UK Pound CasinoWritten for readers in Australia
Reading from Australia: online casino is prohibited, and so is advertising it
Australia does not licence online casino: it prohibits it, for every operator, Australian or foreign. Part 7A of the same Act prohibits advertising a prohibited service, and that prohibition is the reason this page carries no brand name.
Why there is no operator on this page
You have reached a page written for readers in Australia, and it names no gambling operator because naming one would be an offence. Part 7A of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 prohibits advertising a "prohibited interactive gambling service", and «online casino» is a prohibited service in Australia for every operator in the world, Australian or foreign.
That is a stronger position than most countries take, and it is frequently misdescribed online as Australia being an "unregulated market". It is the opposite of unregulated: the Act does not licence «online casino» at all, it forbids it, and the prohibition applies to the offering and to the advertising as two separate offences.
What the Interactive Gambling Act actually prohibits
The Act prohibits any operator from offering online casino games, online slots, online poker and in-play sports betting to customers in Australia. It separately prohibits advertising those services, and the Australian Communications and Media Authority asks internet providers to block the websites concerned, publishing the list of blocked domains as it grows.
The blocking reaches sites that advertise prohibited services as well as sites that offer them, which is the reason a British comparison site carries no brand names on this page. The player commits no offence; the operator and the advertiser do.
What is actually legal here
Two things, and both are narrower than they look. Pre-match sports betting with a bookmaker licensed by an Australian state or territory is lawful, and most of those licences come from the Northern Territory; in-play betting online is not, which is why licensed Australian bookmakers ask customers to telephone to place a bet once a match has started.
Online lotteries are lawful. Online casino, online slots and online poker are not, for anybody, and no amount of licensing elsewhere changes that: a Maltese, Curaçaoan or British licence has no effect on the operation of the Australian Act. Since 2024 Australian licensed bookmakers may not accept credit (including credit cards), and a national «self-exclusion» (a refusal the operator is obliged to honour) «register» (a list a public authority keeps and publishes) called BetStop has been running since August 2023. A single registration there blocks every licensed Australian «wagering» service, and it is free.
What changes in 2027
The Federal Register of Legislation has announced a compilation of the Interactive Gambling Act taking effect on the first of January 2027, incorporating the Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Act 2026. In April 2026 the government announced restrictions on gambling advertising more broadly (including a cap on television advertising), an end to shirt sponsorship and restrictions on social media. The precise content of the amending Act is worth checking against the consolidated text rather than against the commentary, which on this subject has run well ahead of the legislation. What is not in doubt is the direction, and nothing in it makes online casino lawful!
Help, if you need it
Gambling Help Online is on 1800 858 858, free and available at any hour, and the service covers every state and territory. BetStop, at betstop.gov.au, is the national «self-exclusion» (a refusal the operator is obliged to honour) «register» (a list a public authority keeps and publishes), and a registration takes a few minutes and applies to every licensed «wagering» operator at once. If a British site sent you to this page, the redirection is the site working as it should. The pages it carries list operators who cannot lawfully be advertised to you, and whose British accounts could not be opened from Australia in any case.
By the UK Pound Casino editorial team · Last updated November 2026