Betting inducement rules in Australia come in three layers: a national minimum every government agreed to, each state and territory's own law or code, and a new Part 7D of the Interactive Gambling Act that starts on 1 January 2027. The national minimum bans anything offered to get you to open an account or refer someone, and requires your consent before a provider markets offers to you.
Promotions themselves are lawful for account holders within consent and advertising rules, though some, such as an offer to keep an account open, are banned even then. In NSW, publishing or passing on an inducement to gamble is an offence, and a disclaimer saying the offer excludes NSW residents does not change that; South Australia and Western Australia also restrict inducement ads.
The national minimum every provider must meet
Measure 4 of the National Consumer Protection Framework, in force since 26 May 2019 (26 November 2019 in NSW), sets these principles for online wagering providers licensed in Australia:
- Nothing of value, whether credit, a voucher, a reward or another benefit, offered to get someone to open an account or to refer a friend.
- Where a state or territory permits inducements only inside an approved loyalty program, none outside it.
- No turnover condition on what a bonus bet wins: those winnings must be withdrawable.
- Direct marketing sent only with the customer's express consent.
- A working, easy-to-find unsubscribe, and no further marketing once a request is received.
Measure 5 adds two more: no enticement to stay once you ask to close an account, and no marketing after it closes. These are floors, not ceilings: each state and territory enforces them under its own laws and may go further, for example on how offers are advertised. Why joining offers are banned covers the account-opening rule in detail, the National Consumer Protection Framework guide all 10 measures, and the guide to betting promotions the offers these rules govern.
The NSW inducement ban
Under s 33GA of the Betting and Racing Act 1998, an inducement includes any offer of credit, a voucher, a reward or another benefit, and any gambling product, or condition of one, that carries extra benefits or enhancements. Three rules build on that definition:
- Section 33H makes it an offence to publish or communicate, in NSW, an inducement to take part in gambling or to do so more often, including one to open a betting account. A "not available in NSW" disclaimer does not save it, and a third party paid to publish the ad can be liable, as can a provider's directors and officers.
- Section 33HA limits how providers direct-market to their own account holders. An offer sent directly to a consenting account holder, or shown behind the log-in on the provider's own site, is not treated as published.
- Section 33JA bans five inducements outright, even to account holders: to open a betting account, to refer someone else to open one, not to close an account, to consent to receive gambling advertising, and not to withdraw that consent.
Liquor & Gaming NSW's guideline GL4015 draws the line for offers made to the public:
| Treated as prohibited when advertised to the public | Not treated as prohibited, if it does not encourage gambling or more of it |
|---|---|
| Bonus bets offered for a deposit or a bet | A provider's name or branding on its own |
| Refunds in cash or as bonus bets, such as on a runner finishing second or third | Current odds and markets |
| First-bet refunds, and reward points for bets placed | Live streaming of sport or racing |
| Better odds or extra winnings for a limited period, one race or match, or above a minimum bet | Better odds or extra winnings across a whole sport or round, open at all times, but never bonus bets |
| Ads for cash out during an event | Markets that pay out automatically when set criteria are met, such as a team leading by a set margin |
| Offers passed on through a third party or a social media comment | Terms, FAQs and how-to guides that explain a product without promoting it |
Breaches can bring fines and penalty notices. For racing, Liquor & Gaming NSW does not intend to act on racing-only inducements advertised in the racing-only parts of platforms that mainly carry racing content, but the five s 33JA bans still apply there.
Inducement rules in the other states and territories
Which rules reach an offer depends on the provider's licence and, in some states, where you are. Victoria's direction covers any provider taking bets from Victorians, Queensland's Act covers offers to anyone in Queensland, and South Australia's code binds the interstate operators it authorises.
| Jurisdiction | Where the rules sit | What they add to the national minimum |
|---|---|---|
| Victoria | Gambling Regulation Act 2003, s 4.7.10; Ministerial Direction of 6 July 2022 | Since 30 June 2023 you can open an account without agreeing to marketing; marketing stops within five business days of an unsubscribe; nothing may be offered for agreeing to marketing |
| Queensland | Interactive Gambling (Player Protection) Act 1998, ss 166B to 166D, added in 2021 | Nothing offered to stop you closing an account once you ask, or to stop you withdrawing marketing consent; consent must be express and informed; a withdrawal takes effect within five business days |
| South Australia | Authorised Betting Operations Gambling Code of Practice, version effective 1 January 2026 | No inducement aimed at getting a person to gamble, except an approved loyalty program or trade promotion lottery, bonus bets with withdrawable winnings, and offers on racing-only platforms; bonus bet ads only for racing bets on racing platforms; marketing stops within five business days of an unsubscribe |
| Western Australia | Gaming and Wagering Commission Regulations 1988, reg 43; Betting Control Regulations 1978, Part 3A, from 6 February 2025 | Inducements to gamble only for existing customers, sent directly by the operator with consent or shown after log-in; ads with a "not available to WA residents" disclaimer are prohibited |
| Tasmania | Responsible Gambling Code of Practice, version 1.1 of 29 April 2024 | For Tasmanian licence holders: inducements must not be provided (clause 1.5); clause 1.11 bars a reward to open or refer an account, and bonus bets unless their winnings can be withdrawn without turnover; marketing stops five days after an unsubscribe is received and processed, and after an account closes |
| ACT | Gambling and Racing Control (Code of Practice) Regulation 2002, as republished on 16 December 2025 | For ACT bookmaking and totalisator licensees: no inducement to open or refer an account; marketing stops five business days after a request to stop it or to close the account |
| Northern Territory | Code of Practice for Responsible Service of Online Gambling 2019, as varied on 31 March 2023, applied to licences under the Racing and Wagering Act 2024 | No credit, voucher or reward to open or refer an account; bonus bet winnings withdrawable immediately; marketing stops 24 hours after an unsubscribe, a self-exclusion or an account closure |
The NT code matters more than the territory's size suggests: at the 7 September 2026 update of ACMA's register, 48 trading names listed the NT regulator as their licensing authority.
Note: Rules checked in October 2026 against each regulator's published law, code or guideline. General information only, not legal advice; codes are revised from time to time.
Part 7D: the Commonwealth's inducement bans for designated customers
Part 7D comes from the Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Act 2026, assented to on 26 August 2026, and starts on 1 January 2027. For Part 7D an inducement is "any payment or other benefit that could reasonably be expected to induce a person to wager or gamble", and the Act lists credits, gifts, rebates, rewards, tokens and vouchers among them. Its bans turn on three groups of designated customers:
- a customer whose betting account is no more than 14 days old
- anyone who came off BetStop within the previous 90 days, or longer ago without having expressly agreed since to receive inducement marketing
- customers the provider has flagged as possibly at risk of gambling-related harm
A licensed online wagering provider may not send a designated customer an inducement by email, text, another electronic message or phone call. Nor may it use customers' contact details to have a social media service show them inducement ads. Providers must also monitor customer activity for signs of harm, and need fresh consent before sending inducement marketing to someone who left BetStop.
Those bans, the designated customer test and the monitoring duty do not apply on 1 January 2027 itself. Under the application rules in the Act's revised explanatory memorandum, each applies from a day the Minister fixes by notifiable instrument, which has to come after 1 January 2027. The ban on commissions tied to customer activity, paid to staff or affiliates, applies from 1 January 2027 itself. ACMA enforces Part 7D and takes complaints about it, and breaches carry civil penalties.
Part 7D does not end promotions: customers outside those groups can still be sent offers they agreed to. What the 2026 gambling reforms change covers the rest of the Act, and the Australian betting laws hub the wider framework.
One offer, five ways it could reach you
Example: Illustrative, not a real offer. A provider licensed in Australia wants to promote this: bet $50 on Saturday's feature race and get a $50 bonus bet if your runner finishes second.
| How the offer reaches you | What the rules say |
|---|---|
| A public social media post that people in NSW can see | Prohibited in NSW under s 33H, and adding "not available in NSW" does not change that |
| An email to an account holder who agreed to marketing | Allowed under the national framework if the email carries a working unsubscribe, and NSW does not treat it as published |
| The same email after you unsubscribed | Not allowed: the national principle is none once your request arrives, though the spam rules ACMA enforces, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT allow up to five business days to act on it, Tasmania's code five days, and the NT code 24 hours |
| A text five days after you opened your account, sent after the Minister's start day for Part 7D's inducement ban | Not allowed: an account open 14 days or less makes you a designated customer |
| The same bonus bet offered as a reward for opening the account | Not allowed anywhere in Australia |
Who enforces each rule
| Rule | Who enforces it |
|---|---|
| The national framework, measures 4 and 5 | Each state and territory, through its own laws, codes and licence conditions |
| NSW Betting and Racing Act 1998 | Liquor & Gaming NSW |
| Victoria's Act and Ministerial Direction | The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) |
| Queensland's Interactive Gambling (Player Protection) Act | The Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation |
| South Australia's code | The Liquor and Gambling Commissioner, through Consumer and Business Services |
| Western Australia's regulations | The Gaming and Wagering Commission |
| Tasmania's code | The Tasmanian Liquor and Gaming Commission |
| The ACT's code | The ACT Gambling and Racing Commission |
| The Northern Territory's code | The NT Wagering Commission |
| Part 7D, the ban on advertising illegal offshore services, and marketing spam | ACMA |
What you can do if a provider breaks the rules
- Keep the evidence: a dated screenshot of the offer and its terms, where it reached you, and whether you had agreed to marketing.
- If you do not want the offers, unsubscribe and withdraw consent, as how to stop betting promotions explains.
- Raise it with the provider in writing and ask for a dispute reference number.
- Take it to a regulator: the authority on the provider's row of ACMA's register, or the regulator where the offer was published, such as Liquor & Gaming NSW for an ad seen in NSW. Unlicensed sites, spam and, once Part 7D's inducement ban applies, inducements sent to designated customers go to ACMA.
- Watch the deadline: the NT Wagering Commission, for one, wants a complaint within 60 days of you becoming aware of the issue.
A regulator acts on breaches; it does not restore a promotion. The NT Wagering Commission cannot investigate restrictions an operator puts on an account, including on its promotions, and Liquor & Gaming NSW's report an issue form says it does not arbitrate to secure a financial outcome. How to complain about a bookmaker covers each authority's process.
Risk: Betting involves risk. A lawful promotion is still an inducement to bet, a bonus bet that loses pays nothing, and none of these rules limits what a bet can lose. See responsible gambling for limits and support.