As at 6 October 2026, Betfair is on the official register of betting providers licensed to take bets online or by phone in Australia, kept by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). Its row names Betfair Pty Ltd as licence holder and the Northern Territory's wagering regulator as licensing authority. ACMA publishes the register on its page titled Check if a gambling operator is legal, and under its guidance being listed there is what an operator needs before it can operate in Australia.
The same company appears on the NT Wagering Commission's own list of licensed wagering operators. The Interactive Gambling Act's rules for licensed providers apply by force of the Act, not because of either list. Whether a bookmaker will keep serving customers who lay off its bets on an exchange is a separate question, and the bookmaker's terms decide it.
What Betfair's row on the register shows
| Register column | Betfair's row (register last updated 7 September 2026) |
|---|---|
| Trading name | Betfair |
| Licence holder | Betfair Pty Ltd |
| URL | Betfair's Australian site, ending in .com.au |
| Licensing authority | Northern Territory Racing and Wagering Commission, today called the NT Wagering Commission |
The register also lists a second trading name, CrownBet, under the same licence holder, with its own row and address. Match the brand and address you use to its own row. The NT Wagering Commission's list, which sets out each operator's company, trading name and website, includes Betfair Pty Ltd trading as Betfair.
In the Northern Territory, betting exchange operators are licensed under the Racing and Wagering Act 2024 (NT), in the same licence class as sports bookmakers. That licence class covers taking bets on racing, on approved sporting events and on novelty events. How an exchange matches backers and layers is set out in the betting exchange guide.
Bookmaker names are trade marks of their owners. B337 is not affiliated with them.
Note: Register details checked on 6 October 2026. This is general information about the law, not legal advice, and the Australian betting laws hub covers the wider law.
The rules every licensed provider follows
A licence from a state or territory brings the Commonwealth's online rules with it. They apply to every provider on the register, and the national consumer protection framework's agreed scope lists betting exchanges by name:
| Rule | What it means for an account | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| No online betting on a sporting event once it has begun | An online back or lay bet on a match must be placed and accepted before the start | Interactive Gambling Act, s 10B and s 8A(3) |
| No online credit, and no deposits by credit card, credit-linked wallet or digital currency | Credit for online betting has been banned since 17 February 2018, and those payment methods since 11 June 2024 | Interactive Gambling Act, s 15C |
| BetStop | One registration shuts a person out of every provider licensed in Australia to take bets online or by phone | Interactive Gambling Act, Part 7B |
| Consumer protections | Identity verified before your first bet, deposit limits (a decrease applies at once, an increase after 7 days), monthly statements, no reward for opening an account | National consumer protection framework |
| Complaints | Raise it with the exchange, then with the authority named on its register row; for the NT, within 60 days of learning of the problem | NT Wagering Commission complaint rules |
The in-play betting rules explain how s 10B defines a bet placed after an event begins.
How to check Betfair's entry yourself
- Go to the Check if a gambling operator is legal page on ACMA's website and scroll to the register, or download it as a CSV or JSON file.
- Find Betfair under B in the Trading name column.
- Check that the row's URL is the address you actually log in at.
- Read the Licensing authority column, which named the Northern Territory commission at the 7 September 2026 update.
- Read the date beside Last updated, below the table.
- For a second source, find Betfair Pty Ltd on the NT Wagering Commission's list of licensed wagering operators.
If anything differs from the table above, go by the register: it is ACMA's record, and rows change. The licence check guide explains each column and the warning signs of a site that is not on it.
Laying bets on a licensed exchange
Laying a selection means betting that it will not win. You take the backer's side, and what you risk is the backer's winnings, called the liability. On an exchange licensed in Australia a lay is a bet like any other, under the same rules.
Example: Illustrative prices. You lay a runner for a backer's stake of $18 at $4.40. Your liability is 18 x (4.40 - 1) = $61.20. If the runner loses you collect the $18, less the exchange's commission at whatever rate its terms set; if it wins you pay out $61.20.
The lay betting guide covers liability and commission in full, and the lay bet calculator works out the numbers.
Racing participants are the exception. AR 237 of the Australian Rules of Racing, the thoroughbred rules, bars:
- a trainer from laying a horse in their care, or in their care at any time in the previous 21 days
- a trainer's stable employees from laying their employer's horses, while employed and for 21 days after
- an owner or nominator from laying a horse they have entered or may enter
- a rider's agent from laying a horse their rider is to ride
- anyone who provided a service connected with keeping, training or racing a horse from laying it within 21 days of last doing so
Harness and greyhound racing have their own rule books.
Whether a bookmaker lets you keep betting after you lay off its bets on an exchange, or after you arbitrage between the two, is a different question. Each bookmaker's terms decide it, and a bookmaker can limit stakes, void bets or close an account under them. B337 does not give legal advice, and the arbitrage law guide separates what the law addresses from what terms decide.
Risk: Betting involves risk. In the example, $61.20 is at stake to win $18 before commission, so one losing lay can wipe out the profit from several winning ones. See responsible gambling for limits and support.
Overseas exchanges are not an option here
An overseas exchange with no Australian state or territory licence cannot lawfully take bets from people in Australia (s 15AA), however familiar its name. ACMA can ask internet providers to block it, and its customers sit outside BetStop, deposit limits, the credit ban and any Australian complaint path. If it withholds money, ACMA warns, Australian regulators cannot help.
The offshore betting sites guide sets out those risks and what a block does to an account balance.
What the register entry does not tell you
A register row records who holds a licence and who issued it. It is not a rating, and it leaves several things to the exchange's own terms:
- What it charges. Commission and any other charges are set in its terms and can change, and the exchange commission guide works the maths with a labelled rate.
- How much money is waiting in a market, which decides whether your bet is matched at the price you want.
- Its account rules, such as limits or closures, which are outside what the NT Wagering Commission will investigate.
- Whether the row is still current. ACMA updates the register from time to time, so check the date.
Mistakes about Betfair and the law
| Mistake | What the record shows |
|---|---|
| Treating a copied list or a site badge as proof of Betfair's licensing authority | The register is the current record, and at its 7 September 2026 update it named the NT commission |
| Thinking an exchange can take online bets on a match after it starts | s 10B and s 8A(3) bind exchanges as they bind bookmakers |
| Assuming laying is banned | It is an ordinary bet on a licensed exchange; AR 237 limits racing participants only |
| Treating any exchange that accepts Australians as legal | Only a state or territory licence counts under s 15AA |
| Expecting the exchange's licence to protect your bookmaker accounts | Bookmaker terms decide restrictions, and the NT commission cannot investigate them |