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Australian Online Gambling in 2020

Over 80% of Australian adults gamble for real money, the most of any country. Australians gamble more each year, too. In 2017-2023, they spent $24.887 billion, nearly $1.2 billion more than what was spent in 2016-2017.

There are many ways to gamble for real money in Australia, but it’s tough to beat online gambling when it comes to convenience. There are other advantages to using the internet, too, especially when joining the best Australian gambling sites.

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While gambling is fun in general, it’s exponentially more exciting when you gamble online for real money. But you have to join a safe and trustworthy site to fully enjoy all the benefits.

This is where we come in. We’ve done the work, reviewing and testing a wide range of online gambling sites so you don’t have to. There’s no need to stress out about finding a site because you can choose from our list of the top Australian gambling sites instead.

Feel free to join one now. Or continue reading to find out how we find the best real money gambling sites, learn about Australia’s gambling laws, and discover why it makes it sense to gamble online from the land of Oz.

Best Australian Casino Onlines

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About Our Recommended Australian Online Casino Onlines

There are Australians who fear gambling online, and one of their main concerns is that an operator will rip them off.

It can definitely happen. If an offshore gambling site rips you off, the Australian Communications and Media Authority won’t have your back. You’re on your own.

The good news is that there are dozens more safe and legitimate Australian gambling sites that you can join. And we trust many of these sites with our own money.

It’s possible to gamble online for real money from Australia safely. You just need to know which sites to join.

We do the homework so that you can simply choose from our list of the top Australian online gambling sites and start playing right away. But maybe you’re wondering why you should trust us. How do you know that you can trust our recommendations?

We understand where you’re coming from, which is why we’re going to explain how we come up with our recommendations and the standards we hold every site to.

Our Review Process

Every single online gambling site we recommend goes through a rigorous review process. The following is a brief overview of what we look for and test.

  • License

We ensure that they have a license and check to see who issued it. It’s also important to check whether the operator has had their license suspended in the past and, if so, why.

  • Gambling Commission

The gambling commission is important because they oversee each gambling site to ensure they follow the rules. Some commissions are better than others at protecting players from sketchy gambling sites.

  • Terms and Conditions

We comb the fine print to ensure the gambling site’s rules are reasonable. This includes bonus terms, banking limits, gambling limits, and more.

  • Banking Options

It’s important that the site you join accepts the banking methods you want to use and has deposit and cashout limits that work for your bankroll. We also check to see how fast each gambling site pays their customers.

  • Promotions

One thing we look for is whether the site offers promotions for each of the gambling products they have. We review the types of promotions they offer, how often you can claim them, and the terms you need to fulfill when you do.

  • Games and Betting Options

We go through each site to see how large their game, variant, and betting selection is. Our reviews include what you can play, how much you can play for, and whether we noticed any bugs during our review.

  • Compatibility

Our review process includes testing the online gambling site on multiple devices. We look for which games and betting options are available and how well they work on each device.

  • Software

This applies most to casinos, as different software means different games, progressive jackpots, and features. However, software for poker and sports betting matters too, as it effects how easy it is to use the platform, how well it works on mobile, and the features you can use.

  • Reputation

Last but not least, we check the reputation of every site. The most important thing we look for is whether they’ve scammed their customers in the past. We won’t recommend a real money gambling site that engages in rogue behavior.

This summary does not do our process justice. We spend hours, sometimes a couple of days to review and test each individual site. Then, we include every detail we find in our reviews.

You can learn more about our process and what we can include in our reviews on our gambling sites reviews section.

Awarding Our Seal of Approval

One thing that makes our recommendations unique is that each one has our seal of approval. The play-casino-games-now.com Seal of Approval is our guarantee that every Australian gambling site we recommend is safe to join.

Safety is the most important aspect, especially if you gamble at offshore gambling websites. Your security comes before promotions, and it tops the site’s software and banking methods.

Nothing trumps safety when it comes to gambling online for real money.

We’ve reviewed many gambling sites. However, you’ll notice that we recommend only a handful of them. This is deliberate.

Most of the Australian gambling sites we review are okay. Chances are, you can join any one of them and never have a problem. But are you excited to join an average gambling site, or one that’s just safe enough?

Heck no! That’s why we only recommend sites that have our approval. That way, you know the site you’re about to join is one of the safest online gambling sites for Australians.

What This Means for You

We work hard to produce our recommendations. The Australian online gambling sites we list on this page aren’t chosen at random.

Each one was hand-picked after spending hours researching the site to ensure it was above board and testing it to ensure you’ll have a great time playing there.

Every recommendation listed is one of the best Australian gambling sites you can join, and your money is safe at any one of these choices. You surely won’t find a better group of sites for online gambling in Australia.

Start Playing at Australia’s Best Casino Onlines

There are several reasons why Australians should gamble online. Below, you’ll find steps to help you get started.

Gambling online for real money is not the same as walking into your local casino, withdrawing cash from the ATM, and sitting down to play your favorite game.

It’s more akin to shopping online. And this might be a bit of a challenge if you’re not internet savvy. You have nothing to fear, though. There are only a couple of steps you need to take and we link to other guides that will fill in any blanks you might have.

1. Choose a Site to Join

Choosing a site to join can be a struggle because there are so many options to choose from. They’re not all worth your time either, which makes deciding even tougher.

Our recommendation is to figure out what you want to play or bet on, whether that’s casino games, poker, sports betting, and so on. Then, choose a site that focuses on that.

If not, you can simply join our top-rated gambling sites for Australians. Give them a test run to figure out what you want and don’t want from a gambling site.

2. Create Your Account

This should be straightforward. Find the “join” or “sign up” link, then fill out the form on the following page.

The form will ask for information like your name, email, physical address, and phone number. You need to provide this information so they can confirm you’re old enough to play and cash you out.

Most gambling websites will send a link to your email. Click the link in the email to verify your account.

3. Claim a Bonus

Do you want to claim a deposit bonus? You’ll want to decide before you make your first deposit since welcome bonuses are usually only valid on your first deposit.

A deposit bonus, or a welcome bonus, is an offer where the online casino matches a percentage of your deposit. For example, if you claim a 100% bonus up to $600, then you’ll receive $1 for every $1 you deposit up to $600.

This sounds like a no-brainer and, sometimes, it is. But what you need to realize is that every bonus has terms and conditions. This includes how much you must wager, the size of your wagers, how much winnings you can cash out, and more.

If you break any of these rules, the site can void your bonus and winnings. You’ll want to know what you’re getting yourself into before you claim one.

4. Make a Deposit

Do you want to gamble for real money? Then, you’ll need to make a deposit. Depositing money into your bankroll is similar to shopping online.

Click the cashier button and choose the option you want to use. The best Australian gambling sites accept the following banking methods.

  • Visa and Mastercard credit, debit, prepaid, and gift cards
  • Neosurf or MyNeosurf
  • Cryptocurrencies
  • E-wallets such as PayPal, PayNearMe, ecoPayz, MyCitadel, EcoCard, and Neteller
  • Ukash

Pay attention to deposit limits, as some are more conservative. Our gambling site reviews include all of this information. Depending on the deposit option, you should have your money within a few minutes.

5. Play

Now that you have some money in your account, it’s time to play. There are far too many options for us to cover here, so we’ll just cover the basics.

One thing you’ll want to consider is whether you’ll play from your computer or from a mobile device, such as your phone or tablet. There are pros and cons to each.

If you want to gamble on your mobile device, you might need to download an app, or you might play from your browser.

Chances are, you already know what you want to play or bet on. But if you just decide to try this online gambling thing out, and don’t know where to start, the handy resources below will help you out.

You can also browse the gambling site’s lobby and play whatever seems interesting to you. One important tip to remember is that you can play most casino games for free.

This will give you an opportunity to test a game to see if you like it before committing with real money. There’s absolutely no reason to waste money playing a game you don’t like.

And that’s all you need to know to start gambling online in Australia. This guide covered the basics, but we also have tons of beginner’s guides if you need more advice.

Why Gamble Online in Australia

There are many benefits to gambling online in Australia.

  • It’s cheaper to gamble online. For example, you can play blackjack for $1, roulette for $0.50, and Texas Hold’em for $0.01/$0.02 per hand.
  • Online gambling is convenient. You don’t have to leave your house, deal with traffic, or take time off work when you can gamble from home instead.
  • Online gambling sites offer more promotions than brick-and-mortar casinos do.

One of our favorite benefits is to combine online and offline gambling. This is a huge benefit for Australian gamblers.

For example, horse racing is very popular in Australia. Aussies wagered more than $14.3 billion on the ponies in 2009-2010.

A couple of popular races you can bet online and watch live include the Melbourne Cup at the Flemington Racecourse or the Cox Plate at the Moonee Valley Racecourse.

You can bet on these races online, which will allow you to price shop and find the best odds. Then, you can watch them live, which is a perk only available to gamblers in Australia.

Or what about poker tournaments, such as the Aussie Millions, Crown Poker Championship, or Melbourne Poker Championship?

The Aussie Millions has 23 events with buy-ins ranging from $1,150 on up to $100,000. There’s also the Crown Poker Championship, which has more than a dozen events, including a $500,000 main event.

You can satellite into many of these tournaments online or at the casino itself. The Crown Casino hosts satellites for many of their tourneys.

And even if you can’t find an online satellite, you can still practice your game online before hopping off your computer to crush your competition live.

These are just a few of the many reasons why Australians should consider gambling online. There are too many benefits to ignore. Just remember, though, that you need to use the best Australian gambling sites to take full advantage of these benefits.

Online Gambling Laws and Regulations in Australia

We’ve written a detailed breakdown of Australia’s online gambling laws elsewhere on our site. The following is only a summary.

In short, offering most forms of online gambling in Australia is illegal per the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 and the Interactive Gambling Bill of 2016.

The Interactive Gambling Bill of 2016 was Australia’s latest attempt at blocking the loopholes operators took advantage of in the Interactive Gambling Act 2001. It was approved in March 2017, and several gambling operators left the country soon after.

The ACMA is showing no signs of slowing down either. On November 11th 2019, they published a post stating that they’re going to start pressuring ISPs to block illegal offshore operators.

Not All Doom and Gloom for Aussie Gamblers

Don’t worry. It’s not all doom and gloom for Aussie gamblers. There’s a bright side!

Sports betting and auto racing betting is legal. (Our top-rated Australian gambling websites offer a large variety of sports, bets, and odds.) And the Interactive Gambling Bill of 2016 (and the ACMA) only targets operators.

To date, there hasn’t been a gambler prosecuted for gambling online as far as we know. This means you could theoretically gamble worry-free online, so long as you choose a safe and legit gambling site.

We recommend you start with our number one pick for the best online gambling site for Australians. But you should consider checking out all of the other top Australian gambling sites on our list as well.

Australia Online Gambling FAQs

Do Australians have to pay taxes on their gambling winnings?
ANo. The government views gambling as a form of entertainment and that gamblers win with luck, so they don’t consider winnings as taxable. It’s worth talking to an accountant or qualified tax advisor if you have significant winnings, though.
How much does Australia spend on gambling?
AAustralians lose more than $24 BILLION every year gambling, so at least that much. Odds are that it’s much higher than this because sometimes you’ll win and just continue playing (i.e. spending money).
Are there casinos in Australia?
AYes. There are at least a dozen casinos located throughout Australia’s territories. The Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex is the biggest. They receive nearly 11 million visitors every year.
What types of promotions do Australian online gambling sites offer?
AIt depends on the site you join, but you can expect to find the following offers.

  • Deposit and reload bonuses. The gambling site will match a percentage of your deposit and give it to you as a bonus to play with.
  • Rebates. You’ll receive a percentage of your net losses paid back to you.
  • Free bets. Make a bet and, if it loses, the site will reimburse you.
  • Free spins. Get free spins to use on your favorite pokies machine.
  • Loyalty program. Receive perks such as bonuses, free spins, gifts, and more as you spend money with each site you join.


Those are the most common offers. The more gambling sites you join, the more offers you’ll have access to.
Can I gamble from my phone?
AYes. Every online gambling site we recommend nowadays has a mobile friendly website OR a mobile app that you can download. Our reviews will tell you specifically what each gambling site has for mobile users.
Are Australian offshore gambling sites safe to join?
AThere are gambling sites on both sides of the fence, safe and unsafe. We don’t recommend unsafe gambling sites, so if you stick to our recommended sites, you have nothing to worry about. Each option is among the safest gambling sites for Australians to join.

More Recommended Australia Casino Onlines

On the following pages, we recommend the best Australian gambling sites in other categories. Check them out if you want to find a gambling site that focuses on a specific type of betting or gaming.