History of Gambling in Australia
While various forms of gambling were taking place in Australia ever since colonial times, the first official gambling event happened in 1810, and it was a horse race at Hyde Park in Sydney. Participants of the race were allowed to bet on their favorite horses, and sports betting boomed from that moment. Similar to the first gambling event, pokies were operated in Australia long before 1956 when the first legal poker machines were brought to Australia.
Things evolved naturally, and by 1973 the Wrest Point Hotel Casino opened up in Tasmania. Pokies both inside and outside of casinos became the most popular gambling activity for Australians, and New South Wales had over 95,800 such machines in 2014, a number only beaten by the state of Nevada.
Referring strictly to online gambling, the story is pretty much similar. The first online casino appeared in 1994 when Microgaming started to produce online pokies and the Gaming Club Online casino was launched. It wasn’t long until more and more online casinos started to appear and in their search for profitable markets, Australia was the first stop. It wasn’t long until the number of online casino Australia real money operators spiked and the industry enjoyed a healthy development.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Gambling in Australia
Just in case you’ve never enjoyed the services of the best Australian online casino and you’re still thinking about it, we’ve put together a list of advantages that online gambling brings. Also, since we’re all about providing thorough information to our readers, we’re also going to point out some of the downsides of playing online compared to doing so at land-based casinos.
Benefits of Enjoying an Australian Casino Online
- Pokies diversity – the main benefit of enjoying the services of AUS casinos comes from being able to access hundreds (if not thousands) of online slots and table games. No matter how big a land-based casino is, it will never be able to compete with its online counterparts when it comes to the number of games it can deliver. So, while an Aussie casino can deliver up to 100 pokies, when playing online you’ll gain access to an average of 500 such games.
- Speed and simplicity – if you’re all about enjoying your favorite pokies without too much effort, choosing an Aussie online casino is the best way to go. You will be able to play all your favorite pokies from your computer, phone, or tablet from the comfort of your home or even during your daily commute. Not having to actually go to the local casino is a major advantage.
- Multiple Payment Methods – another sector in which online casinos hold the upper hand is making a deposit. Sure, land-based casinos offer several ways for players to get funds. However, nothing can compare to the tens of deposit and withdrawal options offered by an online operator.
- Pause and Resume Play – if you have to stop your game session and do something else, you can do so in an Aussie play casino. This can’t happen in a brick-and-mortar casino since your favorite pokie may be occupied by other players if you have to step aside for a while.
- Playing from Your Mobile – the fact that online casinos can be accessed from your mobile phone is another huge advantage. You can always have your favorite pokies with you, no matter if it’s a lunch break at the office or when you’re waiting for the train or bus.
Disadvantages of Online Casinos
There aren’t many things to mention when it comes to the downsides of playing online. Some die-hard fans of land-based casinos may mention that you miss the atmosphere of an actual casino. However, with the cutting-edge technology offered by live dealer casino games and even VR gaming, that’s not entirely true anymore. Perhaps the only real disadvantage of online casinos comes from always needing an internet connection to enjoy your pokies. If you’re in an area without internet connection, you won’t be able to access the casino and play.
How to Pick the Best Online Casino in Australia?
If you’ve made up your mind and you’re willing to try one of the new online casinos Australia has to offer, we’ve prepared some tips on what to look for to make sure you’re getting the best experience.
License
Before talking about things that players love, such as bonuses or available games, we need to point out the importance of playing at a licensed online casino. While the legal situation in Australia is far from being clear when it comes to issuing local licenses to online casinos (we’re going to circle back on this subject in a dedicated paragraph), it’s vital to check the license of the casino you choose. The reputable licensing authorities are the Malta Gaming Authority, United Kingdom Gambling Commission, or the Government of Curacao. However, you will find online casinos licensed by the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority, Isle of Man Gaming Commission, Costa Rica Regulatory Organisation, or the Alderney Gambling Control Commission. All the above-listed licensing authorities are considered safe and you can count on getting great services from the casinos licensed by them.
Since gambling in Australia is so developed, there’s a great competition among casinos operating here. This means that you will be able to enjoy some exceptional welcome bonuses as a new player. Analyze the offer presented b the casino knowing that the usual first deposit bonus is 100% on up to AUD 1,000 or even more. Some casinos expand the welcome bonus on the first three or even five deposits so you can get even more with your deposits. Also, it’s quite common for the casinos to throw a set of free spins together with a percentage bonus, especially for the first deposit. The bottom line is that you should always pick the best welcome offer to maximize your winning chances.
Online Pokies and Table Games Offer
Another way to tell you are using one of the top Australian online casinos is looking at what pokies and table games they offer. First of all, you should focus on the number of software providers. A great casino will always secure the services of top software providers such as Microgaming, NetEnt, Aristocrat, Betsoft, or Pragmatic Play. If the casino you choose offers pokies from these providers, you can count on getting a wide offer of games. The best Australian casino can offer up to 4,000 online slots and table games to players.
Deposits and Withdrawals
One more step in making sure you’re playing at the best Australian licensed online casinos is to take a good look at the deposit methods they offer. Local methods such as POLi, Bpay, or Neosurf should be available together with international payment options like Neteller, Skrill, VISA or MasterCard. When talking about withdrawals, you should check that the same options listed above are available for cashing out as well and add another search to your list – withdrawal speed. Withdrawals, especially by e-wallet, shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours to be processed since they were paid by the casino. Make sure to check the withdrawal speed or just pick one of the online casinos that accept Australian players we’ve listed on this website if you want to enjoy instant payments and fast withdrawals without fees.
When talking about online gambling laws, Australia isn’t exactly a market that has everything figured out. With the spike of online gambling, the authorities passed a law to control this industry and come with a proper legal framework for online casinos. This was planned to be achieved through the Interactive Gambling Act of 2001 that came with a series of drastic measures. Some of them included the ban on real money gambling services to Australian citizens. However, there were no active measures taken by the government for a very long time and the online casino Australia legal landscape stayed the same.
In 2016 the authorities started to work on amendments to the 2001 Gambling Act that would actually be applied. As a result, the Australian Communications and Media Authority was appointed the regulator of all online gambling services. ACMA is trying to enforce the Gambling Act of 2001 through domain bans and hitting casinos operating in Australia with fines and other restrictions. Even so, policing the internet is a very hard thing to do and without a clear licensing system in place, international online casinos continue to offer their services in the country. Another attempt at preventing the offshore online casinos to operate in Australia was rolled out by implementing restrictions on certain payment methods. In other words, players that use their Australian-issued credit/debit card or bank account, may not be able to complete transfers towards online casinos that are placed on the “blacklist”. However, even if some operators do show up on this list and transactions from the bank account or via cards are not possible anymore, players can still use e-wallets and other payment methods to top-up their account and play.
Players should know that by choosing the services of the best Australian casino, no matter if it’s local or international, they do not risk a thing. All the actions allowed by the Gambling Act of 2001 are taken against the online casinos, and there are no fines or other possible consequences for players. Furthermore, winnings from playing at the top Australian casinos are not taxed. So, everything you win at these operators gets to your bank account and you don’t have to worry about any taxes or fees. Once more, we highlight the importance of making sure you are playing at a licensed online casino if you want to be sure your withdrawals are paid in time. If you’re not 100% sure that a casino is legit after applying the checks we mentioned above, it’s safe to pick one of the top online casinos Australia on this website.
Conclusion
After a thorough look at online gambling in Australia and how online casinos operate in this market, it’s time to draw some conclusions. It’s safe to say that, by going through all the information on this page, you are able to choose the best casinos according to your preferences. No matter if you want the best paying online casino Australia can offer, or you’re more focused on getting the highest-possible bonus for your deposits, you have the know-how to pick the perfect one. Also, you can always count on us to deliver an updated list with the best online casinos in Australia to enjoy the newest pokies and awesome casino games!
