Best Online Gambling Sites for Australian Players

Author: Isaac Payne | Last Updated: March 2024

Australia has a long gambling history, and it’s safe to say that most, if not all, Australian citizens have gambled in some form or another.

However, unless you live near a prominent casino in Australia, it can be hard to get your fix in. That’s why online gambling sites in Australia have become so popular. They allow players to access their favorite games from the comfort of their home, while still providing great service and good payouts.

If you’ve never gambled online before, signing up for your first account can be daunting. That’s why we’re here to give you all the tips and tricks needed to succeed with online gambling. Plus, we’ll give our recommendations for the best online gambling sites in Australia!

Here Are Our Top Recommended Australian Online Gambling Sites:

When we write a review of an online gambling site, our experts look at the site
from all angles to bring you the most comprehensive review possible. Some of you
like to do the research for yourself; we totally understand, and you should be
looking at the same factors as we are so you can draw your own conclusions. Here
are some topics we are going to cover on this Australian overview page:

• Mobile Games
• Game Offering
• Banking
• Promotions
• Safety and Security

If you are looking for a good place to start, above is our list of the top gambling sites in Australia. Make sure to check back when you are ready to
gamble as due to the changes in legislation, this list may also change.

Is Online Gambling Legal in Australia?

Well, this answer is about as cloudy as it is for American online gamblers.
As we mentioned at the start of this page, Australians love to gamble. The
Totalisator Agency Board (TAB) manages land based sports betting outlets around
the country, where Australians can enter and place a wager on a sporting event.
Many other forms of live gambling are legal and regulated by different levels of
the Australian government.

In 2016, an amendment passed that made it illegal for Australians to play poker at offshore sites. One major
player in the industry, 888, already closed their Australian poker operations;
others are waiting to see if the amendment is enacted into law. It is hard to
imagine a scenario where a player is prosecuted under this law; it is actually
intended to dissuade sites from accepting their play and their deposits.

As the law changes in Australia, it is important to check back to see how it
affects players. We have a page dedicated to the Australian Online Gambling Laws
which will be updated as more information is acquired.

How to Find the Right Online Gambling Site in Australia

With a cloudy legal climate, it seems like we should just plow forward and
look at the sites that are currently available for Australian players. Given the
propensity for Australians to gamble, it is no surprise that there are hundreds
of options for them to play their favorite games or pokies, so let’s review the
important information that every player should know before making their first
deposit.

Mobile Gaming Options

The online gambling industry is rapidly moving towards mobile play, and this
is indeed true of the Australian market. Betting, especially on sports, is much
more efficient without having to open up your laptop, and gambling sites in Australia
are well aware that this is an excellent way to capture their audience. With so
much in-game betting available these days, Australians want to be able to access
their accounts quickly and easily; most operators have modified their software
to be able to be used on any mobile device via the device’s browser. The player
will have the same options as they would using their PC to access the games, and
with a couple of clicks can be right at the betting screens.

This isn’t always true about the online casino games, however. While software
suppliers are playing catch-up trying to make their content mobile-friendly, it
can sometimes be frustrating to find your favorite pokie game isn’t available on
your phone. These graphics-rich games usually take more effort to convert, but
don’t worry; even if you don’t see your game there today, more than likely the
provider is going to release it for mobile in the very near future.

Mobile gaming apps are also very popular in markets where online gambling is
legal. Unfortunately, due to the restrictions placed on the Australian market by
the IGA, there aren’t many options for native apps for players from that
country. Hopefully, with the changes in regulation, there will be a way for
operators to start to add their apps to the mobile platforms’ app stores, as
these are usually a little faster than their browser-based cousins.

Game Selection

A semi-regulated space that allows Australians the opportunity to access
offshore gambling sites for their enjoyment means that these players get access
to essentially all the game types out there. Australians will spend their
gambling dollars on everything, and many sites offer a multitude of different
betting options. If you are a player who likes to spread your gambling time on
various disciplines, then you will want to look for one of these all-inclusive
sites; it means fewer account registrations and depositing, as your balance can
easily be moved from one area to another. Some options for what you might find
at one of the larger multi-channel sites:

Of course, some players don’t like all the clutter of a big site; if you are
one of these players, you should search out sites that only offer one form of
gambling i.e. a site that only has pokies.

Banking Options

The easiest way for Australians to make deposits is by using credit or debit
cards. The deposits are fast, and most Australian banks will allow the
transactions. There are some alternatives for players who don’t want to have
their personal banking information stored on an online gambling site. Companies
like Skrill and Neteller are third-party payments solutions that allow you to
store your banking information on their servers, and then you just transfer
money in and out of the casino via the e-wallet balance. These methods are
usually the easiest way to get paid by these sites, which is the good problem we
hope all of our players have to deal with when they are playing at an online
gambling site!

Online gambling sites add and drop processors all the time, so when we review
a site, we list all the possible options for our players, and these reviews are
regularly updated to reflect these changes.

Promotions and Bonuses

Whether you are a fan of the pokies or want to bet the big cricket match, you
are going to need to make a deposit at an online gambling site before you are
able to bet there. One thing that players should be looking for from a value
standpoint is if their site offers any bonuses or promotions for making a
deposit. These bonuses are quite commonplace and are meant to entice players to
either deposit more or play more depending on the style of promotion.

There are many types of bonuses available to players. No-deposit offers such
as free spins or chips give a player a way to be rewarded for just registering
an account. This is an excellent way to test an online gambling site to see how
their games play and with a chance of making some real cash. Welcome bonuses can
be tailored to a particular type of gambling, sometimes within the same site
itself. For example, many sites will offer different terms for their bonuses for
poker players versus sports betting. As the style of wagering is different
between sports, poker, horse racing and casino, it is important to find a site
that offers you the best value for the game in which you plan to use your money.

Also, when you are shopping different offers, you should take note of an
online gambling site’s come and loyalty programs. These programs are an
excellent way to stretch your deposit, but many of these promotions require you
to register separately.

Finding a Secure Online Gambling Site

We strive to bring you all the information, good or
bad, about a site you may plan to visit. While the industry has done a great job
in the last 20 years to guard against scammers and delinquents, an industry
without proper regulation can still fall prey to people who are just in it to
steal your money.

The Interactive Gambling Act was designed to protect players, but
realistically there isn’t much that the Australian government can do to fight a
faceless enemy from another jurisdiction. It is therefore up to players and
sites like ours to carefully research the sites we want to play at to be as sure
as possible that we are not being taken to the cleaners.

The best place to start the safety review (and the first thing we do when
reviewing an online gambling site) is to head to the homepage of the site. There
you will find out exactly how safe the site is, at least from a software
perspective. Sites who have their software audited by a third party will display
the logo for that company if they receive a passing grade; it doesn’t mean that
they can’t be up to no good elsewhere, but at the very least you will know that
your gameplay is taking on the exact form it should be. On the homepage you
should be looking for logos for companies like TST, eCogra and Gaming
Associates; there will also likely be a link from those logos to an overview of
the testing process itself.

Conclusion

Should you be gambling, Australians? Who are we to stop you…you seem to
already be deep into the game.

All we can do is tell you that if you follow our recommendations, you will
find the best online gambling sites for Australian players that cover all the
major games. As long as monitor the changing laws, you can get online and start
enjoying the gambling you love from the comfort of your own couch!

Australian Betting Sites FAQs