Is online gambling legal in Australia? What the law says

Search "online casino legal in Australia" and you get a lot of confident answers that contradict each other. This page sets out what Australia's online gambling laws actually say, using the government's own wording where it matters, and leaves the decisions to you. It is general information only.

We cover the federal law, what is banned and what is permitted, who enforces it, the credit card ban for online betting, BetStop, the 2023 parliamentary inquiry, the reform bill passed in August 2026, the role of the states, and how the ATO treats winnings.

Is an online casino legal in Australia?

The Interactive Gambling Act 2001, usually shortened to the IGA, is the main Commonwealth law deciding which interactive gambling services may be offered to people in Australia. It creates two key offences: providing a prohibited interactive gambling service to customers in Australia, and providing a regulated interactive gambling service without an Australian licence.

Online casino games fall in the first group. The Department of Infrastructure lists casino-style games such as online blackjack, roulette and pokies as prohibited services. Its publication on the Act adds that any game of chance, including games that mix chance and skill, played over the internet is prohibited if it is provided to someone physically in Australia, and that the offence applies to every provider, wherever it is based.

So the honest answer to "is an online casino legal in Australia?" depends on which side of the screen you're on. For the operator offering the games to Australians, it's an offence. For the person playing, see the section on players below. ACMA also notes that it keeps a register of licensed interactive wagering providers, and that there is no licence category for online casinos at all.

What do the online gambling laws ban, and what do they allow?

Australia's online gambling laws sort services into three broad groups. The Department describes them as prohibited services, regulated services that need a licence, and services the Act doesn't stop. In short, the online gambling legal in Australia is licensed wagering (minus in-play betting) and licensed lotteries. The table below uses the Department's and ACMA's categories.

Australia's online casino laws cover advertising too. Part 7A of the IGA generally prohibits advertising interactive online gambling services to Australian audiences, across the internet, broadcast, print and billboards. The Department lists exceptions such as incidental or accidental advertising and websites not aimed specifically at Australians. ACMA adds that banned services must not be advertised in Australia.

Are online pokies legal in Australia?

Under Australia's online casino laws, online pokies sit in the same prohibited category as other casino-style games. The Department names "pokies or slot machines" alongside blackjack and roulette. That covers real-money pokies offered over the internet to people in Australia, regardless of where the operator is located.

That is different from pokies in a pub, club or casino. Land-based gaming machines are licensed and regulated by each state and territory, with their own rules on things like minimum return to player. Our pokies RTP page compares those state minimums.

Free-to-play "social casino" apps are another separate category. They don't pay out money or prizes. For example, the Australian App Store listing for one of the best-known pokie-themed apps says it offers no gambling and no chance to win real money. So the "online pokies legal in Australia" question only makes sense for real-money play, and for that the IGA's answer is the prohibition above.

Does the law target players?

On the player side of Australia's online casino laws, the Department's publication states that the IGA "targets the providers of interactive gambling, not their potential or actual customers". The offences in the Act are framed around providing and advertising services. We could not find an official source that sets out a penalty for an individual player using an online casino, so we don't describe one here.

The rules that do touch players directly mostly come from other places. State and territory laws set 18 as the minimum age for gambling. The ATO decides how winnings are treated for tax. BetStop and the national consumer protection framework apply to licensed online wagering. Each of those is covered further down this page, with the original source linked at the end.

The IGA also doesn't set rules for how an online casino runs its games, bonuses or withdrawals, so those details sit in each operator's own terms. That is why our reviews measure payouts and read the terms line by line. If you want the practical checks rather than the law, read safe online casinos and is PayID safe.

Who enforces Australia's online casino laws?

ACMA, the Australian Communications and Media Authority, regulates the IGA and enforces the online gambling laws it contains. It can ask internet service providers to block websites that offer prohibited or unlicensed services, or advertise them, using its power under section 313 of the Telecommunications Act 1997. It also keeps the register of Australian-licensed interactive wagering providers.

ACMA's role reaches beyond the IGA's core offences. It oversees compliance with the 2024 credit card ban for online wagering, and it regulates BetStop, the national self-exclusion register. Under the 2026 reform bill it also gains stronger enforcement tools, including the takedown of ads and services that breach the Act, with most of those changes starting on 1 January 2027.

On penalties, the Department's publication gives a maximum of $360,000 per day for individuals and $1.8 million per day for bodies corporate. That is the Department's published figure for providers who break the Act. Penalty-unit values change over time, so treat it as the Department's statement rather than a current calculation.

The credit card ban for online wagering

One of the newer online gambling laws took effect on 11 June 2024. Since then, licensed online wagering providers have been banned from accepting credit cards, credit-related products such as digital wallets funded by credit, and digital currencies such as cryptocurrency. ACMA oversees compliance, and the Department says companies that fail to enforce the ban may face fines of up to $247,500. A review of the ban is due after June 2026.

This part of the online gambling laws applies to licensed Australian wagering providers. Online casino games are not a regulated service under the IGA, so the ban doesn't add a new rule for them; they were already in the prohibited group. Our crypto casinos page covers the risks ASIC's Moneysmart lists for crypto in general.

BetStop and the consumer protection framework

BetStop, the National Self-Exclusion Register, launched on 21 August 2023. It covers all Australian-licensed interactive wagering providers, online and by phone. People who register cannot open accounts or bet with those providers, and cannot be sent their marketing. Exclusion runs from a minimum of 3 months up to a lifetime.

ACMA's statistics for the fourth quarter of 2025–26 show 65,430 total registrations between August 2023 and June 2026. Of those, 25,155 people chose lifetime exclusion, 11,784 chose the 3-month minimum, and 30,081 registrants were aged 30 or younger. BetStop does not cover online casino sites or land-based venues; it covers licensed online and phone wagering only. Our responsible gambling page explains how to register.

BetStop was the last of 10 measures in the National Consumer Protection Framework for online wagering, agreed by the Commonwealth, states and territories in November 2018. The others include a ban on lines of credit, deposit limits, monthly activity statements, easier account closure, restricted inducements, consistent gambling messaging, staff training and identity verification before the first bet.

Online casino Australia legal changes: the inquiry and the 2026 reforms

In June 2023, the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs, chaired by Peta Murphy MP, tabled its report on online gambling harm, titled "You win some, you lose more". It made 31 recommendations, including a national harm-reduction strategy, national regulation, an online gambling ombudsman, a harm-reduction levy on online wagering providers, pre-verification of customers, a ban on inducements and a legislated duty of care.

The best-known recommendation, number 26, proposed a comprehensive ban on all online gambling advertising, phased in over three years. The Government did not adopt the full ban. On 2 April 2026 it announced a package that restricts gambling ads instead, and on 12 May 2026 it tabled its formal response to the committee's report.

On 19 August 2026, Parliament passed the Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Bill 2026. ACMA lists its measures as:

• restrictions on gambling ads on TV, radio, online and at sports venues;
• a global opt-out register for gambling ads;
• limits on direct marketing of inducements;
• a ban on commissions to staff or affiliates based on customer activity;
• stronger enforcement, including takedown of ads and services that breach the Act;
• a stronger BetStop.

Most of these changes to the online gambling laws commence on 1 January 2027. The April announcement gave more detail on the ad rules: on broadcast TV, no more than 3 gambling ads per hour between 6am and 8.30pm and none during live sport in those hours; no radio gambling ads during school drop-off and pick-up (8 to 9am and 3 to 4pm); online gambling ads only to logged-in users over 18 who can opt out; no celebrities or sports players in gambling ads; and no ads in sports venues or on uniforms. It also announced a ban on online keno "pocket pokies".

What do the states and territories do?

The IGA and the 2026 reforms are federal online gambling laws, but much of gambling regulation in Australia is run by the states and territories. They license and regulate land-based venues, pokies in clubs and hotels, and casinos, and they set rules such as the minimum return to player on gaming machines. NSW, for example, requires machines to return at least 85% of turnover over their cycle, and Victoria's minimum is also 85%, measured across each venue per calendar year.

Age limits come from state law as well. In NSW, the Unlawful Gambling Act 1998 makes it an offence for a person under 18 to take part in any form of gambling, and an offence for an adult to gamble with or for a minor. Victoria's regulator, the VGCCC, states that a person under 18 may not play any gambling product.

The scale is large. Queensland's Government Statistician reports total gambling losses of about $33.0 billion across Australia in 2024–25, with gaming machines in clubs and hotels accounting for $17,444 million of that. Online casino gaming has no line in those statistics because it isn't a licensed product here.

Common myths about online casino laws

A few claims come up again and again on forums and affiliate sites. Here is how each one compares with the sources on this page.

The pattern is the same each time: the online casino Australia legal picture is often simplified into "everything is fine" or "everything is a crime", and neither matches the text. The Department's pages and the Act on the Federal Register of Legislation are the places to check when you read a claim about online casino laws, because both are updated when the law changes.

It also helps to separate three questions that often get blurred: whether a service may be offered, whether it may be advertised, and what protections you have if something goes wrong. Australia's online gambling laws answer the first two directly. The third depends on the service: licensed wagering providers sit under the national consumer protection framework, while other services are governed by the operator's own terms.

Are gambling winnings taxed in Australia?

The ATO lists betting and gambling wins among amounts that are not assessable income, unless you are carrying on a betting or gambling business. Gambling winnings and losses are also exempt from capital gains tax. In plain terms, for recreational players the ATO doesn't treat gambling wins as income. This is general information only; if your situation is unusual, check with the ATO or a registered tax agent.

FAQ

Sources

1. Department of Infrastructure: Interactive gambling (checked 14 October 2026)
2. Department of Infrastructure: Interactive Gambling Act 2001 publication (checked 14 October 2026)
3. Federal Register of Legislation: Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (checked 14 October 2026)
4. ACMA: About the Interactive Gambling Act (checked 14 October 2026)
5. ACMA: Blocked gambling websites (checked 14 October 2026)
6. Department of Infrastructure: Credit card ban (checked 14 October 2026)
7. ACMA: BetStop statistics Q4 2025–26 (checked 14 October 2026)
8. Minister for Communications: Strong action to tackle gambling harms (checked 14 October 2026)
9. Parliament of Australia: "You win some, you lose more" report released (checked 14 October 2026)
10. NSW Legislation: Unlawful Gambling Act 1998 (checked 14 October 2026)
11. App Store (Australia): Lightning Link Casino listing (checked 14 October 2026)
12. ATO: What income to exclude (checked 14 October 2026)
13. QGSO: Australian Gambling Statistics, 41st edition (checked 14 October 2026)