Are online casinos and online pokies legal in Australia?

By March 2026 the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) had blocked 1,564 illegal gambling and affiliate websites since November 2019. The figure sits behind a question that search results often muddy: are online pokies legal in Australia? Online casinos and online pokies are banned services under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, and the Act is written for the companies that offer them. No Australian licence covers them. This guide gives general information and is not legal advice.

What the Act prohibits – and for whom

The ACMA describes the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (the Act) in one sentence that matters more than any other: it sets the rules for companies that offer or advertise gambling services. The rule is addressed to the provider. A person who opens a website sees a casino. The Act sees a company supplying a service to customers in Australia.

The banned list is specific. According to the ACMA, prohibited online services include online casinos, in-play sports betting, sports betting services that do not hold an Australian licence and betting on the outcome of a lottery. In its guidance for consumers the ACMA names slots (pokies) and casino-style games such as poker, blackjack and roulette among the illegal online services. GambleAware NSW lists online roulette, blackjack, baccarat and online pokies in the same way. A real-money pokies service, the kind most searches describe, is exactly what the list covers. Three sources, one answer.

The Act uses the same logic in its section headings. Section 15 is headed ‘Prohibited interactive gambling services not to be provided to customers in Australia’ and section 15AA ‘Unlicensed regulated interactive gambling services not to be provided to customers in Australia’, according to the compilation of the Act dated 14 October 2024. The headings state who the rule is for. The wording of the provisions and their penalties are best read in the Act itself.

The table sets out the position service by service, using the sources above.

The table lists services, not people.

What is licensed instead

The Act does not ban online gambling as a whole. According to GambleAware NSW, the online services that licensed Australian providers may offer are sports and race betting and lotteries. The same page points to the register of licensed interactive gambling providers for anyone who wants to check who holds a licence.

The list has no entry for casino games or pokies. No licence category covers them, so an online casino has no Australian licence to hold. The ACMA frames the divide from the provider side: sports betting services are acceptable only when they hold an Australian licence, and online casinos are on the banned list without any such condition.

The wider picture of which online gambling services are licensed in Australia and which are banned is covered in the guide to Australian online gambling laws.

Why online casinos still appear in Australian search results

A banned service can still have a website. The ACMA says the law changed in 2017 to combat groups outside Australia that provide illegal gambling services over the internet. GambleAware NSW puts it directly: offshore gambling operators are not allowed to offer services to Australians. Being able to load a page is not evidence of a licence.

Enforcement has had a visible effect. According to the ACMA, over 225 illegal services had pulled out of the Australian market by March 2026, counted from the start of enforcement in 2017. Others remain.

Some offshore operators display a licence from another jurisdiction. For sports betting the ACMA’s wording turns on one test: whether the service holds an Australian licence. A licence from elsewhere does not answer that test. The ACMA notes that some online gambling services look like they are legal in Australia and some even target Australian players.

Which jurisdictions issue such licences, and how much they mean, is a separate question. It does not change what the Act says about services offered to customers in Australia.

What the ACMA actually checks

The ACMA says it investigates anyone who breaks the rules for online gambling services. The tools it lists include formal notices that rules were broken, infringement notices, referral to the police or the Director of Public Prosecutions, reporting company directors to border authorities and asking internet service providers to block a website. The target in each case is a provider.

Civil penalties are part of the picture. The ACMA lists civil penalties of millions of dollars per day, with a higher maximum for a corporation than for an individual. The figures are on the ACMA’s investigations page, as read on 5 October 2026. Penalty amounts can change when Commonwealth penalty units are indexed, so check that page for the current figures.

Blocking has a separate legal basis. According to the ACMA, it asks internet service providers to block websites under section 313 of the Telecommunications Act 1997. Its count was 1,564 blocked illegal gambling and affiliate websites by March 2026. A blocked website is a sign that the ACMA has already acted.

The limits matter as much as the powers. The ACMA warns that Australian regulators will not be able to help a customer who believes a provider has treated them poorly, for example by withholding winnings. It checks the provider. It does not check the balance in a customer’s account.

What the ban means for your money

The Act sets rules for whoever provides the service. The ACMA’s guidance for people who gamble is about risk, not about penalties. That risk is described in plain terms on its consumer page.

According to the ACMA, an illegal operator may let you deposit money into an account on its website or app and then block access to your winnings. The operator may close its services or move them elsewhere, and the money disappears. In some cases an operator keeps withdrawing funds from a bank account without permission after the customer has stopped using it. Each of these is listed by the ACMA as a risk of using an illegal service.

The ACMA adds that even a service that looks legitimate is unlikely to have important customer protections. GambleAware NSW says people who use offshore services have no protection under Australian law.

BetStop, the National Self-Exclusion Register, does not reach these websites either. BetStop applies to licensed Australian online and phone gambling providers. An offshore casino is not one of them, so registering does not stop it from taking deposits.

If gambling is costing more than intended, the National Gambling Helpline on 1800 858 858 offers free and confidential support.

How to tell a licensed provider from a banned service

No checklist replaces the register, but four steps narrow the question quickly.

1. Find the company that operates the website and any licence holder it names. A site that names none has told you something.
2. Look for that company in the register of licensed interactive gambling providers. GambleAware NSW refers to this register on its online gambling page.
3. Note which services the website offers. Online pokies and casino-style games are services no Australian licence covers, so a licence claim on a site that offers them points elsewhere.
4. Treat a licence from another jurisdiction as a reason to ask more questions. It is not an Australian licence.

Advertising rules and what changes in 2027

Advertising of banned services is already restricted. The ACMA states that gambling providers must not advertise banned services, and the Act’s section 61EA is headed ‘Designated interactive gambling service advertisements not to be published in Australia’.

New rules are on the way. The Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Bill 2026 passed in August 2026, and the Department of Infrastructure says the reforms begin from 1 January 2027. The government’s announcement of the passed reforms describes measures such as limits on gambling advertising, restrictions on direct marketing of inducements, a ban on online keno and steps against payments to illegal operators.

The sources reviewed for this guide describe what the reforms add. They do not describe a change to the services the Act prohibits. The detail of the advertising changes is in the gambling advertising rules that start on 1 January 2027.

Making a complaint and finding support

What can be done if an offshore website withholds winnings? The ACMA warns that people who use an illegal service are unlikely to see their money again in these situations. A complaint can still matter, because it feeds the ACMA’s investigations into providers.

1. Keep every email and screenshot, and note the date of each.
2. Make a complaint to the ACMA about the website. According to the ACMA, a complaint can be made without giving a name.
3. Talk to a counsellor if the loss is affecting you. The National Gambling Helpline on 1800 858 858 offers free and confidential support, and Gambling Help Online offers the same support online.

In short, online pokies are a banned service, and the Act is written for the companies that offer them. The questions left for a customer are about money and support. Gambling harm can affect a person who gambles and the people close to them. You do not need to wait until things become serious. Limits, self-exclusion and other tools for gambling more safely are covered separately.

Common questions about online pokies and the law

Sources

All sources were accessed on 5 October 2026, except where another date is shown.

• ACMA: About the Interactive Gambling Act
• ACMA: Protect yourself from illegal gambling operators
• ACMA: Investigations into online gambling providers
• ACMA: Blocked gambling websites
• ACMA: Latest illegal online gambling websites blocked (March 2026)
• Interactive Gambling Act 2001: Federal Register of Legislation
• GambleAware NSW: Online gambling
• Department of Infrastructure: Gambling reforms 2026
• Minister Anika Wells: Strongest ever gambling reforms passed (accessed 6 October 2026)
• BetStop: the National Self-Exclusion Register
• Gambling Help Online