Betting apps Australia: what a licensed app can and cannot do

Who is allowed to have a betting app

Only licensed bookmakers can put a real money betting app in the Australian app stores. Apple's App Store Review Guideline 5.3.4 says apps offering real money gaming, sports betting and horse racing included, must have the necessary licensing and permissions where they are used, must be geo-restricted to those locations and must be free to download. Google Play requires a valid gambling licence for each country or state the app is distributed in, plus Google's own application process.

So the app in your store comes from a company that holds an Australian licence. Many of them are on the Northern Territory's register of licensed wagering operators, which is the quickest place to check the company behind an app. The full list of licensed bookmakers is in our betting sites Australia guide.

What a licensed betting app cannot do

Take in-play bets on sport

Online in-play sports betting is prohibited under the Interactive Gambling Act, with an exception for bets placed wholly by phone. A licensed app should close online betting on a sports match once it starts. The rule is enforced: ACMA found that Tabcorp had accepted 426 in-play bets across 32 tennis matches between February 2024 and June 2025, which Tabcorp put down to systems and communication issues with a third-party provider. It paid a $158,400 penalty.

Build multis on live games

TAB's Same Game Multi is available pre-game only. Our same game multi guide explains how the legs are priced.

Take credit or crypto

Since 11 June 2024, licensed wagering providers cannot accept credit cards, funds linked to a credit card (including digital wallets) or digital currency. A credit card saved in Apple Pay or Google Pay does not get around it.

Offer sign-up bonuses

Under the National Consumer Protection Framework, providers cannot offer incentives to open an account or to refer someone else. An app advertising a sign-up bonus to Australians is a reason to check its licence.

What a licensed app must give you

Paying in and out in the app

Payment options in apps follow the same rules as the website. TAB's help centre, for example, covers deposits by PayID, debit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal, and has separate guides for linking a bank account and withdrawing through the TAB app. Apple's Guideline 5.3.3 also stops betting apps using in-app purchases to sell betting credit, so deposits go through the bookmaker's own payment system, not your App Store account.

How to compare betting apps

The licensed apps share the same rules, so compare what actually differs:

1. Prices. Convert odds to implied probability with the implied probability calculator and see which app builds less margin into the markets you bet.
2. Markets. Racing depth, the sports you follow, exotic bets and multi options. Our guides to cricket, tennis and soccer betting show which rules settle each market.
3. Withdrawals. How fast and by which methods. TAB's conditions of use say it will meet withdrawal requests within one business day.
4. Tools. How easy it is to set a deposit limit, take a break and read your activity statement.
5. The company. Ladbrokes and Neds, for example, are both Entain Group Pty Ltd on the register, so their apps are siblings. Our Neds review and Dabble review look at two of these brands in detail.

What betting from your phone costs

An app puts a bet two taps away, so how often you bet matters more than any feature. The average cost of betting is roughly the bookmaker's margin times what you bet. At a 5% margin, which is what a 1.90 and 1.90 head-to-head market works out to (our bookmaker margin guide shows the method):

Pundit tip: turn off promotional push notifications in the app's settings. A bet you were not already planning is the one that costs most over a year.

Two more things to understand before you bet from your phone: cash out, where the app offers to settle your bet early at a price it chooses, and bankroll management, which sets how much you bet in the first place.

Offshore betting apps

An offshore bookmaker cannot meet the app stores' licence rules for Australia. If it offers Australians an app at all, it is a file to install from its website or a shortcut to the website. That skips the store's review and leaves you with an operator that has no Australian licence or complaints process. Our offshore betting sites Australia guide explains the risks.

Related reading

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