Gambling laws Australia: federal and state rules, state by state

How Australian gambling regulation is split

Gambling laws in Australia come from two places. The federal government controls what can be delivered online, by phone or by other telecommunications, mostly through the Interactive Gambling Act 2001. The states and territories license and police everything that happens in a venue, and they also issue the licences that let bookmakers and lotteries sell online.

The upshot for a punter: a licensed bookmaker can take your online bet on the footy from anywhere in Australia, but no state can license an online pokies site, because federal law bans the product itself. For the plain-English version of that ban, see our guide on whether online pokies are legal in Australia.

Federal gambling law

Three federal topics have their own guides:

• Interactive Gambling Act 2001: the sections that define prohibited and regulated services, the offences and penalties, and what the 2026 amendments change from 1 January 2027.
• ACMA blocked gambling sites: how ACMA gets illegal casino and affiliate websites blocked, the official list, and what a block means for your account.
• Gambling tax in Australia: why the ATO does not tax recreational wins, how crypto winnings are treated, and the state taxes operators pay.

The key federal facts in one place: online pokies, casino games, scratchies and online in-play sports betting are prohibited; licensed wagering and lotteries are allowed; the offence is the provider's, not the player's; and ACMA had 1,822 illegal gambling and affiliate websites blocked between November 2019 and 24 September 2026. BetStop, launched on 21 August 2023, covers every licensed online and phone bookmaker but not offshore casinos. Our self-exclusion guide explains how it works.

State and territory gambling laws compared

Each jurisdiction has its own regulator and its own pokies rules. Here are the headline differences, with a full guide for each.

The betting tax column is the rate each state charges bookmakers on net revenue from its own residents, above a tax-free threshold that ranges from $150,000 to $1 million. Punters do not pay it directly.

Where the money goes, state by state

Legal gambling losses differ widely between the states, mostly because of pokies. In 2024-25, according to the national statistics series published by the Queensland Government Statistician's Office:

WA's zero in the pokies column is the policy difference showing up in the data. For more on the numbers, see our pokies statistics page.

Offshore licences and what they mean here

Offshore casinos that target Australians usually show a licence from one of four places. None of them makes a casino legal in Australia, but they differ in what the regulator will do for a player:

• Curacao gaming licence: rebuilt under a new law from 24 December 2024; the regulator does not handle individual complaints, and its seal system was disrupted in October 2026.
• Anjouan gaming licence: issued under Anjouan law in the Comoros; the regulator says it does not handle, mediate or adjudicate player complaints.
• Malta Gaming Authority licence: a searchable licensee register, a public list of fake MGA claims and a formal complaint form.
• Kahnawake gaming licence: a Canadian Mohawk regulator with its own dispute officer; it upheld 150 player complaints in 2025.

What is changing next

The biggest scheduled change is federal. The Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Act 2026, which received assent on 26 August 2026, mostly commences on 1 January 2027. From that date online keno becomes a prohibited service, and licensed bookmakers cannot send inducements by direct marketing or social media ads to "designated customers", including people whose account is 14 days old or less and customers identified as at risk. At state level, the rollout of Victoria's carded play law is the one to watch.

If gambling is costing you more than you want, help is free and confidential on 1800 858 858, and our gambling help page lists the options in every state.

In this section

Guide ACMA blocking ACMA has had 1,822 illegal gambling and affiliate websites blocked since November 2019. Here is how the blocking works, where the official list is, and what a block means if you have an account with a site on it. 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 Guide Anjouan licence Anjouan, an island in the Comoros, licenses many offshore casinos, and its regulator says it does not handle player complaints. Here is what an Anjouan licence is, how to check one and what it means for Australians. Read more Guide Curacao licence Curaçao is the licence most often seen on offshore casinos that target Australians. Its system was rebuilt in 2024 and its regulator's portal went offline in 2026. Here is how it works and what it does not cover. 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 Interactive Gambling Act The Interactive Gambling Act 2001 is the federal law that decides what gambling can be sold to Australians online. Here is how it works, section by section, and what the 2026 amendments change from 1 January 2027. Read more Guide Kahnawake licence The Kahnawake Gaming Commission has regulated online gambling from a Mohawk territory near Montreal since 1999 and publishes its complaint results. Here is how its licence works and what it means for Australians. Read more Guide Malta licence An MGA licence comes from a well-known European regulator, which is why fake MGA claims are common. Here is how to check one, what the MGA can do for players, and why it does not make a casino legal in Australia. Read more Guide NT Many of Australia's online bookmakers are licensed in the Northern Territory, not where their customers live. Here is what an NT bookmaker licence involves, who regulates it, and the Territory's pokies and casino rules. 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 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 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 Tasmania Tasmania caps pokies bets at $5, keeps note acceptors out of pubs and clubs and sets an 87% minimum return. A plan for a mandatory player card was deferred in 2024. Here is how gambling in Tasmania is regulated. Read more Guide Victoria Victoria passed a carded play law in 2025, already makes Crown players use a card with loss limits, and caps every venue at 105 machines. Here is what the rules are, who enforces them and what is still being rolled out. 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

Related reading

Guide Is it legal? Online pokies and casino games cannot legally be offered to people in Australia. Here is what the law says, who it targets, what is allowed and what it means for you. Read more