Legal betting in Australia – All you need to know
Australia is known for being a country of straight-talkers, but there remains a fair amount of confusion about its online gambling laws. So here’s a handy overview that’ll tell you how you can and cannot try your luck. Plus we’ll even give you some great pointers to the best places for betting on your favourite sport. So here goes!
Is sports betting legal in Australia?
Yes, it is! You can bet either in person at a physical bookie or bet via a mobile or computer at one of the many large or small online bookmakers. Just remember that you will have to be over the age of 18 to gamble in Australia and you will be required to prove this when you sign up to an online betting site.
Once you have done this, you will find that you can bet on pretty much whatever sport you want. It could be one of those Australian favourites like cricket, rugby or Aussie rules football, or it could be something more global like soccer, basketball, or even baseball.
Just so you know, you can also bet on horse racing in Australia which means that it’s perfectly legal to join the thousands of people who bet on the Melbourne Cup. Plus many newer sports like esports and MMA fighting are also acceptable for betting in Australia.
The only thing that might catch you out is the fact that you cannot legally enjoy live betting on sporting events over the internet in Australia. While sports fans in other countries can legally bet on a sporting event after it has kicked off, you cannot do this in Australia if you are doing so via a bookmaker’s website or betting app. This presents you with a fairly inconvenient solution of only being able to put down your live bet by physically placing a telephone call with the bookie.
We should also note here that online casino games like slots (or pokies as they are known in Australia), as well as table games such as roulette, blackjack, poker and baccarat, are also banned in Australia. This means that you won’t be able to legally play these games of chance while Down Under. Plus we have to mention the fact that you won’t even see any promotions, bonuses or special offers for sports betting being advertised in Australia.
Picking a legal Australian sports betting site
The good news is that there are plenty of excellent homegrown Australian bookies who’ll give you a safe and fair way to bet on your favourite sport. Bookmakers like BlueBet and PlayUp have enjoyed plenty of success in recent years and they should provide you with decent odds for anything from the AFL final to Australia destroying England in the Ashes – again. Plus other brands like PickleBet can be counted on for covering specialist areas such as betting on esports.
You should always be careful to make sure that any online bookie you’re thinking of using is fully licensed and regulated in Australia. There will usually be information about this kind of thing in the footer of the betting site that should show you that it is licensed by Australia’s Northern Territory Government or something along those lines. All of which should give you a safe and fun way to enjoy betting on sport in Australia!
