# Guides: sports betting, prediction markets and online casinos in Australia

- URL: https://safebet.ai/au/guides/
- Markdown version: https://safebet.ai/au/guides/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)
- Editorial policy and advertiser disclosure: https://safebet.ai/editorial-policy/

## Sports betting

- [Is sports betting legal in Australia? What the law allows, and the rules](https://safebet.ai/au/sports-betting/is-sports-betting-legal/): Yes, with a bookmaker licensed by an Australian state or territory and listed on ACMA's register, if you're 18 or over: the register listed 213 licensed providers on October 21, 2026. The Interactive Gambling Act 2001 allows online bets on racing, on sport before it starts and on other events the regulators approve, such as elections, but bans online bets on a sporting event once it has started: in-play bets on sport are legal only by phone. Licensed bookmakers can't take credit cards or crypto, must honour BetStop, the national self-exclusion register, and must offer deposit limits and monthly statements. Online casinos and pokies are illegal.
- [How we rank betting sites in Australia](https://safebet.ai/au/sports-betting/how-we-rank/): We only rank bookmakers licensed by an Australian state or territory and listed on ACMA's register of licensed interactive gambling providers. Each is scored from 0 to 10 on six weighted criteria, licensing and safety, markets and features, odds and limits, payments and payouts, app and experience, and support and responsible gambling, and the ranking follows the overall scores. Penalties and undertakings from ACMA, AUSTRAC and the state and territory regulators lower the licensing score; we judge odds on what each bookmaker publishes, because several bookmakers' terms forbid automated collection of their odds; and we don't list or score bonuses.

## Prediction markets

- [How we rank the legal alternatives to prediction markets in Australia](https://safebet.ai/au/prediction-markets/how-we-rank/): Prediction markets such as Polymarket aren't licensed in Australia, so we rank the legal ways to bet on elections and other events: the Betfair exchange and licensed bookmakers' event markets. Only providers on ACMA's register of licensed interactive gambling providers qualify; Polymarket, which ACMA blocks, and other unlicensed platforms are never ranked. Each site is scored from 0 to 10 on six weighted criteria, licensing and safety, event markets, commission and pricing, payments and payouts, app and experience, and support and responsible gambling, and the ranking follows the overall scores. We don't list or score bonuses.

## Taxes, safety & more

- [Are online casinos legal in Australia?](https://safebet.ai/au/guides/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.
- [Are prediction markets legal in Australia?](https://safebet.ai/au/guides/are-prediction-markets-legal-in-australia/): Not as such. Online betting is legal in Australia only with a provider licensed by a state or territory, and no prediction market holds such a licence: ACMA has internet providers block polymarket.com, and Polymarket itself restricts Australia. Kalshi isn't licensed here either. Betting on elections, awards, interest rates and other events the regulators approve is legal with licensed bookmakers and the Betfair exchange, for adults 18 and over. Yes/no contracts on prices, rates, indices, commodities or crypto sold as financial products fall under ASIC's ban on selling binary options to retail clients, which runs until October 1, 2031.
- [Is Polymarket legal in Australia?](https://safebet.ai/au/guides/is-polymarket-legal-in-australia/): No. Polymarket holds no Australian licence, and providing online betting to people in Australia without a state or territory licence breaches the Interactive Gambling Act 2001. ACMA has put polymarket.com on its list of blocked illegal gambling websites, which internet providers block at its request, and Polymarket's own help centre lists Australia among the 39 countries it completely restricts, with VPNs banned. The legal way to bet on elections and other events is with a licensed bookmaker or the Betfair exchange.
- [Is Joe Fortune legal in Australia?](https://safebet.ai/au/guides/is-joe-fortune-legal-in-australia/): No. Joe Fortune is an online casino run by Ridley Media N.V., a company incorporated in Curaçao, and online casino games can't legally be offered to people in Australia. On September 10, 2025, ACMA formally warned Ridley Media N.V. that by providing Joe Fortune's casino games and in-play betting to customers in Australia, without an Australian licence, it had broken the Interactive Gambling Act. Eighteen Joe Fortune addresses are on ACMA's list of blocked sites, but the casino carries on at a new address that isn't on the list.
- [What changes for gambling ads in Australia in 2027](https://safebet.ai/au/guides/gambling-advertising-australia/): From January 1, 2027, the Gambling Reform Act 2026 bans betting ads in live sport coverage between 5am and 8:30pm, caps them at three an hour on TV in that period, keeps them off radio during the school run, limits online ads to logged-in, age-confirmed users who haven't opted out, and bans them on uniforms, at venues and with athletes or celebrities. Licensed bookmakers may also no longer pay commissions tied to customer activity, including to affiliates. It stops short of the total ban a parliamentary committee recommended in 2023.
- [Gambling taxes in Australia: what players and betting operators pay](https://safebet.ai/au/guides/gambling-taxes-australia/): Australia's betting taxes are paid by operators. Every state and territory except the Northern Territory charges a point-of-consumption tax of 15% to 25% on betting operators' net wagering revenue from customers located there, and operators also pay GST on what they keep. For players, the Income Tax Assessment Act disregards capital gains and losses from gambling, and the ATO says you don't need to declare prizes won in ordinary lotteries such as lotto draws and raffles.
- [Gambling help in Australia: who to call and how to block yourself](https://safebet.ai/au/guides/gambling-help-australia/): Call the National Gambling Helpline on 1800 858 858: it's free and confidential, and open 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Gambling Help Online offers free counselling by chat and email, also 24/7. To block yourself from every licensed Australian online and phone betting provider for anywhere from 3 months to life, register with BetStop, the national self-exclusion register. BetStop doesn't reach illegal offshore casinos, so a gambling block from your bank and venue exclusion programs can help too.