, roulette, baccarat, craps and online poker, can’t legally be offered for real money to people in Australia. It doesn’t matter if the website is based in Australia or somewhere overseas. The same federal rules apply.

Land-based casinos are different. If a casino is licensed, traditional table games and pokies can still be played there.

Pokies Are A Big Part Of Gaming

Walk into plenty of Australian pubs or clubs and you’ll probably find pokies. There are around 185,000 electronic gaming machines across the country, with New South Wales home to almost half of them. They’re still one of the biggest parts of Australia’s gambling market, even though real-money online casinos aren’t legal.

Western Australia is the exception. It’s the only state where pokies are limited to casinos instead of appearing in pubs and clubs.

Age And Tax Rules

Some parts of the law are much easier to remember.

The legal gambling age is 18 everywhere in Australia. It doesn’t matter whether you’re buying a lottery ticket, betting online or walking into a casino. Operators are expected to check your ID before you can gamble.

And winnings are generally tax-free for recreational players. The Australian Taxation Office treats gambling wins as the result of luck rather than regular income, though professional gamblers can have different tax rules.

More Changes Are Coming

Australia’s gambling laws haven’t stopped changing.

Following an inquiry, the federal government confirmed a series of reforms that will begin rolling out from 2027. New restrictions on gambling advertising are part of that, including limits on who can see online gambling ads and a ban on celebrity endorsements.

Other changes have already arrived. BetStop, the National Self-Exclusion Register, now gives people a way to exclude themselves from all licensed sites at once. The ban on using credit cards and cryptocurrency for licensed online betting is already in place, and the review of gambling legislation is still ongoing.