Are online pokies legal in Australia? The law, in plain English

The short answer

No. Online pokies and online casino games cannot legally be offered to people in Australia. The Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (IGA) prohibits them, and there is no Australian licence that would allow them. Every site that offers online pokies to Australians is an offshore operator acting outside Australian law.

What the Interactive Gambling Act prohibits

ACMA, the regulator that enforces the Act, lists these as illegal when offered online to people in Australia:

• slots and pokies
• casino-style games such as poker, blackjack and roulette
• scratchies
• in-play betting on sporting events (bets placed after the game starts)
• betting or lottery services that do not hold an Australian licence

Providing a prohibited service to Australian customers is an offence under section 15 of the Act, carrying a penalty of up to 5,000 penalty units, and a civil penalty of up to 7,500 penalty units for each day it continues.

Who commits the offence: the site or the player?

The offences in the Act are aimed at providers. An official review of the Act put it plainly: the IGA does not make it an offence for Australian customers to access and use prohibited interactive gambling services.

Being legal for you to use does not make a site safe. ACMA warns that people who use illegal operators risk losing their money, because there is no Australian body to complain to and no way to force a payout.

What is legal online in Australia

Venue pokies and casinos are licensed by each state and territory. Our overview of gambling laws in Australia explains how the federal and state layers fit, with a guide for each one: NSW, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory.

Licensed wagering also comes with rules of its own: since 11 June 2024, online and phone wagering providers cannot accept credit cards, credit-related products or crypto, and every licensed bookmaker is covered by BetStop.

How ACMA enforces the law

ACMA asks Australian internet service providers to block illegal gambling websites. Its first blocking request was in November 2019, and by 24 September 2026 it reported that 1,822 illegal gambling and affiliate websites had been blocked, with over 230 illegal services having left the Australian market since 2017. Blocked operators often reappear on new mirror domains, which is one reason they are hard to hold to account.

Promoting illegal services is also against the law. ACMA has said that advertising or promoting illegal gambling, including through affiliate sites, is a breach of the Act, and it has warned that people who facilitate access, for example through hyperlinks, face large civil penalties.

What it means if you play at an offshore casino

If you choose to play at an offshore casino, you are playing without the protections Australian law provides for licensed gambling:

• No Australian licence or testing. An overseas licence can still be checked: see how to check a casino licence. State minimum returns for pokies do not apply.
• No BetStop. The national self-exclusion register does not cover illegal online casinos.
• No Australian dispute body. If a withdrawal is refused, your only option is the operator itself or its offshore licensing authority.
• Terms that favour the house. Withdrawal limits, bonus rules and verification checks are set by the operator. Read them before you deposit.

On tax, the ATO does not treat betting and gambling wins as income unless you run a gambling business; our gambling tax guide explains who does pay tax on gambling. Crypto you win is a capital gains tax asset if you hold it as an investment.

Is the law changing?

The federal government announced a Gambling Reforms 2026 package on 2 April 2026, and Parliament passed it as the Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Act 2026 on 19 August 2026. Its main changes start on 1 January 2027: limits on wagering advertising, including during live sport, changes to BetStop and a ban on online keno. It does not create a licence for online pokies.

Pundit tip: if you are thinking about offshore sites because you are on BetStop or a venue exclusion, talk to Gambling Help on 1800 858 858 first. Our self-exclusion guide explains every option.

For how pokies themselves work, see our pokies guide. For what licensed racing bets cost, see the bet types guide.

Related reading

Guide Queensland Queensland caps pokies per venue and statewide, rewrote its casino law in 2024 to force carded play, and charges bookmakers a 20% betting tax, above the 15% most states use. Here is how it all works. Read more Guide WA WA is the only state with no poker machines in pubs and clubs. Electronic gaming machines exist in one place, the Perth casino, and since December 2025 every player there needs a card with time and loss limits. Read more Guide Gambling tax In Australia, a recreational punter's winnings are not taxed. The tax is collected from the other side of the counter: bookmakers, venues and casinos pay state taxes on what players lose. Here is how both sides work. Read more Guide SA SA limits every venue to 40 pokies, bans $100 notes in machines and makes larger venues use facial recognition to spot barred gamblers. Here is how gambling in SA is regulated and what changed at the casino in 2026. Read more Guide NSW NSW has more poker machines than any other state and has changed its rules fast since 2023. Here is who regulates gambling in NSW, what the pokies rules are now, and what changed when. Read more Guide ACT The ACT charges bookmakers 25%, the highest betting tax we found in Australia, limits ATM cash in pokies venues to $250 a day, and has legislated a smaller machine cap. Here is how gambling in Canberra is regulated. Read more