Australia’s Interactive Gambling Act Explained

Australia has one of the strictest online gambling laws in the English-speaking world, and it is often misunderstood. Online casino games and online pokies are prohibited for people in Australia, yet licensed online betting on sports and racing is common. This guide explains the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, who enforces it and how it compares with the UK, US, Ireland and Canada.

This is general information. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has current detail.

What the Act is for

The Interactive Gambling Act, usually shortened to the IGA, regulates gambling services delivered over the internet and similar channels. Its central rule is that it is an offence to provide certain online gambling services to people physically in Australia. The target is the business offering the service, whether it is based in Australia or overseas.

The Act is federal law. States and territories still license wagering, lotteries and venues under their own laws, so the IGA works alongside those systems.

What is prohibited

The main prohibited category is online casino-style gambling. This includes:

• Online pokies and slots.
• Online roulette, blackjack and other table games.
• Live dealer games streamed to players.
• Online poker for real money.

These services cannot lawfully be offered to people in Australia. Advertising a prohibited service is also generally unlawful, which is why ACMA has acted against affiliate and comparison sites that promote them. No Australian licensed operator is permitted to offer online casino games, so a site that does so is operating without authority.

What is allowed

The Act has exclusions for wagering and certain lotteries. In outline:

• Sports and racing wagering: A licensed wagering operator may take online bets on sporting events and races, under the state or territory licence it holds.
• Lotteries: Licensed lottery services are allowed, subject to the Act’s exclusions and restrictions. Reports say the reform package described below also touches some lottery and keno-style products.
• Land-based gaming: Pokies in clubs and pubs, and casinos, are governed by state and territory laws, not the IGA.

There is an important limit on sports betting. Online in-play betting is generally prohibited. A bet placed while an event is under way is permitted only in narrow cases, such as when the bettor makes it by a genuine phone call. ACMA has investigated operators over workarounds, and it found that using a website or app to build the bet and then phoning it in did not satisfy the phone exception.

A worked example of the sorting test

The practical question is the type of service, not the brand or the screen it appears on. Consider three cases.

• An app offers real-money online roulette to people in Australia. This is a prohibited interactive gambling service.
• A licensed Australian bookmaker accepts a bet on a match before it starts. This is an excluded wagering service, so it is allowed.
• The same bookmaker accepts a bet through its app while the match is under way. In-play betting by app is generally prohibited, and only a genuine phone bet fits the exception.

If a service looks like a casino, assume it is not lawful for Australians. Read how to spot unlicensed gambling sites and scams and why offshore-licensed gambling sites are risky.

How ACMA enforces the Act

ACMA is the main enforcement body. It can investigate complaints, issue formal warnings and notices, and work with other agencies. It also asks internet service providers to block illegal gambling sites, and it has blocked affiliate marketing sites as well as the gambling sites themselves. The legislation focuses on providers and promoters. Even so, a person using an offshore casino has no Australian regulator to turn to for a dispute, and no access to Australian safeguards.

BetStop, safer gambling and the 2026 reforms

BetStop is the national self-exclusion register, run by ACMA and launched in August 2023. It lets a person exclude from licensed online and phone wagering providers for a period from a minimum of three months up to a lifetime. Registration needs a mobile number, an email address and an Australian driver licence, Medicare card or Australian passport. People without these can contact BetStop to ask about another way to verify identity. It does not cover illegal services. For the principles, read self-exclusion explained.

Licensed online wagering also has a ban on credit cards and digital currency, in force since June 2024. See credit card gambling bans by country.

The Australian Parliament passed a gambling reform package that amends the IGA on 19 August 2026. The Department of Infrastructure says the reforms commence from 1 January 2027. Reported themes include limits on wagering advertising, stronger enforcement against illegal services and changes to BetStop. Reports differ on the detail, so check ACMA and the Department for exact rules and start dates. For wider context, see gambling advertising rules by country.

Rules by country

• Australia: Online casino games, including pokies, are prohibited for people in Australia. Licensed operators may offer online sports and racing wagering and some licensed lottery services, but not casino games. ACMA enforces, and BetStop is the national register.
• United Kingdom: Licensed online casino is available through operators licensed by the UK Gambling Commission for Great Britain. The age is 18, and GAMSTOP offers online self-exclusion for 6 months, 1 year or 5 years (the 5-year option can auto-renew where offered) across most licensed online operators.
• United States: State by state. Online casino is live in only a handful of states, and sports betting is legal in most.
• Canada: Provinces regulate. Ages are 19 in most provinces and 18 in Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec.
• Ireland: The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland is rolling out licensing, betting first. There is no national exclusion register live yet.

The bottom line

The Interactive Gambling Act prohibits online casino games for people in Australia and limits in-play betting, while allowing licensed sports and racing wagering and some lottery services. ACMA enforces it, BetStop supports self-exclusion, and 2026 reforms add advertising and enforcement changes. Treat any online casino aimed at Australians as unlicensed, keep to a budget, and track your spending with the spend tracker.

Sources

• The Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (infrastructure.gov.au)
• ACMA enforcement of the Interactive Gambling Act, including investigations into in-play betting (acma.gov.au)
• ACMA blocks more illegal gambling and affiliate marketing websites (acma.gov.au)
• Gambling reforms 2026 frequently asked questions (infrastructure.gov.au)
• BetStop: what to expect when registering (betstop.gov.au)
• DLA Piper: Australia’s new gambling advertising reforms (dlapiper.com)

18+ only (21 in most US states, 19 in most Canadian provinces for casino and betting). Gambling can be addictive. Free, confidential help is available: Great Britain: England and Scotland 0808 8020 133, Wales 0808 2819 265 (free, 24 hours), and GAMSTOP (gamstop.co.uk); US: National Problem Gambling Helpline 1-800-MY-RESET (the older 1-800-522-4700 also works); Australia: Gambling Help Online 1800 858 858 and BetStop (betstop.gov.au); Ontario, Canada: ConnexOntario 1-866-531-2600; Ireland: speak to your GP or the HSE. Never gamble money you need for living costs.