One of the popular forms of relaxing in Australia is some kind of gambling. Near 80% of all population prefer it. But there are some problems with Australian online gambling because of laws. So it is more possible to have fun in land-based casinos than in online one. But online entertaining is open for everyone, so let’s look, how people can enjoy online casinos in Australia and why it’s not always possible.
Online Gambling in Australia
In Australia home-made online casinos don’t exist. In 2001 Parliament has prohibited them with a goal to protect citizens of unpleasant influence of online-gambling. But the Australian can play different foreign online casinos, because they are not blocked by local Internet providers. More than 600 online casinos are happy to offer their services to Australian players.
Gambling Laws in Australia
According to the law of 2001 it’s forbidden to offer iGaming or interactive gambling products in Australia and abroad or make the advertising of interactive gambling. But the law permits sports betting and racing if they are not a part of online game. Also it is possible to play the instant-win scratch cards.
Nowadays all rules about online gambling in Australia controlled by the Interactive Gambling Law of 2011. And the only way to Australians to play online casinos is to play at off-shore online casinos. There are a lot of casinos licensed in other gambling jurisdictions that like Microgaming produce their games for Australian gambling market.
Gambling Culture in Australia
Gambling is very popular among Australians. According to the data the number of people that begin playing online casinos is increasing from year to year. In average every person spends 11.000 $ in a year.
One of the most favorite sports in Australia is sports betting with it famous event like “The Melbourne Cup horse race” with lots of sports betting outlets. Another feature of Australia is its “pokies” – slot machines that can be seen everywhere: in casinos, bars, pubs etc. Here are also popular lotteries, keno and scratch cards.
Nowadays near 20 land-based casinos exist in Australia. Minimum one of them can be always found in any of the territories. All casinos can offer such classic games as roulette, poker, pokies and blackjack in luxury halls, big restaurants with entertaining concerts. The most famous casino in the world is the Crown Melbourne in Victoria with its annual “Aussie Millions poker tournament series”.
Almost in every hotel and nightclub people can find live gambling. It shows that the life of Australians is strongly connected with the world of casinos.
Online Casino Licensing
In Australia each territory regulates its gambling activity according to their jurisdictions and it’s interesting that they also control liquor licensing. These authorities are:
- “ACT Gambling and Racing Commission” in Australian Capital Territory;
- “Licensing Commission” in Northern Territory;
- “Office of Liquor, Gaming, and Racing” in New South Wales;
- “Independent Gambling Authority” in South Australia;
- “Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation” in Queensland;
- “Tasmanian Gaming Commission” in Tasmania;
- “Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation” in Victoria;
- “Department of Racing, Gaming, and Liquor” in Western Australia;
With the law that controls the activity of online gambling these territorial administration can’t give any licence for online gambling. So it’s almost impossible to find some Australian online operator. That’s why Australian gamers use foreign casinos. And as Malta Gaming Authority and UK Gambling Commission have the strictest conditions for receiving the licence in online gambling the Australian players can trust themselves to the online casinos licensed by them.
Gambling Age Restrictions
According to the law the gambling player in Australia must be minimum 18 years old. Persons younger than 18 will be banned from gambling without any permission to play for free at any site or place that also can offer games for real money.
Features of the Australian Online Casinos
Bonuses
All casinos try to attract with their welcome bonuses that can satisfy every whim. The typical bonuses are: No Deposit Bonus, Free Spins No Deposit, Free Spins With Deposit, Match Bonuses, Reload / Loyalty Bonuses, Cash Back Bonuses. Casinos with a huge bonuses and high rating are: LeoVegas Casino, 888Casino, Roxy Palace, 32Red Casino, G’Day Casino.
Support
There are different ways of customer’s support. But only the English-speaking one is available 24/7. Mostly it has a chat or even a live-chat form.
Games Variety
Australian players are found of different casino games. But among all games video slots are the most popular. The software of these games is mostly made by Aristocrat or Microgaming. Casinos with lots of slots are Als casino, GoldFishka Casino, VegasBerry Casino, SekaBet Casino.
Security
All online casinos that are licensed by Malta Gaming Authority and/or the UK Gambling Commission can be considered safe and secure.
Deposit Methods
- Credit and Debit Cards such as MasterCard or Visa could be used for any payment in gambling all over the world;
- UPayCard is the most used e-wallet in Australia that is also available for deposits;
- Cryptocurrency such as Bitcoins (Wintika Casino), Ethereum (Black Diamond Casino), Litecoins (Win a day Casino) or Dogecoins can be also used, all depends on the online casino’s policy;
- Bank Wire is a long but a super safe way for transferring money;
- Mobile phone account payments with PayForIt program permit paying for everything, using your phone number. But it’s not so famous yet.
Withdrawals
For withdrawals you can use the same systems as for deposits. But the player must be attentive, because some ways take too much time for this process or can’t transfer all sum at once etc. The fastest casinos are Wintika Casino, Grande Vegas Casino, Paradise Win Casino.
Loyalty Programs
Loyalty program is some kind of bonus gift by casino operator to the player if, for example, the last one plays in their online casino regularly. The list of top online casinos in Australia with the best loyalty programs can be next: Casino-Mate, Joka Room, Kahuna, Play Amo, FairGo Casino and some others.