Gambling regulation
Gambling in the country:
State regulation
Local License:
ACMA
Top brands in the country
(as of November 2024)
Top payment systems
(data as of fall 2024)
Слоты по доли рынка
Top Slots
(by number of bets for fall 2024)
Affiliates receiving traffic
More about gambling regulation
In Australia, the Australian Communications and Media Regulator (ACMA) continues to persistently oppose the shadow iGaming market. To be fair, ACMA's tough innovations are justified. Residents of the country are world leaders in gambling expenditures: the average Australian player spends more than $1.5 thousand per year. For comparison, in Ireland the annual figure is $713, in the USA - $261, in Britain - $169.
Online casinos are banned. There is a procedure for blocking unlicensed ones, which is handled by the regulatory body ACMA (Australian Communications and Media Authority). At the request of ACMA, casino domains are sent to the providers for blocking.
Only in one administrative entity in Australia, the Server Territory, can you legally obtain a license, and only for betting.
About blocking and liability
Critical
Legislation:
Interactive Gambling Act 2001 explicitly prohibits the promotion/provision of unlicensed interactive services; advertising of offshore sites is prohibited
The activity of the authorities:
Very high (ACMA blocks sites, fines influencers and requires platforms to remove ads)
Risk of harassment of non-residents:
High
The risk in entering the country:
High
Risk of extradition to the country:
High
Precedents (against non-residents):
Yes (lots of blocking and investigations on affiliates/influencers)
Comment on the level of risk:
Australia is one of the most dangerous markets for promoting offshore casinos: ACMA actively blocks sites and stops campaigns; influencers are warned and fined. For a non-resident, the risk of administrative and reputational consequences is high; it is not recommended to work with AU audiences. Countries from which extradition to Australia is possible: USA, UK, Canada, EU countries (list as appropriate), New Zealand, etc. (see AG-list). (see AG-list). If you are in Russia/China/non-CIS countries - direct risk of formal extradition is low (no treaty).
Gambling in the country
Australia is one of the largest gambling markets in the world with a highly engaged population.
The first online casinos appeared in the 90s with the development of the Internet. And already in 2001 there was a legislative act IGA, regulating online gambling. It should be understood that Australia has been and remains a strictly regulated market, where there is an active fight against illegal operators.
Online casino advertising is banned in Australia. Both offshore brand sites, affiliate sites and casino mirrors are blocked.
Most people in Australia get paid at the end of the month (29-31). These are the days of peak activity and it makes sense to give players an extra bonus to motivate them to come to your casino.
An interesting observation: Australians often spend family holidays away from home. On such days, activity drops significantly.
Separately, it can be noted that recently there has been an increase in the trend of playing cryptocurrency. This is due to the blocking of cards that players sometimes face.
Australia is a very lucrative market, but it is worth bearing in mind the risks.
Firstly, the projects of illegal operators are regularly blocked, so there should be a mirror in stock to guide players to.
Secondly, players' credit cards are periodically blocked, so players often prefer alternative methods for funding. Without such methods, it will be problematic to enter this geo.
Also, it is worth remembering that the market is particularly competitive, so you need to prepare thoroughly for entering the market in terms of product (welcome offer, regular offerings, games, payments, retention mechanics, etc.).
Only sports betting is legal in Australia, and the large gambling audience lacks diversity in the iGaming industry. Therefore, it can be argued that thorough measures by the authorities are indeed detrimental to licensed betting operators and significantly reduce the revenues of the sector as a whole.
However, despite the potential for growth in the country's legal gambling sector, all these opportunities are now effectively in the hands of the black market. We tell you what other reforms await licensed operators in this fight for survival and provide data on the scale of the illegal iGaming industry in Australia.
The debate over gambling advertising regulations continues in the country. It started back in 2023 when Australian politician Peta Murphy proposed 31 recommendations to normalize gambling in Australian society.
They included a phased three-year plan to eliminate all forms of gambling advertising. At the moment, the recommendations are still under discussion, but one of the regulations for this area has been highlighted for more immediate consideration.
The Australian government has launched an initiative that will restrict gambling advertising in stadiums during major sporting events.
The aim of the restriction is to reduce the impact of advertising on young audiences, as it makes young people perceive betting as an integral part of sports culture. About 46% Australians between the ages of 18 and 24 are known to participate in online betting.
In this situation, bookmakers may suffer significant losses, as this type of advertising has noticeably contributed to their recognition in the media space.
Stricter customer identification procedures (KYC) were introduced back in September 2023. Therefore, operators had one year to prepare for the stricter rules.
Companies are now prohibited from allowing users to gamble until they have verified that the customer is indeed who they say they are.
This implies that companies are required to implement robust identity verification systems and procedures that allow for prompt and accurate verification of submitted documents to avoid any criminal elements and to recognize individuals on the National Self-Exclusion Register.
More than 30k people in Australia have joined BetStop's national self-exclusion program since its launch last August.
The majority of registered players (15 thousand) are young people under 30 years old. The next group was consumers between 31 and 40 years old, who accounted for 30% of all registrations. They were followed by the 41 to 50 age group with 12% and another group from 51 to 60 with 6%.
As for the terms for which people voluntarily gave up gambling, about 12 thousand Australians did it for life. The same number of people chose a period of three months to two years.
It is known that 7.3 thousand people completed the self-exclusion process or canceled it early. However, there is no guarantee that the number of former self-excluded people will not decide to «snap» and turn to gambling platforms.
BetStop's effectiveness is directly related to the volume of the black market, which exceeds the scale of legal activity in the country, which is limited solely to sports betting.
This means that Australians who are in the national self-exclusion program can visit a huge number of active offshore sites in the country without any restrictions, thereby exacerbating their addiction to gambling on illegal platforms.
Thus, the lack of diversity in Australia's gambling industry, coupled with the growing number of illegal operators, calls into question the effectiveness of government initiatives aimed primarily at protecting young people.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare believes that «gambling is a serious public policy issue in Australia, impacting the health and wellbeing of individuals and families in a variety of ways.» As such, the country is constantly introducing new laws and standards for the sector.
The tight regulatory environment and lack of diversity in an industry where only online sports betting is allowed creates an unfavorable environment for users and makes legal operators highly uncompetitive.
Unwilling to be part of such countermeasures, players choose more diverse illegal platforms available 24 hours a day, despite the AMA's constant efforts to block them. As a result, there is a significant exodus of players offshore.
The state is suffering huge financial losses, and instead of considering legalizing online casinos, the authorities continue to increase pressure on legal betting operators.
If this policy continues, Australia risks becoming a global leader in gambling losses rather than a world and future gambling destination.
Gambling regulation
Gambling in the country:
State regulation
Local License:
ACMA
About the population of the country
Official Language:
English
Believers:
34 %
Second Religion:
Basic information about the country
Name of country:
Australia
Code (2-digit):
AU
Continent:
Australia and Oceania
Capital:
Canberra
Area of the country:
7,686,850 square kilometers.
Phone Code:
61
Currency (currency code):
Australian dollar (AUD)
Geographical features of the country
Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory.
Outer area (3): Cocos Islands, Norfolk Island, Christmas Island.
Staff (6): Victoria, Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Tasmania, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia.
The modern territory of the country was partially or fully occupied by the following states: British Empire (now Great Britain).
Australia is washed by seas: Coral Sea, Tasman Sea, Arafura Sea, Timor Sea.
Australia has access to lakes: Eyre (Katy-Tanda), Torrance, Gardner, Mackay, Frome, Alegzandrina, Carnegie, Disappointment, Amadius, Great Lake, Hindmarsh, Bulumbate, Bonnie, Grace South, Grace-North, Kanagulk, Burberry.
There are rivers running through the area: Darling, Murray, Marrambidgee, Cooper Creek, Warrego, Locklan, Paroo, Georgina, Flinders, Gascoyne, Diamantina, Ashburton, Victoria, Murchison, Fortescue, Finke, Fitzroy, Berdekin, Barwon, Condamine, and others.
There are straits in the waters of the country: Bassow, Torres.
Australia owns the islands: Tasmania, Melville, Kangaroo, Groote Island, Fraser, Bathurst, Flinders, King, Mornington, Derk Hartog, Cape Barren, Hinchinbrook, Heard, Bruny, Crocker, Howard, Elko, Whitsunday, Wanderlyn, Marchinbar and others.
Mountains within the country: Mawson, Big Ben, Kosciuszko, Townsend, Tuinam, Ramshead, Etheridge, Carruthers, Ossa, Legs Tor.
Volcanoes are present in the area: Big Ben.
There are deserts on the territory of the country: Victoria, Big Sandy, Tanami, Gibson, Simpson, Little Sandy, Strzelecki.
Famous caves in the country: Bulita, Jenolan, Mini-Martin, Corra-Lin, Growling-Suollet, Mulamulang, Queenslander Cave, Kokelbiddy, Kolong, Kubilai Khan, Eagle-Nest, Mamutova, Kazad-Dum.
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