The sports betting market in Australia is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world. With the growing number of safe and attractive online betting sites in Australia, it is said that approximately 80% of Australian citizens participate in some form of gambling. And in the last decade, sports betting is fast becoming a favorite due to not only its attractiveness, odds of winning, but also because of the sheer number of committed sports fans in Australia.
Players in the Land Down Under have the choice between placing their bets at locally regulated bookmakers and betting establishments, or at one of the well-regulated internet gaming sites, of which there are many. Players feel safe, have a fantastic variety of gaming options, and can experience the top-of-the-line, modern technological user interfaces offered around the world.
Read on to find out more about sports betting in Australia for 2023.
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It was in 2001 that Australia became one of the first countries to openly address the legality of online gambling. With the passage of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, laws were enacted to regulate and govern the practice of online gambling in Australia. Today, Australia is the land with the most valuable betting market per capita in the world. Many iconic sports betting and esports platforms want to enter the Australian gambling market and benefit from that value.
There is a close concentration of sports bettors in the country, but gamers as well. Esports as an industry is becoming more popular in the nation. By 2025 interactive sports and gaming is expected to reach revenue in Australia around $5 billion growing at a healthy CAGR of around 7.5%. In 2021, it was revealed that over 2.3 million Australians regularly voted to watch esports tournaments. That’s just under 10% of the country’s total population. After all, the COVID-19 pandemic is causing a spike in the popularity of gaming and esports across Australia, and it’s an upward trend that just keeps growing.
Over time, more investment opportunities will emerge in and around Australia’s sports scenes, and of course, that includes eSports betting. While eSports is still growing, sports betting is a popular source of entertainment for punters in Australia. With a multitude of sporting events occurring annually and smart technology, which is constantly being refined and implemented within online sports betting environments to provide punters in Australia with premium sports betting entertainment.
One such advancement in technology is live streaming which has spawned live or in-play betting options for almost every sports betting market. Live betting has a number of features that are more exciting than standard betting and allow for a dynamic flow of betting. Unfortunately for Australian people, the government is beginning to slowly move towards a more frequently and rigorously monitored system for all online sports betting establishments and online casinos. The following overview of the new live betting laws will help punters in Australia understand the current confusion surrounding the state of live betting in Australia.
Live betting is different from standard betting options, live betting gives punters the opportunity to bet on sporting events while they are in session, hence the term in-play betting. Standard online sports betting allows punters to place a variety of sports bets on a sporting event. Gamblers from Australia who are familiar with online sports betting platforms will already know that in standard sports betting options, a player places a bet on the sporting event before the actual event takes place and once it starts, no further bets are placed.
Until now, the Australian government had declared all live and in-play sports betting completely legal. Punters in Australia could enjoy live sports betting options with complete peace of mind with a variety of online sports betting providers catering to a variety of markets and sporting disciplines.
But, the new live betting laws in Australia ban all live betting in the country. This is part of a long-term plan in which the government aims to crack down on online sports betting establishments and online casinos in the country. The Interactive Gaming Amendment Bill 2016 bans live poker and betting in Australia. With Australia’s new live betting laws, it is now illegal to participate in or offer live sports betting in Australia.
The bill was passed as a result of illegal offshore gambling in 2015. The new law serves to close the loopholes surrounding all illegal gambling and the government insists the bill was passed to keep people safe abroad.
Although Australia’s new live betting laws have banned poker and live betting from Australian society, bettors interested in live betting can rest assured that there are more than enough substitutes available, even with Australia’s new live betting laws coming into force.
Standard bets provide punters with a multitude of betting options, which have the ability to substitute in-play bets. Bookmakers are always on the cutting edge of technology, with this in mind, players can look forward to a useful new type of sports betting option in foreign sports betting sites, which is not illegal in Australia.
Is Online Sports Betting Legal in Australia?
Australian gambling companies must comply with a rigid set of regulations. Only conventional sports betting and lottery jackpot games are allowed for Australians at this time. Live sports betting and casino games like video poker are not allowed. There are no regulations that prohibit Australians from accessing foreign websites as these are outside the authority of the Australian Government.
The services offered by the sports betting sites in Australia should be analyzed, as these services are what will make us decide if the company has everything we need and if it is really worth joining it. Of course, such criteria should be applied to foreign betting sites that Australians have access to as well.
Therefore, a few criteria should be taken into consideration, such as:
One of the most important things to consider is that the betting site offers a variety of betting odds, markets, and different sports to bet on. As Australians love gambling, the more options available, the better. Also, the odds should be competitive and payable.
The betting company in Australia must have quality services, with free telephone numbers, an email address to send our concerns and complaints, as well as a 24/7 live chat to speak with a representative. Problems may occur and you will need quick solving in order not to lose money.
It is important to have applications for Android and IOS mobile devices, which allow us to bet from any region of the world, at the time we want and to be updated regarding the latest important information from the Australian sports leagues.
Australian bookmakers must have recognized different means of payment, all in order to have fast and safe payment methods. The more options are available, the better the services. Payment methods such as Visa and MasterCard credit cards, bank transfers, and other electronic payment mechanisms, such as PayPal, Payoneer, Skrill, and Neteller, must be offered by the main Australian bookmakers.
SSL encryption should be one of the security features offered by the sports betting sites in Australia. As a secure service, it will attract the most experienced and long-standing customers of the gambling business.
This is a fundamental feature because we must keep our bank details safe, as well as personal data. Of course, we must also check that the sports betting sites in Australia that we wish to join have received official licenses from the responsible institutions.
Both novice and experienced gamblers may find it difficult to place bets online. This process is actually quite fast and easy, and all you have to do is follow a few simple steps, such as:
When betting online, it is possible to bet from both your mobile or computer. And not only that, you can place bets from any place where there is an Internet connection. You can bet on all kinds of leagues, not just national ones but international ones as well, and in hundreds of sports modalities.
The first step is to choose the sports betting site in Australia that serves your needs the best. A short but important guide has been written above – just find a sports betting site that has everything you need, from good game selections to good odds, markets, mobile apps, and customer support. Of course, it is paramount that the betting site is legal and licensed.
When you have already made a decision about which bookmaker to choose, now is the time to sign up for it. Usually, the steps will be pretty much the same with any bookmaker, and those steps are:
When making the first deposit, keep in mind that many bookmakers require a minimum deposit, so don’t fall short when reading the conditions carefully. In general, in the deposit and withdrawal forms, you can either enter money through credit cards or through alternative methods, such as prepaid cards and virtual wallets such as PayPal, Paysafe, Skrill, etc.
These latter methods are usually the safest and fastest. And remember that in general, the same option you choose to deposit the money should be the same to withdraw money. For example, if you deposit money into a sports betting site through PayPal, when you withdraw the money, it should be credited to your PayPal account automatically.
Once you have already registered and deposited your first money, it’s time to place some bets. We are going to choose the A-League for men to match between Sydney FC and Perth Glory as an example. The first thing to do is select the match within the corresponding category and competition (soccer>A-League). In general, matches of this importance will also have prominent access.
At the first glance, if it is a football/soccer match like this, we will have seen the three main betting options: 1 (home win), X (draw), and 2 (away win), along with the associated odds. By clicking on the match we will access a dedicated section where we can see all the betting possibilities. In addition to the simple ones (1, X, 2), you can choose the exact results, the result depending on the moment of the match, scorers, etc… Each of these options has associated odds: the greater the complication of the prognosis, the higher the odds.
For example, if we want in our match between Sydney FC and Perth Glory to bet on Sydney FC victory, the odds could show, for example, 2.2. When clicking on the desired option (1), a new window will be displayed where we can enter the desired amount to bet. If you place 100 AUD for Sydney to win at 2.2 odds, a profit of 220 AUD will be shown. Then we will click on the confirmation or PLACE BET.
Once the bet is confirmed, it will be available in the BETS section or equivalent. After having made the first bet, you have to wait for the match to start and follow it with interest. It should be remembered that in some cases if the result is favorable, the bet can be withdrawn using the cashout option that some of the best sports betting sites in Australia may offer.
In the field of online betting in Australia, alternatives are not lacking. The world of sports has an almost inexhaustible mine of resources from which Australian operators can extract options and expand their entertainment offer almost daily.
Australian Rules Football
For those looking for less conventional markets away from traditional activities such as football, basketball, tennis (all of which are incredibly popular in Australia), there is another popular sport. Australian rules football emerges as an opportunity to understand new sports realities and earn a good amount of money.
This discipline, also known as "football," or simply "Aussie rules," combines elements of rugby with some touches of cricket. In it, teams of 18 players measure forces on an oval field, in a match format that lasts for four quarters of 20 minutes each. The name of the modality explains quite well its place of origin and where it has the greatest influence: Australia, the only country with a professional league (AFL), and where it has been practiced since the second half of the 19th century.
Despite the fact that the main tournaments are limited to a single country, Australian Football is usually a common alternative in the betting offers of the sports betting sites in Australia and the region. The number of games that each squad has and their dynamics allows us to extract a series of forecasts that are made available to all users in Australia.
However, its incorporation into entertainment menus depends on the public it is aimed at and on their knowledge of the sport. For this reason, despite the constant presence of the Aussie rules, selections outside of Australia are limited to match-winner and championship winner, which may eventually be joined by match scorer, points per team, winner per quarter, and result with a handicap, among others. When betting with foreign betting sites, the restricted offer enhances the need to combine the available markets, since in this way it will be possible to obtain higher quotas and greater profits.
Rugby
If you live in Australia or have visited at the right time, you'll see how the local citizens are about to burst into sports fever when there's a major game taking place locally or anywhere in the world, really. For example, the National Rugby League Melbourne Cup, regarded as the world's elite rugby league championship, causes a great deal of excitement from the start of the season.
The attention that these games attract makes them especially attractive for both bookmakers and sports bettors, so it is not surprising that the income generated by the gaming sector has more than tripled in recent years, with the prediction that it will continue to rise.
Football
In addition to rugby and Aussie football, the A-League, the top men's professional soccer league, has a huge following, even in a few foreign countries. But it is the Soccer World Cup that attracts the most attention from bettors in Australia. This event usually attracts immense attention throughout the global football (soccer) fan community, and Australia is right up there with the most avid of these enthusiasts.
Australia's English roots are remembered through its love of cricket, most notably the Ashes Series, which sees the mostly good-natured rivalry between Australia and England play out and naturally attracts some particularly high stakes from both sides, as well as serious betting.
Tennis betting is also immensely exciting for Australian sports fans. In-play bets are particularly popular when you're betting cold, hard money on the action as it happens (with foreign betting sites). Australians flock to the annual tennis tournaments, the largest of which is the Australian Open in Melbourne. This contest serves as an international platform for professional tennis and therefore also attracts many real-money players.
As Aussies are extremely proficient in sports betting, as well as betting on various sports, it is impossible to put all types of bets that they use. Pretty much every type of bet that exists is played in Australia, probably daily. Instead, only the most popular sports bets will be named below, mainly those that are used for all popular sports in Australia – football, Aussie rules, rugby, tennis, cricket, basketball… These bets include:
It is the type of betting in which we only have to select a match, and we must guess the winner of the match in order to obtain the entire prize and the money to win. This type of bet is the most used one in all over the world, Australia included.
It is a modality of betting in which we can select more than one match, and where we must hit all the selections to be able to take the total of the bet. Bets cannot be placed in combination with bonus money or free bets as this is fully penalized by Australian betting companies and internet gambling platforms. Combined betting slips provide much higher winning prizes but are much more difficult to predict correctly.
With over/under types of bets, the company sets an average of total points per game, and where the client must guess whether there will be more or less scores than that average number. If the player bets on the Under, it is because they think that the match will have fewer points than the average set by the bookmaker. For example, in Aussie football, if the average is set at 18 and the match result is 12-0, the bettor will win the bet and the total of the prize.
If the client bets on the over, it is because the client bets that the match will have more points than the average set by the company. In the previous case, if the average is 18, and the match is 18 to 6, the client will take the bet and the total prize.
This type of bet is also applicable with most sports that Australian players love to bet on, hence such popularity.
Odds are always a fundamental factor when betting. Think that a higher odds for the same match or market means that you will receive more money if you win your bet. Therefore, it is quite important to compare sports betting sites in Australia and see which services offer the best odds for sports and markets that you are interested in.
You must bear in mind that the odds in Australia can fluctuate a lot and a long-term bet (who is going to win the league) is not the same as a short-term bet (who will win the game on Saturday), as the odds vary over time as the match comes closer to the beginning. A clear example occurs in tennis betting, varying as we know which tennis player wins the point or the game.
Although it is not easy to determine which sports betting site in Australia has the best long-term odds, the biggest names in the betting market will surely offer amazing odds all the time. And as Aussie bettors have an opportunity to place bets at both national and international sports betting sites in Australia, the options are vast.
According to the probability in which a result occurs, the Australian bookmaker assigns a quota to the event in question. In other words, if you have, for example, a quota of 2.00, the implicit probabilities that this team wins are 50%.
As such, this is a value that fluctuates according to the sports discipline, the number of bettors, or in which direction the bets are going, among many other inferring factors. It should be noted that sports betting sites in Australia have a profit margin as if it were a commission. This is something that will vary from one sports betting site in Australia to another but in general, betting services distribute between 90% and 97-98% of the total money collected by bettors, varying according to the event or sport. Thus, that remaining percentage until reaching 100% would be the commission. The more money they distribute in prizes, the less commission they will keep and that will be reflected in a more attractive fee.
There are several types of betting bonuses that sports betting sites in Australia and foreign ones as well can offer to players. It is important to understand them better and choose the one that suits us best. Some offers can be quite jaw-dropping in numbers but it matters not if players can’t fulfill the necessary requirements in order to collect them.
There are various ways of collecting bonuses and promotions:
And so we can find other betting bonuses in different modalities since the number of offers is constantly increasing as more operators arrive in Australia every so often.
It is well known that online operators in Australia will offer us a welcome bonus as an incentive to register on their platform, so it almost always applies only to new users. The best thing is that with these bonuses you bet on the hottest sporting events or simply on the sport of your choice. And not to mention when you also find an interesting event.
The options are vast as you can bet on football, rugby, NFL, NBA, baseball, cricket, or even horse racing, tennis, darts, whatever you want.
To make the most of this, famous sports betting sites offer us the most attractive registration betting bonuses on the market. It’s no coincidence that they do that, the competition is becoming quite fierce in Australia.
Magic happens from time to time! Not all sports betting sites in Australia can boast of having no deposit bonuses in their possession but when we do come across them, they are well worth collecting.
Generally, the only requirement for this is to register for the first time and you will automatically receive it. Although, as with all other bonuses, there will be minimum requirements to meet, they are still for free and worth trying. In addition, once you have these bonuses, you bet big on any sporting event that you like the most, be it soccer or other disciplines, because the spectrum is very wide.
These are similar to deposit welcome bonuses because after making a deposit to your account, in some cases the sports betting sites in Australia will double them. Therefore, these “recharge” bonuses are for users previously registered on the site. It is always a good idea to keep track of the operator’s promotions or check the email to find out about exclusive offers.
Just check where within the sports betting section you can use these types of bonuses, as they are sometimes available for specific events or less popular disciplines.
If Aussie players are not correct in their sports forecast and lose the bet, the sports betting site in Australia will return a balance for the same value of the bet, or less, but they always return something. It is something like having insurance for your money in bets, which is very difficult to find, but also to let it go, although it has its conditions, such as placing a Parlay bet of 4.
And if you miss only 1 of 4 possible selections, you get that amount refunded in the form of free bets for the same gaming operator, although not as real money, but virtual money to bet again.
Free Bets are a sensation in the world of sports bonuses since they usually give you an extra apart from doubling the amount that we initially deposited. That is why they are so popular but also so scarce and we must know how to take advantage of them when we find them. With them, Aussie players will have the opportunity to further extend the benefits and profits for free.
These often include a time limit to use them, as well as other terms and conditions that are defined by the betting sites, according to what they consider necessary and according to the amount granted.
With the firm purpose of retaining the most loyal users who are always there, online sports betting sites in Australia give us access to these surprise bonuses or special promotions.
For example, some additional benefits in sporting events, tournaments, anniversaries, birthdays, and so on, will be available during specific periods of the year. This is just to mention a few since they are also offered at some time of the year when there is little demand or if our preferred operator has something to celebrate and decides to pamper us.
Some sports betting sites in Australia can offer promotions on a weekly and monthly basis, as well as special events and occasions. Australian bettors should always keep track of which betting services will offer which promotions and go for them. The more the merrier.
In every online sports betting site in Australia, players are offered a greater or lesser number of payment and withdrawal methods that they can use. Of course, the most common are payments by credit and debit cards, but also payments via so-called e-wallets (internet wallets). In addition to these most popular, there are payments by bank transfer, electronic checks, vouchers, as well as various mobile payment applications. Also, lately, payment with cryptocurrencies has become increasingly popular.
✅ Credit and Debit Cards – First of all, you need to know that there is one important difference between credit and debit cards. With debit cards, you can only pay the amount you have on the card at that moment, while with credit cards, the bank allows you to pay a certain amount over what you have on the card at the moment. Also, the process of obtaining these cards is different. Both are important for sports betting as players with credit cards can place bets even when having no money. Almost, if not all online bookmakers, both domestic and foreign, support cards as a form of payment and withdrawal for players from Australia. The processing times are relatively fast, there are usually no fees but it’s not the safest option to use when betting with international betting sites.
✅ Electronic Wallets – An electronic wallet is an online service that offers its users the service of sending and receiving money via the Internet. This type of money transfer is very secure and one of the most popular types of payments and withdrawals of money from online bookmakers in Australia. There are several popular e-wallet services available to bookmakers in Australia, of which the most common are certainly Skrill (formerly known as Moneybookers), PayPal, and NETELLER. Of course, there are other services that offer this type of payment service to people from Australia but these mentioned are certainly the most reliable and of the highest quality.
✅ Prepaid Vouchers and Instant Deposits – This type of payment is also very useful for those who want to make a deposit in one of the sports bookmakers as it is fast and safe. Namely, in order to use this type of payment, you need to pay cash to one of the services that convert cash to electronic money or cards, such as the Paysafecard service, and to make your deposit with the received vouchers. The advantages of this type of deposit are numerous, but there is one big drawback, and that is that it is not possible to make withdrawals on these services because they are only used for internet payments.
✅ Bank transfers – Bank transfers are a way of paying online sports betting sites in Australia with your bank account and nothing else (no intermediaries such as credit cards or eWallets). With online banking now present all around the world, bank transfers are becoming popular once again with sports betting sites. They are a great option when betting with domestic sports betting sites in Australia as they usually have great deposit limits and no fees. The drawback is the processing times that take a few days. Depending on the bookmaker, payments are processed from two to three working days, and payments can be waited up to seven working days, which can be quite frustrating.
Below, the list of the most popular payment methods in Australia has been presented, along with deposit processing times and the availability of withdrawals. Note that withdrawal processing times will depend not only on the payment method but on the Australian bookmakers as well, therefore it will be impossible to say the time correctly.
| Banking option | Deposit processing time | Available for withdrawals |
|---|---|---|
| Visa | Instant | Yes |
| Mastercard | Instant | Yes |
| PayPal | Instant | Yes |
| Poli | Instant | No |
| Bpay | 2-3 days | No |
| Flexepin | Instant | No |
| Apple Pay | Instant | No |
| Paysafecard | Instant | No |
| Skrill | Instant | Yes |
| Neteller | Instant | Yes |
| Cash | Instant | No |
| Cheques | 5-28 days | Yes |
| Bank Transfer | 2-3 days | Yes |
| Bookmaker card | Instant | Yes |
What Is the Best Payment Option for Australian Players?
For domestic betting site transfers, Australian players prefer credit card transfers as it is the easiest way to deposit and withdraw money, with instant deposit times and no fees. Bank transfers are also popular as they offer great service but processing times are slow. When depositing money with international sports betting sites in Australia, eWallets are the best option as they are fast and secure, but may include small fees.
In general, gambling is legal in Australia, but it’s not that simple. Australian laws forbid live gambling, such as live sports betting, live poker, and such. The laws and regulations are constantly changing as well, therefore it would be best to read the law thoroughly before starting a particular type of gambling in Australia.
As gambling is legal in Australia, it is incredibly safe to gamble online. Australia provides some great casinos and sports betting sites that Aussie people can enjoy. Also, a lot of international casinos and bookmakers can provide services in Australia like the 888 Casino. It is important to go with legal and licensed gambling services though.
All forms of online gambling and sports betting are safe in Australia when done at licensed services. Before choosing the preferred betting platform, make sure it is legal and certified before depositing any money.
There are no deposit limits dictated by the state, although some deposit limits may occur depending on a betting site. What’s more, Australia has introduced “self-limits” to promote safe gambling but those are completely voluntary. While it is recommended to go with self-limits due to gambling addictions, they can sometimes hinder the big winnings in the long run.
Australia, as one of the biggest gambling countries in the world, has the luxury of not taxing players for gambling and sports betting. Therefore, there are no taxes to be paid and no winnings to be reported in Australia (unless you are a professional gambler).
Receiving winnings depends entirely on the betting site and banking method of your choice. Some betting sites will take approximately 24 hours to deposit money onto your account, while most will do it immediately after the betting slip has been won. Banking methods also influence this, with eWallets being immediate, credit and debit cards from immediate to a few hours, and bank transfers and cheques taking a few days.
Every player wants something different from the betting site and therefore it is impossible to name one for everything. Some sports betting sites in Australia will offer better odds for football, some will offer more sports to bet on, some will offer great bonuses and promotions, and some will be good but not great with everything. It is up to a player to choose one based on their needs.
Australian betting houses (and those from abroad that are available in Australia) will offer almost all types of sports matches to bet on. It is also a practice to open several betting accounts with different services and therefore get the most offers possible.
Australian players love betting on Aussie Rules the most, but also football, rugby, basketball, cricket, and tennis. The younger generations are betting on eSports with increasing numbers every year.
These days, Australia is using decimal odds more than any other type. The decimal odds are the most popular around the world as they are easiest to understand and calculate. For example, if the odds for Real Madrid winning are 1.50 and you place 100 AUD, your winnings will be 150 AUD if Real Madrid wins the match (1.50 x 100 = 150).
Some Australian sports betting sites will offer free bets as part of bonuses and promotions, although these are not so common.
Sign-up, or Welcome bonuses, are offered to new players that register at a specific betting site. There are usually three ways to claim them – either a player receives it immediately upon registration, sometimes a special code needs to be entered, or a first deposit needs to be made.
There are many ways of seeking help in Australia when it comes to gambling addiction, It is common to visit the Gambling Help Online or call 1800 858 858. Other services include Gambler’s Help and Lifeline Organization.
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