Australian online casinos are bit of a grey area at the moment where regulation is concerned and best described as complex. Each state and territory pretty much like the United States regulates its own gaming activities, subject to a few national restrictions.

Online gambling is generally restricted by the Interactive Gambling Act (IGA), making it unlawful for Australian-based online casinos to offer roulette, poker, craps, online slots or blackjack to anyone located in an Australian jurisdiction.

Is It Legal For Aussies To Gamble Online?

Now for the million dollar question. If I’m an Aussie can I wager at an offshore regulated online casino? Yes mate you can. The IGA does not prohibit Australians from playing at offshore casino sites per se, nor does it prohibit Australian online casino operators from providing gambling services to extraterritorial customers. In Australian states, operators offer activities excluded from the IGA-lotteries, online sports betting and keno-to a varying degree they’re subjected to different regulatory models.

”Australians are allowed to wager at offshore internet casinos, operators that operate on Australian soil can target players abroad just not in Australia.” Casinowhizz.com

The above list offers the most trustworthy online casinos for Aussies to play at.

Jurisdictions, Games And Withdrawal Methods

There are literally millions of Australian online casino players placing bets at offshore regulated online casinos, however, not every offshore site is the same. Unfortunately there are a few bad apples skulking around the dark corners of the Internet. It’s safe to say that the casinos listed on this page are trustworthy, offer a superb compendium of casino games (up to 800), accepts Australian dollars, offer top dollar incentives, pays player winnings and offers loads of withdrawal options.

You’ll also note that some of the casinos are licensed in highly credible jurisdictions like the UK, Gibraltar, Malta or Curacao. Will I get paid if I win a substantial amount of cash? Yes mate you will. They offer a myriad of deposit and cash out methods ranging from credit cards, Bitcoin, Neteller, Skrill to wire transfer just to name but a few. Depending on the withdrawal method you’ve used cash out times vary from a couple of minutes, 24 hours up to 5 working days.

One Australian state that adopted a monopoly model is New South Wales for its regulated lottery and a license fee model with graduated GGR (Gross Gaming Revenue) tax for keno and sports betting. The new South Wales Lotteries Corporation Limited received a 40 year exclusive lottery license. The company is a subsidiary of the Tatts Group Limited it pays 66.1 percent of all player losses in taxes.

The Northern Territories accepts applications without a fee for an unlimited number of extraterritorial licenses to provide online gaming to customers based abroad, subject to a low 4 percent GGR tax rate. Bookmakers on the other hand are taxed at 10 percent on gross monthly profit capped at A$250,000 per year. Online keno is subject to a 20 percent tax on gross profit.

Mobile Casinos And Game Library

Thanks to new technology placing bets from a mobile device is now in vogue. Mobile casinos in Australia are climbing at a prodigious rate since operators now offer extended HTML5 games that fits the screens of smartphones. Their game libraries encompass up to 100 plus instant play mobile games divided into slots, table and card games, progressive jackpots, live casinos and speciality games.

Operators now launch the games simultaneously on both mobile and desktops. The games load incredibly quick and replete with the latest user interface including portrait mode.

One mobile slots that’s popular with players from Australia is Yggdrasil’s Cyrus The Virus. It features Yggdrasil’s new promotional concept ‘Super Free Spins’ where players can win an infinite number of free spins. Organisms of colourful, funny and bubbly symbols draw players into the game with a watchful eye on the all-important wild symbol. Wins are triggered when 3 or more identical icons appear on a payline.

Time For Regulation Of Australian Online Casinos?

If an operator with no state license targets players in South Australia the gambling provider and the gambler will be prosecuted. Long story short, any form of internet gambling offered to players who reside in the state is strictly against the law. Taxes on totalizators and sports betting by South Australians have been phased out in 2012.

The proposed changes aims to ensure that players wager in a safe and regulated gaming environment. One minister said that the Aussie internet gambling market is pretty much ‘Gung Ho’ at this stage. I don’t agree with him since many operators that target Australian casino players are legally licensed, just not in Australia.

In a bid to combat offshore gambling sites, the Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill was introduced in 2016 by Mitch Fifield (communications minister). If all goes well the bill will be signed off in April 2017.

The reason why the new bill was introduced is because a few licensed foreign operators managed to circumvent the current restrictions with regard to live betting. What they did was they offered punters live betting services by simulating a phones call that’s been dubbed ‘’click to call’’.

‘’Hundreds of illegal gambling services are easily accessible via the internet. Tudge believes this is a massive problem seeing as 2.7% of interactive gamblers are problem gamblers. Human Services Minister, Alan Tudge’’

The moment the new law kicks in illegal offshore gaming sites will not be allowed to offer their products to the vulnerable Australian punter.

What Does The Future Hold?

The Australian government (IGA) intends on releasing a new bill that will regulate online gambling in the country. Once the new bill is released Aussie punters will be allowed to play at live casinos, slots and table games. Problem is nobody knows for sure when the government plans on regulating the industry.

The IGA will go after illegal foreign based sites targeting Aussie players and they will face heavy penalties. The website of the online casino will be shut down and the owners/directors in the company will be held liable for running and illegal gaming offering.

The changes implemented by the IGA calls for mitigating circumstances by reducing the possible harm online gambling can cause. The government intends on monitoring all sports betting sites in order to prevent match-fixing.

Should the new bill receive the nod the changes proposed by the IGA will be implemented effective immediately. So far the bill received a resounding thumbs up not only from politicians but from the Australian public and its gaming industry. As it is the Australian government is losing tens of millions of dollars in taxable revenue to foreign operators.

Hopefully 2017 will usher in a bright new future for Australia’s online gambling market. The government is out to protect its citizens from illegal operators and prepared to spend millions in a bid to educate players about the pitfalls of excessive gambling.

Taking Control Of Online Gambling

The Australian government plans on making its laws stricter with the new bill. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) will be in a position to warn, infringement notices, issue civil penalties, and injunctions. ACMA will be able to provide international regulators with details on how its going to police its online gaming market.

The proposed Interactive Gambling Act rolls out some exciting changes. Under the Interactive Gambling Act of 2001 (IGA), Australian firms were prohibited to offer real money casino wagers or poker games to Australian residents. The IGA’s proposed amendments will enable Australia to become a competitive force within the global online gambling arena. The Australian government has set the standard that Australian service providers for live-betting and online poker sites must follow.

A trial poker for online poker will be set once the standards for the online betting sites have been finalized. Operators that want to offer online poker or any other casino game to citizens must apply for a license. If they don’t and still target Australian players it will be illegal and against the law.

net gambling. Taxes on totalizators and sports betting by South Australians have been phased out in 2012.