Bitcoin & Crypto Casinos in Australia: Legal Guide

Online gambling in Australia: the position in October 2026

Australia allows some forms of online gambling and bans others. The dividing line is the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (IGA), a federal law. Under the IGA it is illegal to provide real-money online casino games, online pokies, online poker and online scratchies to people in Australia. Online betting on sport and racing is legal, but only through a bookmaker licensed by an Australian state or territory. Lotteries can also be sold online.

The law is aimed at the businesses that provide and advertise prohibited services, not at players. Australians are not prosecuted for using an offshore casino. That does not make offshore casinos a safe or lawful option: a site that offers pokies or blackjack to Australians is breaking Australian law, is not covered by any Australian consumer protections, and can be blocked by the regulator at any time. If a payout is refused, there is no Australian body that will take up the complaint.

For that reason this page lists only one brand for Australia, bet365, and only for its licensed sports and racing wagering. We do not list any online casino or crypto casino for Australian readers, and we do not suggest ways around the blocks. If you want to understand why offshore licences offer so little protection, our guide to crypto casino licences explains how they work.

Who regulates gambling in Australia

Regulation is split between the Commonwealth and the states and territories. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) enforces the IGA. It investigates complaints about illegal offshore services, orders internet providers to block them, enforces the credit card ban for online wagering and runs BetStop, the national self-exclusion register.

The states and territories license the bookmakers themselves. Most large online bookmakers, including the corporate brands most Australians know, hold a licence from the Northern Territory, while the TABs are licensed in their home states. State regulators also set rules on advertising in their own jurisdictions, run land-based gambling and collect wagering taxes.

What you can and cannot play legally online

The products allowed online are narrower than many visitors expect. In-play betting on sport is a good example: placing a bet on a match that has already started is not allowed online or through an app, although you can still place it by phone or in person. Live betting on racing is allowed online.

If you mainly bet on sport, our guide to reading sports betting odds covers how prices and margins work. The same principles apply at any licensed Australian bookmaker.

How to check a bookmaker’s licence

Every lawful Australian bookmaker holds a licence from a state or territory regulator and must show its licence details on its website and app. Checking takes a couple of minutes:

1. Scroll to the footer of the site or the “About” page in the app and note the licensing body and licence holder name.
2. Search for the licence holder on the website of the regulator it names, such as the Northern Territory Racing and Wagering Commission.
3. Confirm the site shows BetStop information and offers deposit limits. Licensed bookmakers must do both.
4. Check the payment page. A site that accepts a credit card or cryptocurrency for wagering is not following Australian rules.
5. Be wary of any site that offers casino games alongside sports betting to Australians. Licensed bookmakers cannot offer online casino games.

ACMA blocking of offshore sites and affiliates

Since November 2019, ACMA has asked internet providers to block illegal gambling websites, and the list keeps growing. By mid-July 2026 it had blocked 1,774 illegal gambling and affiliate websites, and more than 230 illegal services had pulled out of the Australian market since ACMA began enforcing the current rules in 2017. Blocks are added in batches every few weeks.

The blocks cover affiliate and review sites as well as casinos. That matters for a site like ours: promoting a prohibited service to Australians is itself an offence under the IGA. It is one of the reasons we removed every offshore crypto casino from our Australian listings.

If you reach a blocked page, the block is there because the operator is not allowed to serve you. Trying to get around it does not give you any legal protection, and we do not recommend it. Use a licensed bookmaker, or do not gamble. Our coverage page shows how the rules differ in the other markets we follow.

Advertising rules and the 2026 reform

Section 61EA of the IGA prohibits advertising prohibited interactive gambling services in Australia. Licensed bookmakers can advertise, but they are already bound by broadcasting codes, state rules and existing limits on gambling ads around live sport and children’s programmes.

In August 2026 Parliament passed the Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Bill 2026, the government’s response to the 2023 Murphy inquiry into online gambling harm. It stops short of the full ban the inquiry recommended, but it is the largest change to wagering advertising in years. Most measures start on 1 January 2027:

• No wagering ads during live sport coverage, from 15 minutes before the event until five minutes after it ends, between 5am and 8:30pm.
• A cap of three wagering ads per hour on television between 5am and 8:30pm.
• No wagering ads on radio during school drop-off and pick-up times.
• No wagering ads inside sports venues or on players’ and officials’ uniforms.
• No athletes, celebrities or influencers promoting wagering, and no broadcasting of odds in ads.
• Online wagering ads only for logged-in users aged over 18 who have been offered a way to opt out, plus a national opt-out register run by ACMA.
• No direct marketing of inducements for 14 days after sign-up, for three months after someone leaves BetStop, or ever to customers identified as at risk of harm.
• Faster ACMA blocking powers, and banks and payment systems allowed to block payments to illegal operators.

Critics, including independent senators and health groups, say the reform should have banned inducements outright and created a national gambling regulator. Expect further debate in 2027. Our guide to how bonuses and inducements work explains why regulators focus on them.

Payments: the credit card and crypto ban

Since 11 June 2024, licensed online wagering providers in Australia have been banned from accepting payment by credit card, other credit-related products or digital currency. The ban came from the Interactive Gambling Amendment (Credit and Other Measures) Act 2023 and covers cryptocurrency as well as credit. Lotteries and keno were left out. Breaches can attract penalties of more than A$200,000, and the government said it would review the ban after it had run for two years.

In practice, Australians fund bookmaker accounts with debit cards, bank transfer, PayID and some e-wallets that are not funded by credit. Withdrawals go back to a bank account in your name.

Offshore crypto casinos ignore this ban because they are not licensed here in the first place. That is not an advantage: it is the clearest sign that a site is outside Australian law. Our general deposits and withdrawals guide explains payment methods in more depth, though not every method it covers is allowed for Australian wagering.

Tax on gambling in Australia

Recreational punters in Australia generally do not pay income tax on gambling winnings, and they cannot claim losses either. The Australian Taxation Office treats gambling as a hobby unless it is run as a business, which is rare and hard to establish. If you think your betting could be a business, get advice from a registered tax agent.

Bookmakers pay the tax instead. Every state and territory except the Northern Territory charges a point-of-consumption tax on the net wagering revenue that bookmakers earn from its residents, and the Northern Territory taxes licensees on their own terms. These taxes are one reason Australian bookmakers have trimmed some promotions in recent years.

BetStop and other protection tools

BetStop, the National Self-Exclusion Register, launched in August 2023. It is free, run by ACMA, and blocks you from every licensed Australian online and phone wagering provider for a period you choose, from three months to life. While you are registered, providers cannot open an account for you, take your bets or send you marketing.

By 31 July 2026, three years after launch, 67,480 people had registered and 41,290 had an active exclusion. About 38% of registrants chose a lifetime exclusion. After an independent review, ACMA set up a BetStop taskforce to improve awareness and support for people using it, and the 2026 reform adds a three-month ban on inducements for anyone who leaves the register.

Licensed bookmakers must also follow the National Consumer Protection Framework for online wagering. In practice that means:

• Deposit limits you can set at sign-up and change at any time (a lower limit takes effect at once, a higher one after a waiting period).
• Monthly activity statements showing your wins, losses and deposits.
• No lines of credit and no links to payday lenders.
• Consistent safer gambling messages and staff training.

BetStop does not block offshore casinos, because they are not licensed here. If you are worried about your gambling, Gambling Help Online offers free 24/7 support on 1800 858 858, and our responsible gambling guide lists blocking software and other tools. You can also read our responsible gambling principles.

What changed in 2026

How we list operators for Australia

We list only brands that hold an Australian licence for the product we describe. At present that is bet365, shown as a sportsbook for sport and racing only. bet365 does not offer online casino games to Australians, and we do not present it as a casino here.

We removed every offshore crypto casino from our Australian page in October 2026, because promoting them to Australians is unlawful and ACMA blocks affiliate sites. Our crypto sports betting guide and sportsbook rankings are written for a global audience and include brands that are not available in Australia. If you live in Canada outside Ontario and Alberta, see our Canada market page; for the UK, see our Great Britain page, and for the US, our United States page.