Best Australian Betting Sites

The issue with trying to find the best bookmakers is that one way or another, personal preference is going to be a determining factor. Not every punter looks for the same thing. Sure, there are some general principles about what makes a betting site good, but no bookie is perfect. Each one of them has some things that they do better than others, and how good of a fit they are depends on how it all aligns with what you’re looking for.

Seeing how different parts of the worlds have sports markets of different sizes, it is inevitable that some bookies are going to end up being more attractive to punters from those places. Which brings us to the purpose of this page: to find out which are the best betting sites for Australian punters.

All the picks you’ll find here met our exceedingly high standards – some of which we’ve pointed out near this page. Of course, the same can be said for all the listings on our general best betting sites page. As such, we had some different things in mind. The websites you’ll find here are great options specifically for the Australian betting scene for one reason or another.

For example, due to the Interactive Gambling Act of 2001, bookies cannot offer live or in-play betting to Australian customers. Furthermore, there are some restrictions in terms of promotions and bonuses. Which brings up the question:

The short answer is yes – online gambling in a lot of forms is completely legal in Australia. Numerous state-licensed sportsbooks are operating in the country. However, some restrictions apply, especially compared to European users.

Firstly, licensing laws and regulations may vary by state. However, all of these affect Australian bookmakers rather than their customers. As far as the customer is concerned, the only rules you need to adhere to is to be over the age of 18 and complete the Know Your Customer verification.

Some restrictions do not apply to customers directly but may affect your experience nonetheless. For instance, “real-money” rewards cannot be used to advertise gambling services to Australian residents. Effectively, this means that Australians are not eligible to collect welcome bonuses and other betting promotions that incentivize gambling through cash rewards. This is not a big issue in the long run, but it does make it feel like Australians get a somewhat worse deal than most others.

Secondly, because of the above-mentioned Gambling Act, all “interactive” forms of gambling are illegal. Or rather, it is illegal for bookmakers to offer them. Initially, this was intended to target strictly online casinos and poker tables. However, regular sportsbook betting is okay because the bet is made before the game – thus the law does not treat it as “interactive”.

However, once In-play betting came around a few years after the law was passed, it also fell under this category. However, a lot of online sportsbooks in Australia continue offering the live betting feature. Whether they chose to intentionally ignore the IGA or are simply unaware of is unimportant. What does matter, however, is that breaking these infringements can only end up hurting the bookmakers, not the punters. We’re not saying go do it – we just mean that you don’t have to worry if you inadvertently go against the Australian law.

All right, now that the question of legality is out of the way, let’s get straight into Betting Fellow’s best Australian bookmakers list.

Best online bookmakers for Australians

Here are Betting Fellow’s top online bookmakers that allow Australian customers. Bear in mind, however, that these are listed in no particular order.

Unibet

This bookie first rose to prominence by establishing a dedicated customer base in central Europe and Scandinavia. Although there is a certain tendency for the best bookmakers to be based in the UK, this once-small company quickly managed to claw their way to the top.

Unibet aimed to cater to as many punters as possible from the get-go, which is evident by their unparalleled offer of different sports and betting categories. Chess, netball, and everything in between can be found on Uinbet’s comprehensive online sportsbook, and with plenty of alternative markets too. They are always looking to expand their horizons and find more untapped markets to explore.

Furthermore, your user experience with Unibet can be customized to your heart’s content. Not only are there a lot of options in terms of your preferred currency and language, but you can tweak many other aspects of the website itself. Unibet has an altogether different approach to things when it comes to online sports betting, and we mean that in a good way.

Unibet is not as talked about as some of its competition, which we think is a shame. However, this does put their clean track record into the spotlight. Needless to say, Unibet is the holder of multiple respected remote gambling licences and top-notch security protocols. All in all, an excellent option if you’re looking for a new betting site for Australians before the next footy season.

Unibet details
  • Minimum Deposit:no limits for bank transfers, $10 for all other methods
  • Maximum Withdrawal: $10 for debit cards, no limit for bank transfers
  • Banking Methods: Debit Cards, Skrill, Neteller, Bank transfers, Paysafecard
  • Customer Support: Live chat, e-mail
  • Welcome Bonus:the first bet is risk-free, up to $25

Betfair

We brought up betting exchanges when we were talking about Ladbrokes, so it’s only fair that we mention the biggest and most successful exchange yet. Betfair is a top-rated betting site which first pioneered the concept of betting exchanges.

So what are betting exchanges? Simply put, customers are put in a position to act as the bookmaker and lay betting offers in addition to accepting them. This creates an exciting economy in which your winnings are entirely up yo your skill as a bettor. You just play against other punters, and Betfair takes a small cut of every transaction as a fee for keeping the betting platform up.

Time has shown this to be hands-down the best way to earn money with sports betting. However, every bit of profit is hard-earned because you have to outsmart other people, and the veteran bettors who use Betfair are not easy to beat.

But that’s not all Betfair has to offer. This betting company is a giant of the industry and has brought many other game-changing innovations to the table over the years. Examples of this include live streaming and the famous cash-out option.

Although Betfair is an altogether different experience than most of its peers, it brings a refreshing change of pace. If you’re not afraid of trying out something new and challenging, this is the site for you.

Betfair Details
  • Minimum Deposit: no limits for bank transfers, $10 for all other methods
  • Maximum Withdrawal:$50,000 for credit and debit cards, $25,000 for e-wallets, no limits for other methods
  • Banking Methods: credit and debit cards, Skrill, Neteller, Paypal, Paysafecard, bank transfers
  • Customer Support: Live chat, e-mail, support form, phone, social media.
  • Welcome Bonus:the first bet is risk-free, up to $20

1xBet

We’ll carry on our list with another world-famous betting brand. This is another company valued for the width of their service as well as the depth, sporting more than 50 different sports to wager on. Each of these is given proper care and attention, too, resulting in thousands of different offers, Asian Handicaps, and alternative markets.

More than 1000 live matches go through this excellent sportsbook every day. Even though Australians can’t enjoy live-betting, this should give you an idea of the scope of 1xBet’s service.

Their meteoric rise in betting service drew a lot of attention, becoming an overnight sensation. However, there is no subtle trick or secret as to what attracted punters worldwide. Top-quality odds, an extended offer of live streaming events, and an excellent mobile betting app. We can’t say that there’s something groundbreaking or innovative about 1xBet, it’s just the sheer quality of all the ingredients of a top-rated online bookie all mixed up in one world-class whole.

Although you may be turned away at first by their sole Curacao license, we would like to direct your attention to an impressive payout rate which sometimes reaches 98%. To top it all off, the limits on deposits and withdrawals are pleasantly unrestrictive, and all payments are almost instant. Moreover, 1xBet boasts the most impressive selection of payment methods of any site, by far – so much so that it would be impossible to list all of them in this short review. 1xBet is a well-rounded, quality product which will not disappoint on any front.

1xBet Details
  • Minimum Deposit: 1$ for all methods
  • Maximum Withdrawal:$50,000 for credit and debit cards, $25,000 for e-wallets, no limits for other methods
  • Banking Methods: 50+ different payments systems. Credit/debit cards, e-wallets, online payment systems, bank transfers, cryptocurrencies
  • Customer Support: Live chat, e-mail, phone
  • Welcome Bonus: 100% first deposit bonus, up to 150 AUD

BetEasy

No list of the best bookies in Australia would be complete without this addition, so it was an easy choice. Being the official partner of the Australian Football League, this name will be immediately familiar to many, and for good reason.

This betting site knows the crowd it’s after, and it perfectly matches the intentions of this article. This may not be a world-wide brand, but BetEasy was modelled after the best in the game. For instance, the intuitive, user-friendly interface will make you feel right at home. Of course, the live betting ban means that it’s not an option here – unless you’re willing to phone in your bets. However, this leaves room and funds for other aspects of this betting service to shine.

For example, this is hands-down of the best places to bet on horse races, including Australian thoroughbred venues. Furthermore, the partnership with Sky Racing allows you to watch the action unfold right on the BetEasy website.

If we throw in some sportsbook bonus offers which were made to fit Australian law, it quickly becomes clear why going with a local, Australian betting site is a good idea. Simply put, BetEasy knows what it wants, they know what their customers want, and they keep improving each year.

BetEasy Details
  • Minimum Deposit:$5 for all methods
  • Maximum Withdrawal:no upper limit
  • Banking methods:

    Credit cards, POLi, bank transfers, BPay, PayPal, Apple Pay
  • Customer Support: Live chat, support form, e-mail, phone
  • Welcome Bonus: none

How we chose our suggested bookmakers for Australian punters?

Every gambling website Betting Fellow puts on one of our lists conforms to a set of standards. However, we’ve modified said standards especially for this list, because Australian punters have access to different features than most other punters.

Not all the reasons were mentioned in the short space we had to dedicate to each bookie, but you can rest assured that each of them has at least some of these characteristics in their respective sportsbooks. To give you an idea, we’ll go through some of the usual things we look for in betting sites and see how they were observed specifically with Australian customers in mind.

  • Licensing and security Being a legit, reliable betting site is a given if a sportsbook wants to find its way onto our lists. However, in this case, we made special care that they were also licenced by the NTRC and LNT, two of Australia’s most important regulative bodies. This alone is enough to make sure all these bookies conform with Australian law.
  • Banking Methods. We tried to include bookies which include local payment options such as POLi and BPay. Sadly, not many top betting sites have fully implemented these yet, so we were also on the lookout for other options popular in Australia, such as PayPal.
  • Markets and odds. Great odds are a classic hallmark of a great sportsbook. However, our research has shown that the most popular betting sports in Australia are football, horse racing and, of course, Aussie Rules football. With that in mind, we tried to look for bookies which offer great odds and low margins specifically for these sports.
  • Live streaming and betting. Seeing how live betting in Australia is prohibited, we only compared streaming offers.
  • Betting Promotions. We already mentioned the limits Australian bookies have when it comes to promos, so we only looked at bonuses which would be available to Australian residents – which excludes most sign-up offers.

Of course, all the other factors that go into determining which bookmakers are the best still apply – such as customer service, security, and other features. However, great customer service is great no matter where you’re from, so it changes nothing for Australian bettors.

We hope you found our list and the information provided useful. Good luck!

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