No. It is illegal for an offshore betting site, meaning one with no licence from an Australian state or territory, to offer betting to people in Australia. Section 15AA of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 makes that an offence and a civil penalty contravention for the operator, counted again for each day it continues, and online casinos are banned outright whatever licence they hold.
The Act's offences are aimed at operators and at anyone who advertises them. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) frames the customer's side as a risk to your money. If an offshore site keeps your winnings, closes or is blocked, no Australian regulator can step in.
What makes a betting site offshore
In law, offshore and unlicensed betting sites are one group. The test is the licence, not the owner's country, the site's language or its domain. A service with any customer physically present in Australia has an Australian-customer link (s 8), and the Act reaches conduct outside Australia (s 14). Section 15AA then requires a licence under a state or territory law, so a licence from another country does not count.
So an overseas-owned group can trade lawfully here through an Australian company that holds a state or territory licence and sits on ACMA's register. A site run from overseas with no such licence is offshore in the sense that matters, however local it looks.
ACMA's register records each licence holder's trading names and web addresses, and ACMA's advice is to avoid any service that is not on it. Under s 15AA it is the person providing the service that must hold an Australian licence, so a familiar group name on a site proves nothing by itself. If the address you are using is not on a register row, treat the site as offshore, whichever group it belongs to.
| Site | Can it lawfully offer betting to people in Australia? |
|---|---|
| Racing or sports betting under an Australian state or territory licence, listed on ACMA's register | Yes, for what the licence covers: racing, and sport and other approved events bet before they start |
| Racing or sports betting with only an overseas licence | No (s 15AA) |
| A betting exchange with no Australian licence | No (s 15AA); the betting exchange licence guide shows how to read an exchange's row on ACMA's register |
| Online pokies, casino or poker games | No, licence or not (s 15) |
| Online bets on a match or other sporting event once it has started | No, from any provider (s 10B and s 8A(3)) |
The Interactive Gambling Act explained sets out how those categories are built.
Note: The law here is as at 7 October 2026, and this is general information rather than legal advice. The Australian betting laws hub maps the rest of the law.
Withheld winnings, and why no regulator can help
ACMA's warning is direct: if you use an illegal service, Australian regulators cannot help you if the provider treats you poorly or withholds your winnings. The examples it gives from complaints are:
- deposits accepted, then winnings that can never be accessed
- a site that closes or moves, and customers' money disappears with it
- an operator that keeps withdrawing money from a customer's bank account after they stop using it
In those situations, ACMA says, you are unlikely to see your money again. With a provider on ACMA's register, a dispute goes to the provider and then to the authority that licensed it, which is the safety net an offshore site lacks.
Example: Illustrative figures. You deposit $350 at an unlicensed site and, after some winning bets, hold a $1,180 balance. When you ask to withdraw it, the site points to a term saying people in Australia may not use it, and refuses. The $1,180 is your $350 plus $830 in winnings (1,180 - 350 = 830), and no Australian body can review the refusal.
Terms like that have a purpose. Section 15AA(5) gives an operator a defence if it did not know, and could not with reasonable diligence have found out, that it had a customer in Australia. Among the matters s 15AA(6) lists for deciding that are whether customers were told Australian law prohibits the service and whether they had to agree not to use it while here. A clause of that kind protects the operator, not you.
Blocking can strand your balance
One of ACMA's tools is blocking. Under s 313 of the Telecommunications Act 1997 it asks Australian internet service providers to cut off sites offering banned services or unlicensed betting, and sites carrying ads for them. It publishes the blocked list. The Government's May 2026 response counted more than 1,500 sites blocked since the work began.
For a customer, ACMA's warning is that a blocked site may leave you unable to log in to the account you already have.
The Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Act 2026 tightens this from 1 January 2027. From that date banks and other payment system participants must stop payments going from Australian accounts to illegal gambling operators. Digital services must block access to those operators, and ACMA can issue removal notices. Any balance held on an offshore site carries that risk for as long as it sits there.
A VPN changes none of this: it gives the operator no licence and you no protection, and the VPN betting guide explains why the answer to using one is no.
Risk: Betting involves risk. On an offshore site the risk is not only the stake: a balance you have already won can be withheld, cut off by a block or lost when the site closes. No Australian regulator will review it. See responsible gambling for limits and support.
The protections you give up
| Protection | With a provider licensed in Australia | With an offshore site |
|---|---|---|
| BetStop | One free registration excludes you from every licensed online and phone wagering provider, for 3 months up to a lifetime | Outside it |
| Identity check | Required before your first bet since 29 September 2023, and an account verified as under 18 is closed with deposits returned | Outside the rule |
| Deposit limits | Must be offered; a decrease applies at once and an increase only after 7 days | No framework duty |
| Credit and crypto | No online credit since 17 February 2018, and no credit cards, credit-linked wallets or digital currency since 11 June 2024 | Outside the ban |
| Activity statements | A statement every month to active accounts, since 31 July 2022 | No framework duty |
| Inducements to join | No bonus or reward for opening an account, since 26 May 2019 (NSW: 26 November 2019) | No framework duty |
| Complaints | The provider first, then the authority named on its register row | No Australian regulator can help |
The Government's May 2026 response puts it plainly: illegal operators are unregulated and operate outside Australian consumer protection mechanisms, including BetStop, mandatory customer pre-verification and the credit card payment ban. It adds that illegal offshore sites do not take part in Australia's sporting integrity arrangements, which it says raises the risk of match fixing and competition manipulation.
If BetStop or a deposit limit is what has you looking at overseas sites, that is the moment to call the National Gambling Helpline on 1800 858 858. It is free and confidential, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Checking whether a site is offshore
Search ACMA's register of licensed interactive gambling providers for the site's trading name, and hold the row's URL and licensing authority against the site in front of you. No row, or a row with a different address, means no Australian licence the register records.
The licence check guide walks through each column, how to read a mismatch and the warning signs, such as crypto deposits, sign-up bonuses and online bets taken after a game starts.
Beliefs about offshore sites that cost money
| Belief | What actually applies |
|---|---|
| "It is licensed, just not in Australia" | Only a licence under an Australian state or territory law counts for s 15AA |
| "It tops a review site's list" | Advertising an unlicensed betting service to people in Australia is itself banned under Part 7A of the Act, so a ranking that promotes one says nothing about whether it will pay you |
| "Lots of Australians use it, so it must be fine" | One customer in Australia is enough for an Australian-customer link (s 8), so popularity changes nothing |
| "The prices are better" | A price is worth only what the site pays, and an offshore site can refuse with no regulator to review it |
| "I'll withdraw as soon as I win" | ACMA's examples include winnings that could never be accessed and sites that closed or moved with customers' money |
| "BetStop covers every site" | It covers providers licensed in Australia, not offshore sites |
| "Paying in crypto keeps it simple" | Licensed providers have been barred from taking digital currency since 11 June 2024, so a site that takes it is outside that rule and its protections |