# Are online casinos legal in Australia?

> No. Under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, online casino games, online pokies and online poker can't be offered to people in Australia, whatever licence a site holds, and neither can online bets on a sporting event once it has started. Online betting on racing, on sport before it starts and on other approved events is legal only with a provider licensed by an Australian state or territory. ACMA has internet providers block illegal gambling sites: 1,810 addresses were on its list on October 25, 2026.

- URL: https://safebet.ai/au/guides/are-online-casinos-legal-in-australia/
- Markdown version: https://safebet.ai/au/guides/are-online-casinos-legal-in-australia/index.html.md
- Last updated: 2026-10-25 (re-checked when an operator changes its terms or a regulator or court acts)
- Author: SafeBet.ai Research Team (SafeBet.ai)
- Notice: Advertising. SafeBet.ai may be paid by the operators shown when you register through our links. We only link to betting services on ACMA’s register of licensed providers. 18+ only. Online casinos and prediction markets aren’t legal in Australia, and we don’t link to any.
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## Key takeaways

- The Interactive Gambling Act 2001 bans offering online casino games, pokies, poker and other games of chance played for money to people in Australia, and online in-play sports betting, which is allowed only by phone.
- No Australian licence covers online casino games: ACMA's register of licensed providers lists only betting services.
- ACMA has had internet providers block illegal gambling sites since November 19, 2019, starting with Fair Go Casino and Emu Casino; 1,810 addresses were on its list on October 25, 2026.
- The law targets operators, not players, but if an illegal site doesn't pay, no Australian regulator or dispute body can make it, and BetStop doesn't cover it.
- From January 1, 2027, banks and payment providers must block payments to illegal gambling services, and internet providers, app stores and search engines must stop their services being used for them.

## The short answer

No. The **Interactive Gambling Act 2001** bans offering online casino games, online pokies and online poker to people in Australia. It doesn't matter where the operator is or which licence it shows: the Act applies to services provided from outside Australia too, and no Australian licence covers casino games played online.

What you can do online, legally, is bet: on racing, on sport before an event starts, and on other events the regulators approve, such as elections, with a provider licensed by an Australian state or territory. ACMA, the Australian Communications and Media Authority, keeps a register of every licensed provider, and has internet providers block illegal gambling sites. Our [legality check](https://safebet.ai/au/sports-betting/licence-check/) searches both lists for you.

## What the law bans

The Act calls these **prohibited interactive gambling services**. The main ones:

- **Online casino games**: any game of chance, or of mixed chance and skill, played for money over the internet. That covers pokies, roulette, blackjack, live-dealer tables and online poker; the Federal Court confirmed in 2025 that an online poker game is a gambling service under the Act.
- **Online in-play betting**: bets on a sporting event placed after it has started. In-play bets are legal only by phone, through a live voice call.
- **Electronic scratchies and other instant lotteries.**

The Act covers a service as soon as any of its customers are physically in Australia. Providing a prohibited service is an offence carrying up to 5,000 penalty units and a civil contravention carrying up to 7,500 penalty units, each for every day it continues. A penalty unit has been worth $364 since July 1, 2026, and companies can be fined five times as much. Offering betting or lotteries without a state or territory licence is a contravention too, with the same penalties.

## What is legal online

With a licence from an Australian state or territory, a provider can offer online bets on horse, harness and greyhound racing, on sport before an event starts, and on other events or contingencies the regulators approve. Online lotteries are also legal, and until December 31, 2026 that includes online keno and "foreign-matched lotteries" (bets on the results of overseas lotteries); from January 1, 2027, both are banned online.

ACMA's register of licensed interactive gambling providers, last updated October 21, 2026, lists only betting services: there's no such thing as a licensed online casino in Australia. Our ranking of the [best licensed betting sites](https://safebet.ai/au/sports-betting/) and our list of [legal ways to bet on events](https://safebet.ai/au/prediction-markets/) only include providers on the register.

## Do players break the law?

No. Every offence in the Act targets the person who provides or advertises an illegal service, not the customer. A parliamentary committee summed it up in its 2023 report: "The IGA does not target consumers. Instead, it makes it illegal to offer certain types of gambling services to Australians, such as in-play or 'live betting' as well as online casinos, slot machines and poker."

That doesn't make illegal sites safe to use. Protections that apply to licensed providers, such as BetStop, don't apply to them, and if something goes wrong, there's no Australian regulator to help you (see below).

## How ACMA fights illegal casinos

**Blocking.** Since November 19, 2019, ACMA has asked Australian internet providers to block illegal gambling websites, using its powers under section 313 of the Telecommunications Act 1997. The first two sites blocked were **Fair Go Casino** and **Emu Casino**, after investigations found they offered online casino-style games. ACMA's chair called them "illegal sites that target Australians", and said ACMA had received more than 50 complaints about them. By then, ACMA said, more than 65 illegal companies had pulled out of the Australian market since it began enforcing new rules against illegal offshore gambling in 2017. On October 25, 2026, ACMA's list held **1,810 blocked addresses**.

Many are mirror sites: copies of a blocked casino under a slightly different address. ACMA told Parliament in 2023 that about half of the sites it had blocked had tried to get around the block this way, but that Australian traffic to the ten biggest blocked sites had fallen significantly. These brands had the most addresses on the list:

| Brand (addresses containing its name) | Blocked addresses |
|---|---|
| The Pokies | 58 |
| Fair Go | 49 |
| Ozwin | 29 |
| RocketPlay | 26 |
| Uptown Pokies / Uptown Aces | 25 |
| Jackpot Jill | 23 |
| Wonaco | 21 |
| PlayCroco | 21 |
| Royal Reels | 20 |
| Joe Fortune | 18 |

**Formal warnings.** ACMA can formally warn an operator that breaks the Act. On September 10, 2025, it warned Ridley Media N.V., the Curaçao company behind Joe Fortune, for providing a prohibited and unlicensed gambling service, including casino games and in-play betting, to customers in Australia. Our article explains [why Joe Fortune isn't legal in Australia](https://safebet.ai/au/guides/is-joe-fortune-legal-in-australia/).

**Court penalties.** ACMA can also take operators to court. On July 6, 2026, the Federal Court ordered penalties of $15 million against Brisbane Poker Pty Ltd and $9 million against an individual, $24 million in total, over an online poker service that Brisbane Poker provided to customers in Australia between October 8, 2020 and March 10, 2021: 154 separate contraventions, one for each day. The court found that players lost more than $6 million.

## If an illegal casino doesn't pay

No Australian regulator, ombudsman or dispute body can make an offshore casino pay you. When it blocked Fair Go and Emu, ACMA warned: "They're happy to take your money when you lose, but people have reported to us that they refuse to pay out winnings", and told anyone with money deposited at an illegal site to "withdraw those funds now".

The Victorian regulator lists what ACMA hears in complaints: illegal operators "won't let the customer access their winnings", move or close their services so that "the customer's money disappears", keep withdrawing money from customers' bank accounts without permission, and once a site is blocked, "the customer can't log in and access their money". Some casinos write this into their terms: Fair Go's terms let it "void any winnings and confiscate the balance" of anyone who lives where playing is prohibited by law.

You can complain to ACMA about an illegal site. It can investigate, have the site blocked, warn the operator or take it to court, but the Act gives it no way to get your money back. BetStop, the national self-exclusion register, doesn't cover illegal sites either: it applies only to licensed online and phone betting providers.

## Legal casinos in Australia

Casino games are legal in Australia at land-based casinos licensed by the states and territories, and on gaming machines in licensed venues.

| State or territory | Licensed casinos |
|---|---|
| Victoria | Crown Melbourne (the state's only casino licence, granted until November 2050) |
| New South Wales | The Star; Crown Sydney (restricted gaming licence) |
| Queensland | The Star Brisbane; The Star Gold Coast; The Ville Resort-Casino; Reef Hotel Casino |
| Western Australia | Crown Casino |
| Tasmania | Wrest Point; Country Club Casino |
| Northern Territory | Mindil Beach Casino Resort (Darwin); Lasseters Hotel Casino (Alice Springs) |
| ACT | Casino Canberra |

We couldn't confirm South Australia's casino from its regulator's pages.

## Social casino apps

Social casino games, where you play with virtual coins that can't be cashed out, aren't gambling under the Interactive Gambling Act, so ACMA has no power over them, a parliamentary committee noted in 2023. Since September 22, 2024, though, computer games classified under the 2023 classification guidelines that contain simulated gambling are rated R 18+. Sites where you can cash out what you win, such as skin-betting sites, are gambling services.

## What changes on January 1, 2027

The Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Act 2026, which became law on August 26, 2026, adds new tools against illegal sites from January 1, 2027:

- **Payments:** banks and payment providers must stop payments, including in digital currency, to illegal gambling services.
- **Access:** internet providers, DNS providers, app stores and search engines must stop their services being used to reach illegal gambling services.
- **Removal notices:** ACMA can tell online services and hosts to remove ads for illegal gambling, search engines to delete links and app stores to remove apps, generally within 24 hours.
- **Advertising:** the civil penalty for advertising an illegal gambling service rises from 180 to 1,000 penalty units, and to 5,000 for ads on social media. An ad counts as published in Australia whenever people in Australia can access it.
- **Keno and overseas lotteries:** online keno and foreign-matched lotteries become prohibited.

Our guide to [what changes for gambling ads in 2027](https://safebet.ai/au/guides/gambling-advertising-australia/) covers the rest of the new law.

## How to check a site

1. **Is it a casino?** If it offers online pokies or casino games to people in Australia, it's illegal, whatever licence it shows.
2. **Is it on the register?** A legal betting site is on ACMA's register of licensed providers, at the exact website you're using. Our [legality check](https://safebet.ai/au/sports-betting/licence-check/) searches the register and ACMA's blocked list.
3. **Watch for warning signs.** Licensed Australian betting sites can't accept credit cards or crypto, and must link to BetStop. A site that takes credit cards or crypto for casino games isn't playing by Australian rules.

## Getting help

The National Gambling Helpline on **1800 858 858** is free, confidential and open 24/7. Our [guide to gambling help in Australia](https://safebet.ai/au/guides/gambling-help-australia/) covers BetStop and other support.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is it illegal to play at an online casino in Australia?

The Interactive Gambling Act makes it illegal to provide or advertise online casino games to people in Australia; its offences and penalties target the operator, not the player. A parliamentary committee put it plainly in 2023: “The IGA does not target consumers.” But an illegal site gives you none of the protections of a licensed one, and if it doesn't pay, there's no Australian regulator to turn to.

### Are online pokies legal in Australia?

No. Online pokies are games of chance played for money, which the Interactive Gambling Act bans for people in Australia. Pokies are legal on gaming machines at licensed venues and casinos.

### Is a Curaçao-licensed casino legal in Australia?

No. The Act applies to operators outside Australia too, and only an Australian state or territory licence for betting makes an online gambling service legal here; no licence covers casino games. ACMA formally warned the Curaçao-licensed operator of Joe Fortune in 2025. See [is Joe Fortune legal in Australia?](https://safebet.ai/au/guides/is-joe-fortune-legal-in-australia/)

### What can I do if an online casino won't pay my winnings?

Not much, unfortunately. ACMA has said people report that illegal sites “refuse to pay out winnings”, and told anyone with money on such a site to withdraw it. You can complain to ACMA, which can investigate, have the site blocked or warn the operator, but the Act gives it no way to get your money back, and no Australian dispute body covers illegal operators.

### Are social casino apps legal?

Social casino games, where coins can't be cashed out, aren't gambling under the Interactive Gambling Act, so ACMA doesn't regulate them. Since September 22, 2024, computer games classified under the 2023 guidelines that contain simulated gambling are rated R 18+.

### How do I check if a gambling site is legal?

Look it up on ACMA's register of licensed interactive gambling providers, or use our [legality check](https://safebet.ai/au/sports-betting/licence-check/), which also covers ACMA's list of blocked sites. If a site offers casino games or pokies to people in Australia, it isn't legal, whatever licence it shows.

## Sources

1. [Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (compilation C2024C00646)](https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2004A00851/latest/text) — Federal Register of Legislation, compilation of 2024-10-14; accessed 2026-10-23
2. [Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Act 2026](https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2026A00072/asmade/text) — Federal Register of Legislation, assented 2026-08-26; in force 2027-01-01
3. [Crimes (Amount of a Penalty Unit) Instrument 2026](https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2026N00424/latest/text) — Federal Register of Legislation, commenced 2026-07-01
4. [Blocked gambling websites](https://www.acma.gov.au/blocked-gambling-websites) — ACMA, last updated 2026-07-20; list downloaded 2026-10-25
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7. [Formal warning to Ridley Media N.V. (Joe Fortune)](https://www.acma.gov.au/publications/2025-10/report/formal-warning-ridley-media-nv-joe-fortune) — ACMA, warning of 2025-09-10; page updated 2025-10-30
8. [Federal Court of Australia, [2025] FCA 1477 (liability)](https://www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/single/2025/2025fca1477) — Federal Court of Australia, 2025-11-28
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