Is Gambling Legal In Australia

In gambling laws, Australia is a little like the US. There is some federal input, particularly in the protection of consumers, but the states and territories regulate individual gambling laws. Unlike the United States, however, the eight regions have a more consistent approach. Gambling policy in Australia has traditionally been the responsibility of the States rather than the Commonwealth. State and territory governments regulate and provide gambling services and rely heavily on the ensuing revenue. However, recent developments have seen the Commonwealth take a. Australia law forbids the marketing of unregulated online forms of gambling. No such law covers the action of players at gaming sites. Sports betting, racing and lotteries are the only forms of online gambling that are legal under the Interactive Gambling Act. There are restrictions on what companies may spread in terms of games.

Australia is one of those countries in which there is no entity with the overall power over gambling regulations. It is regulated at Federal Level with certain statutes, but also at the State or Territory level.

Gambling is a very popular pastime among Aussies, and hence is a thriving industry for the nation. Both online and offline gambling entertainment is present in Australia, with various levels of governmental oversight regarding regulation, licensing and operational directives. This section of our guide is designed to provide you with information about the gambling laws in Australia, and how they pertain to you as a player. We cover both online and offline gambling laws, and offer a helpful FAQ section that really breaks down the elements that most people have questions about. The legal landscape of gambling can be a complex maze to navigate, and its our job to break the information down into easy to understand, bite sized facts that enable our Aussie players to make informed decisions regarding their involvement in this type of entertainment.

Land Based Gambling Laws in Australia

The popularity of gambling in Australia is evident in the range of options available to players. From posh casinos to popular pub pokies, there is something for everyone. Australian gambling law permits a variety of casino games, including slots, pokies (video poker), keno and poker. There are a number of brick and mortar casinos down under as well as slots and pokies located at pubs, restaurants and other retail locations. Also allowed are specific forms of sports betting, bingo, lottery and racing.

Gambling laws applying to brick and mortar gambling entertainment are regional specific. The majority of gambling regulation, licensing and operational directives are administered via individual state and territorial jurisdictions. National oversight is administered through the Australian Commonwealth, though from a minimalistic approach. You can learn more about the regulation of legal land based gambling on our page about Regional Gambling Laws in Australia.

Online Gambling Laws in Australia

Online gambling, or interactive gambling as Australia terms it, is one area where the Commonwealth has gotten more involved from a national regulatory standpoint. The onset of technological advances within the gambling industry brought Australia face to face with Internet gambling sites. In 2001, the Interactive Gambling Act was passed by the Australian Commonwealth in an effort to protect Aussie residents from questionable gambling environments, and to curtail illegal, unlicensed gambling activity online. The IGA effectively prohibits Australian based online gambling sites from offering their services to Aussie players. It is not illegal for an online gambling site to operate within Australia, however these businesses can only legally offer their services to players outside of the nation’s borders.

The IGA’s original language permitted online sports betting sites, but was vague on online casinos and poker. As a result, both licensed and unlicensed iGaming operators were able to service Aussie residents for over 15 years. However, things are about to change with the Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill of 2016 ready to be signed into law. The amendment seeks to clear the air with iGaming and will effectively block all online casino and poker brands. The bill offers no avenue for interested operators to apply for proper credentials that would allow them to legally enter the market (hopefully the government will address this in the future).

Some online poker brands have already pulled out of the Aussie market before the bill even made it to the House floor. PokerStars, one of the last to remain, announced it would be withdrawing sometime in mid-September. The Australian Senate’s Environment and Communications References Committee has heard from local players, lawmakers and other stakeholders on the current status of online poker in the nation. If the pro-online poker community can prove that a legalized online poker sector would be more beneficial than the looming ban, the Committee’s report could make a significant impact. The report is due by September 21, 2017. As things stand now, this report is the only hope for iGaming in the country, as the amendment will grant the Australian government plenty of authority on enforcing online gambling brands.

Australian Gambling Law FAQ’s

Is it legal for Aussie players to participate in online gambling?

Due to new legislation, online casino gambling and online poker is not available either domestically or from licensed offshore destinations. Online sports betting, bingo and lottery games are still permitted as long as the destination at which you are betting is licensed and regulated. Once the new bill becomes law, these restrictions will be official. While we hate to be the bearer of bad news, the purpose of our guide legal gambling Australia is to provide accurate and up to date information to Australian citizens seeking information about gambling entertainment.

Who regulates gambling in Australia?

For the most part, individual states and territories within Australia are responsible for regulatory oversight of the industry for their region. The exception is online gambling, a gaming venue that is subject to the Interactive Gambling Act and the Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill of 2016. These laws were passed and are regulated by the Commonwealth of Australia, meaning that it is a piece of legislation that spans the entire country.

Can I play in AUD dollars?

Most of the legal gambling sites accepting Australian players also accept AUD currency for transactions. This will include both deposits and payouts. Should a gambling site you visit not conduct business in AUD, they likely have a conversion mechanism in place so that you can still deposit using the Australian Dollar, or access to a deposit method that takes care of the currency conversion for you.

What types of online gambling can Australian players legally participate in?

Aussie players are able to legally engage in a variety of online gambling platforms. There are a few exceptions to the IGA and the Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill, including sports betting, bingo and lottery purchases. This means that Australian based gambling sites and licensed offshore gambling sites are allowed to offer these types of gambling options to Aussie residents. When it comes to casino games such as slots and pokies, or poker games for real money, players can no longer legally access offshore online casinos or poker sites.

The recommended gambling sites in this guide are all legally licensed, regulated and accept Australian players. They have also all been vetted by our analysts and are among the leading gambling destinations on the Internet, delivering a high quality betting experience and exceptional bonus offers. However, we feel compelled to tell you that while the government may lack the ability to track and/or enforce the new law, the Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill does make it illegal to gamble for real money at offshore online casinos and poker sites. Therefore, if you choose to still engage in offshore online gambling once the bill becomes law, you are risking being in violation of Australia’s gambling laws.

In this article we’ll explore various aspects of legality of online gambling in Australia, including taxation, laws, and some statistics that show how big gambling really is down under. It should make for an interesting read!

You as an Australian resident are free to gamble at any operator that will have you as a client. There can be no penalties, and there’s no tax. It’s important to gamble with reputable and reliable operators though, and fortunately we have a list of these:

Best Australian Casinos For March 2021

If you need help with banking, check out our guides on how to deposit and how to withdraw money from an online casino.

How many Australians are gambling?

An oft-cited figure of 80% of Australian adults being gamblers is no longer true, but Australians are still likely the world record holders as the numbers have settled at roughly 50% of adults indulging in some form of gambling within the last three months.

What is the most popular form of gambling in Australia?

Lottery and scratch tickets are the most popular form of gambling in Australia. Roughly 40 per cent of population have participated in lottery or bought scratch tickets within the last 12 months. Many people don’t even consider lottery and scratch tickets gambling as such, more of a routine that might make you a millionaire, and if we’d exclude this – then pokies are the most popular real form of gambling in Australia. It’s followed by sports betting, keno and casino table games such as blackjack and roulette.

Is Betting Legal In Australia

Even if lottery is most popular overall when we look at how many people partake, more than half of the $21 billion Australians spend on gambling each year goes to pokies ($12 million). So, pokies are actually the most-played game.

As young people don’t really play lottery and don’t buy scratch cards, gambling overall seems to be on the decline. Other gambling verticals’ numbers have declined as well, likely due to more strict laws that have restriced gambling a bit and have perhaps made it inconvenient for some people to gamble.

Is it legal for Australians to gamble?

The burden is placed solely on the operators, and it is them who are facing sanctions if they offer gambling services to Australians. The person who is gambling can not be liable for anything. So, you as an Australian are free to gamble wherever you want to – online or otherwise – and there will be no repercussions for you. If anyone is to blame for something, it can only be the gambling operator, not you.

Online gambling Australia banned

Is online gambling in Australia banned? And if it is, when it was banned?

This is a long story that began in 2001 with The Interactive Gambling Act that banned online gambling in Australia. The Act wasn’t really taken seriously by anyone until it was amended to become more powerful, and that happened in 2016.

The Interactive Gambling Act (2001)

The Australian Parliament passed The Interactive Gambling Act in 2001, and this Act was amended several times. In short, the Act bans all forms of online gambling as well as some other things such as in-play sports betting, and declares it illegal to offer such services to Australian residents.

For a long time, almost two decades, the Act wasn’t being enforced so the gambling operators were free to do what they wanted, but in 2016 that changed. When the new law was put into effect, a large percentage of operators fled the market, including some of the best and most reputable brands.

You see, the ban on online gambling in Australia is total and there is no way for an operator to register for a licence. This is the difficult part that made it impossible for the best brands to operate here, but fortunately some quality ones decided to stay, such as Bitstarz.

Interactive Gambling Amendment bill (2016)

After finding out exactly in what ways the operators were circumventing the ban, the government made a new bill, and this one was a really powerful one as it detailed exactly what is illegal and who has the power to enforce the ban and issue penalties (ACMA – Australian Communications and Media Authority).

This changed everything, and almost immediately, within months, a large portion of online gambling operators were wiped out. They decided to leave the market, but many have decided to stay.

Who regulates gambling in Australia?

Gambling in Australia is traditionally regulated by the States, rather than the Commonwealth, though the Commonwealth has recently taken an active role with blanket laws that apply to Australia as a whole.

Gambling laws are legislated federally and enforced and legislated locally. These are the authorities that regulate on a State and Territory level:

• Australian Capital Territory – ACT Gambling and Racing Commission
• New South Wales – New South Wales Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing
• Northern Territory – Licensing Commission
• Queensland – Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation
• South Australia – Independent Gambling Authority
• Tasmania – Tasmanian Gaming Commission
• Victoria – Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation
• Western Australia – Department of Racing, Gaming and Liquor

What types of gambling are illegal in Australia?

Australia’s gambling laws prohibit certain gambling activities:

States Where Online Gambling Is Legal

• online casinos, slot machines and poker
• online wagering services that offer in-play live sports betting
• online wagering services that operate without a licence
• online instant lotteries

So, we can see that Australia is being very specific. Sportsbooks can’t offer live betting, as this is deemed to be a great risk to the honesty of sports, and also sportsbooks can’t operate without a proper licence.

Instant lotteries are also banned so the country would maintain monopoly.

Online casinos, slot machines and poker are completely banned. Meaning, no operator can get a licence to offer these to Australian residents.

However, since so many Australians want to gamble, there will always be providers that are willing to risk their neck to offer gambling services to you. Also, we can be fortunate that there are many good ones that even offer welcome bonuses and free spins.

Is Matched Betting Legal In Australia

Do you have to declare gambling winnings and are they taxable?

Gambling winnings in Australia aren’t taxed and don’t need to be declared.

The reason for this is that any gambling winnings are deemed to be a result of good luck, and even if you win a lot of money it is expected you’ll have bad luck in other gambling sessions. Gambling is also treated as a recreational activity or a hobby, not a profession, so any winnings don’t represent taxable income. Even lottery winnings and game show appearances aren’t taxed.

Professional gamblers are expected to pay tax. However, to be declared a professional gambler you’d not only have to be a full-time gambler, but would – crucially – have to have business connections to the gambling industry. The gambling activity must be a business or a part of a business. If you do it alone, you’ll never be declared a professional gambler, even if you make millions.

The government chooses to tax the gambling operators instead.

Possible future developments

Is Online Gambling Legal In Ny

We can only hope that in the future the Australian government will at least allow operators to apply for a licence, which would go a long way in ensuring trust between the casino and the player. Until then, there are hundreds of operators to choose from and you must rely on sites such as BestCasinoAustralia.com to tell you which ones are good and which ones aren’t.