Australia still has not fully embraced online gambling but has made significant progress compared to the United States while is still far behind European countries.
How Popular Is Sports Betting in Australia?
A 2015 study showed that over half a million Australian adults bet online on sports in a typical month representing 3.3% of Australians. It made sports wagering the fifth most popular regular gambling activity, after lotteries, scratch tickets, electronic gaming machines, and race betting.
An average Australian punter spends more than $1,000 per year on sports betting. This activity is most popular among men since 88% of the bettors are male, and 12% are women. 75% of them are between the age of 18 and 49.
Domestic Legislation
The main legislation document covering online gambling in Australia is the Interactive Gambling Act enforced in 2001. The country enacted this law to deal with online betting during that era. The Act only covers the actions of gambling companies, not players.
Sports betting, racing, and lotteries are the only forms of online wagering legal under the Interactive Gambling Act.
According to the law, it can be:
- service to the extent to which it relates to betting on, or on a series of, any or all of the following:
- a horse race;
- a harness race;
- a greyhound race;
- a sporting event;
- service to the extent to which it relates to betting on:
- an event
- a series of events;
- a contingency.
Australian law forbids the marketing of unregulated online forms of gambling. No such law covers the action of players at gaming sites.
The main internet games specifically permitted by law to Australian betting shops involve sports and racing. Traditional betting on horses is legal for online betting. Sports wagers that involve straight bets, parlays, teasers, and futures are also completely legal. The only sports betting niche not legal under the Interactive Gambling Act is on-play.
What Sports to Bet on in Australia?
Australian Rules Football
Australian rules football, also called Australian football or Aussie rules or more simply football or footy, has the highest spectator attendance and television viewership of all sports in Australia. In contrast, the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's only fully professional competition, is the nation's wealthiest sporting body.
The Aussie rules are the favourite sports of many Australians and the prevalent game which people bet on.
Football
Football, referred to as soccer in Australia, is the world's most popular sport. For sponsorship reasons, A-League Men, known as the Isuzu UTE A-League, is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. Soccer has become trendy, especially after the Aussies made regular World Cup appearances since 2006. Many superstars have decided to finish their careers in Australia, such as Romario, Alessandro Del Piero, and David Villa. All of this has increased soccer's popularity in Australia and, with that, the online bets. The English Premier League became very popular among punters.
American Football
American football, known as gridiron, is not among the far-famed sports in Australia. There is no official gridiron domestic league in the country, but the NFL is highly popular. It is regularly broadcasted on national televisions, gaining many bets during the weekends.
Golf
With virtually year-round golfing action around the globe, golf is also top-rated among bettors in Australia, which is logical since this sport dates back to 1839, when it was first played in Australia. The PGA Tour of Australasia is a prominent men's tournament with various events each year.
Tennis
With the Australian Open being the first Grand Slam each season, tennis is prevalent among sports bettors. The ATP and WTA tours are off only in December, making tennis available for placing wagers for almost the whole year. The Australians haven't had a top-class player since Lleyton Hewitt, but tennis remains near the top among the bettors.
Horse Racing
Horse racing was one of the first sports available for betting in Australia and the world. One of the main reasons so many people want to own, train and ride racehorses is because major Australian horse races have some of the biggest prize money on offer anywhere in the world.
Aussie horse races that pay the most oversized prize purses in the country are:
- The Everest
- The Golden Eagle
- The Melbourne Cup
- The Queen Elizabeth Stakes
- The Golden Slipper Stakes
Basketball
The NBA is probably the most trendy sports league globally, but the Australians have their own National Basketball League (NBL), which is highly competitive. Australia had 2 No. 1 NBA draft picks in the past 16 years in Andrew Bogut and Ben Simmons. Basketball has had many great Australian teams, and the sport got even more popular after the Aussies won the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics last year.
Cricket
Cricket is regarded as Australia's national sport and is widely played across the country. More than 1.5 million Australians are engaged in cricket competitions or programs, reflecting the number of placed bets on this sport in the country.
Rugby
Australia is the country where rugby was born since the first World Cup took place in Australia and New Zealand in 1987. The Aussies have won the World Cup twice and are constantly among the best teams in this sport. The most placed bet on rugby is in Australia, where the Rugby League is highly popular, and the rugby players are heroes.
Baseball
Baseball is not among the top sports in Australia but is on a constant rise. The Australian Baseball League was founded in 2009, and the interest of the Aussies in the game has risen. MLB, just like the other US sports league, is pretty popular among punters.
Motorsports
Motorsports offer various categories for betting, such as Formula 1 on the top of the list and competitions like NASCAR, Indycar, Moto GP, WCR, and other contests. Motorsports do not provide many events throughout the year, but they have a lot of bettors who anticipate every single one of them.
Bookmakers in Australia
It all started with TABtouch, the first betting company in Australia, founded in 1961. TAB Australia has betting shops across the country and offers offline betting. Today there are quite a number of Australian bookmakers operating legally, which I found out about from a review on BetZillion.com. Some of them operating only in AU/NZ, some in most countries of the world.
WinnersBet
WinnersBet is a brand new sportsbook in Australia providing various sporting events to bet on. The latest WinnersBet code is BETS. Use it during the registration process and access an exceptional array of horse racing, greyhounds, and harness odds and promotions.
BetDeluxe
BetDeluxe is a new Australian-owned online sportsbook, evolving from years of experience as an on-course horse racing bookmaker offering many betting opportunities. BetDeluxe provides a great sports betting platform for Australian punters but can not be accessed outside the country.
TopSport
TopSport is an emerging Australian sports betting site and quickly becoming one of the most respected operators in the industry, offering a variety of international matches and international competitions. They have built an excellent rapport with the sports betting community through a fantastic range of markets.
Picklebet
Picklebet is Australia's first dedicated Esports betting site that offers Esports fans the best coverage of their favourite pastime. Picklebet has Esports betting markets for every major Esports tournament in the world.