Online Casino Australia

Australian Online Casinos

Australians were early to adapt to online gambling.

In the mid ‘90s when the first online-casino sites were launched, Australians – together with Americans and Scandinavians – almost instantly started to play poker and casino games on the Internet.

One reason for this early success was Lasseters casino.

Lasseters Corporation already operated a successful live casino in Alice Springs and saw the potential in Internet gambling. In the late ’90 they launched one of the first legalized online casinos. It became an instant success.  

Today, Lasseters no longer holds the position as the best Australian online casino, but their role as the first site to bring online gaming Down Under can’t be underestimated.

 

Legal Landscape of Online Casinos in Australia

Much like in the US and a few countries in Europe, the laws regarding online gambling in Australia are a bit tricky. 

1. According to the 2001 Interactive Gambling Act, casinos, both national and international, are not allowed to offer gambling games to Australians. 

2. According to the same document, it’s legal for players to sign-up for an online casino, create an account and play for real money.

This whole set-up is a contradiction. It’s illegal to sell but legal to buy.

However, as a player you only have to care about point two.

 If you want to play online-casino games in Australia you’re allowed to. In fact, many of the biggest casinos online offer their services to Australians and the Government doesn’t seem to mind.

 

When You Say Slots, We Say Pokies

Although there are plenty of blackjack, roulette and video poker players in Australia, most Aussies want to play their national casino game: Poker Machines.

According to Australian Government Productivity Commission, a fifth of all gaming machines in the world are located in Australia (to entertain 0.3% of the world’s population.)

“In 1999, Australia had nearly 180,000 poker machines, more than half of which were in New South Wales. This figure represented 21% of all the gambling machines in the world, and on a per capita basis, Australia had roughly five times as many gaming machines as the United States. “

To find the best online pokies, go to the list above. We list the top Australian casinos, and to earn a spot on that list, sites must have a large variety of poker machines.

 

Australian Online-Casino Payments

Most casinos have a wide range of deposit methods for Australians, ranging from major credit cards to online-payment solutions such as Netller, Moneybookers, EntroPay and Ukash.

However, many Australian (and New Zealand) casino players use POLi (Pay Online.)

POLi is an online-transaction service designed specifically for Australians. It allows you to make instant deposits at casinos online from your bank account.

 

The Best Australian Casinos Online

This was a little about online gaming in Australia.

If you’d like to play at one of the best-rated casino sites, we recommend the list at the top of this page.

All casinos listed accept Australians, offer great bonus deals when you make a first deposit, have Aussie-friendly payment options and most of them allow you to play in Australian dollars.