Australian Communications and Media Authority

What this authority does

Australia splits its gambling regulation in an unusual way. Online casino games cannot lawfully be offered to Australian residents at all, under the federal Interactive Gambling Act, and the ACMA enforces that prohibition through investigations, blocking requests to internet providers and referrals. Online wagering on sport and racing, by contrast, is lawful and is licensed at state and territory level, with a large share of corporate bookmakers licensed in the Northern Territory.

The result is a market with heavy online betting activity, extensive advertising and no legal online casino sector, alongside a very large land-based gaming machine industry regulated by the states. Policy attention in recent years has concentrated on advertising volume, on credit and payment restrictions, and on the national self-exclusion register BetStop, which launched in 2023 and applies across all licensed online wagering providers.

For an international operator, the practical consequence is that Australia is approachable only in wagering, only through a state or territory licence, and under advertising rules that are tightening rather than loosening.

Licences it issues

• None: enforcement body, with betting licences issued by states and territories

What supervision concentrates on

• Enforcement of the prohibition on online casino
• Website and payment blocking
• The BetStop national self-exclusion register
• Advertising rules in broadcast media

Markets on file under this authority