According to Statista.com, Australians spent more than 20 billion dollars on lotto, electronic gaming, and other gaming. Online gambling in Australia, is it legal? -Yes, but it remains illegal for some individuals or operators. Only licensed gambling providers are legalized to offer online gambling products on the continent while others gambling products are banned. For the longest time, until just recently when there was a public outcry for the Commonwealth to take the responsibility for gambling policy it used to be the state's responsibility. Today, the Commonwealth has taken a more active role in Australia. 

Are Online Casinos Legal in Australia? 

The Interactive Gambling Act 2021 contains the rules that gambling offering or advertising gambling services must adhere to. The act covers all gambling that happens via telephone and online through a website or an application. The 2021 ACT illegalizes gambling providers from offering some online gambling services to some people in Australia. Online gambling Australia laws bans services such as in-play sports betting, online casinos, betting on a lottery outcome, and sports betting services that lack an Australian license. Therefore, it is clear that these banned services are not to advertise at all in Australia. The banned services equally must not offer credit for online betting or in any way promote it. Australians are free to complain in the event they believe someone has broken a rule in the Interactive Gambling Act. 

Australia Online Gambling Regulation

The Federal Government under the Australian constitution has been mandated to govern and regulate among other things, money, trade, and telecommunications among states and territories. The federal government has hence used the power to enact new online gambling laws Australia among other things, anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing, interactive gambling, and consumer and competition protection. 

In Australia, there is an independent statutory authority called ACT Racing and Gambling Commission. The online gambling laws controls and regulates all gaming, betting activities, and even racing in the ACT. It ensures that the said gaming is conducted with honesty, with integrity and is free from criminal elements. The online gambling regulation Australia has a website with comprehensive pages on legislation, problem gambling, interactive gambling, the gaming industry Code of Conduct, gaming machines, the casino, and other types of betting. 

Casino Games & Best Online Pokies Australia

The best part of online casino Australia real money free spins is that you can play while on the go or at home and still make lots of money. However, you may also choose to play for free if your goal is not to hit the multi-million jackpot. There are a myriad of free casino games, real money pokies Australia, free online slots that are available over the web and are entirely social.  This means that you may not have to deposit any money nor register or download software. In online casino Australia legal real money, you may lose or win real money upon wagering. 

• - Pokies online Australia are the most preferred types of gambling activities here. There are many casino laws either in-state or territory governments that regulate online pokies. Online slots machines have a great market in gambling and it’s the reason almost all web-based casinos offer over 250 variations of best paying online pokies Australia. 

Among the popular online pokies Australia real money no deposit are 5 Dragons, Lightning Link, Where's the Gold, etc. They are the bodies that determine which companies are eligible based on their code of practice and business conduct. Like any other form of gambling in the country that requires a license, special commissions called gambling commissions issue licenses. 

• - Online bingo casino Australia on the other hand is legal to play.  The country also has big bingo houses distributed across the country where players compete amongst thousands of other players for a chance to win great cash prizes. Players should be informed that house local bingo is not the same as American bingo. Online bingo  Australia legal is popular in the USA and Canada. Various casinos in Australia offer computer-simulated bingo games. 

• - Baccarat is yet another casino game that is legal to play in Australia. Online baccarat appeals to Australian players of all walks of the country, whether new gamblers or veteran high rollers.  Again there are many places where you can play free, online baccarat in Australia as well as real money baccarat.  The game provides the best odds among most casino games that don’t need too much study and memorization. This is the reason why it is growing in popularity in the country. 

• - Like baccarat, online poker is also very common among Australian gamblers. This legal game played in online casinos that are only licensed by the requisite authority attributes its popularity to the fact that it is offered over the internet. Online poker Australia legal can one play for free but also for real cash. Even so, despite its popularity online, it is outright illegal to play it in the country if it is being offered by an interactive poker website that operates in Australia. 

Offshore websites provide locals with many variations as well as a wide range of banking options for deposits and withdrawals. It is important to thoroughly study the Australian online poker laws in order to be recognized in the nuances.

• - Roulette as the online casinos, which are legal to play in Australia, playing roulette is equally legal, read roulette law. However, since the Interactive Gambling Act of 2001 made it illegal to play real cash Australia online casinos in the country, playing it for money remains illegal. This is with the exception of playing from an offshore, legal, and verified website. 
• - Online lotteries are also illegal to play in Australia. It is because online gambling here is regulated by the Interactive Gambling Act of 2001. This act however gives an exception to only licensed services that provide online lotteries, online sports, and online wagering.  

Who Regulates Gambling: Australia Online Gambling Laws

Written in full as the Australian Communications and Media Authority, this is the Australian government's statutory authority for anything to do with communications. It was established on 1st July 2005 after a merger with the Australian Communications Authority and Australian broadcasting Authority. The independent Commonwealth statutory authority regulates communication and media services in the country. It also licenses organizations and people, and products to operate in the country.

• - The Federal Interactive Gambling Laws legalize gambling providers from offering online services to Australian residents. The body prohibits services such as online casinos and in-play sports betting.
• - AML/CTF is an act that provides every means required to help detect and curb terrorism financing and money laundering. The body provides financial intelligence to revenue agencies as well as enforcement departments. 
• - The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) operates in Australia as an independent commonwealth statutory authority to enforce the competition and consumer ACT of 2010. It also enforces a myriad of other legislations, promotes competition and fair trading, and regulates national infrastructure for the betterment of all Australians. 
• - The Interactive Gambling ACT of 2001 tries to prohibit residents of Australia from accessing online gambling services. This has given rise to many offshore websites where Australians can gamble. Therefore, residents are not breaching any role while they gamble on offshore websites. There are instances that some offshore websites have restrictions baring Australian nationals from gambling on their live dealer casinos but this is not blanket blame on all live dealers. As it stands, however, gambling from Australia’s live dealership remains prohibited. 

Online Gambling: State Responsibility

Illegal gambling in the country is when gambling operators promote real money online services to residents of Australia. Some of the real money online gambling services include casino-style games such as roulette and blackjack, in-play betting on sporting events, online slots (pokies), scratchies, and more. To ensure that this is observed in the latter, there are state and federal bodies also known as authorities that oversee all gambling activities.  State authorities such as ACT Racing and Gambling Commission, ensure gaming activities conducted are with honesty, integrity, and free from criminal elements. Different territories on the other hand have different gambliing regulations. 

• - The New South Wales Department of Gaming and Racing is charged with the proper conduct and balanced development of racing, gaming, liquor, and charity industries. It has a comprehensive website with pages on legislation, responsible gambling, and much more.  NSW Casino Control Act oversees the operations of the casino as well as giving licenses.

• - In the Northern Territory, it is the Racing and Gaming Authority that administers gambling legislation. The Northern Territory Gaming Machine Commission licenses the gaming machines. While these bodies do not have legal gambling sites, whatever information you need can be accessed from the Annual Report of the Authority.

• - Here the Queensland Office of Gaming Regulations regulates casinos, machine gaming, art unions keno, and lotteries. Its website has comprehensive pages that discuss topical issues, statistics, legislation, interactive gambling, and more policy matters. 

• - In South Australia, the Gaming Supervisory Authority does effective supervision of operations of casino gaming and gaming machines. The Office of the Liquor and Gaming Commissioner provides licenses and also supervises the licensees. 

• - It is the work of the Tasmanian Gaming Commissioner to regulate and control gaming here. It is an independent statutory authority but still receives operational support from the Tasmanian Department of Treasury and Finance branch of Gaming Operation. 

• - The Casino and Gaming Authority of Victoria monitors and regulates all gambling activities. The body has a website with pages that deal with research, legislation, policy, social media releases, licensing, frequently asked questions, and many more. 

• - In Western Australia, the administration and legislation of gaming activities are carried out by the Office of Racing, Gaming, and Liquor. It also carried out various operational functions of the gaming Commission such as awarding licenses, auditing functions, and inspection of casinos and gaming services.

Gambling Taxation in Australia

In Australia, a big chunk of the state’s tax revenue is gotten from resident gamblers’ windfalls. Up to a total of $5 billion is sourced from the gambling industry annually. Victoria, at 13% is said to be the highest tax dependence state with Western Australia the lowest with a paltry 4%. This is according to the Productivity Commission report on gambling. According to ATO, gambling is not a profession hence it is not viewed as an income. This way, it is exempted from taxation. One would wonder how governments collect such huge taxes from gambling hence gamblers do not pay tax. It is the gambling operators that pay taxes depending on the state they come from and the gaming type they are involved in. Tax is in the form of licensing fees, tax on the operator profits either player loss or net profits. Operators pool money from various bets and then deduct a percentage from the players’ loss and pay it as tax. 

License for Online Casinos Australia

• - Joe Fortune – Licensed by reCAPTCHA

• - PlayAMO – Licensed by Antillephone N.V

• - Woo Casino – Regulated and licensed by Antillephone N.V

Best Slot Testing Bodies

As a gaming operator, you must ensure that you have all the tools needed for you to comply with the regulatory and technical obligations. A good testing and certification body puts you in control and helps save time and finally, it becomes easy to report and evidence compliance. Without compliance, you can't get a license to operate your online gambling Australia company. The following are a few testing bodies that could help you out. 

• - eCOGRA incepted in 2003, the eCOGRA testing laboratory’s main goal was to achieve the objectives of player protection. Responsible conduct by gaming operators, fair gaming, and relevant software providers. The company is established in the United Kingdom but is an approved testing agency with worldwide recognition. If you are looking for the best testing, inspection, and certification of online gaming systems and software, this is your go-to company. 
• - Gaming Associates Europe Ltd is a laboratory for testing gaming systems and prides itself as a leading testing and certification firm. The company does a little more than just testing, it has a wide range of tools and services for regulators, operators, and suppliers. It prides itself as a pioneer in interactive gaming testing consultancy, research development, field inspection, and much more. 
• - iTech Labs is a worldwide recognized testing and certification laboratory that started its operations back in 2004, to test online gaming systems. The laboratory prides itself on highly trained personnel. The results acquired after the test are documented and customers are furnished with regular project reports. Today, this company is performing testing projects from many locations across Australia, Europe, and Asia. 
• - Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) was established to provide high-end testing, certification of online gaming machines and to provide professional services to gaming providers the world over. The laboratory believes in accomplishing its mission with top-notch levels of integrity and independence. It is one of the oldest firms for testing and certification of online gaming machines, having rendered its services for more than 30 years.