Betting on sports is one of the most popular past times for Australians – whether it’s the Aussie Rules, the rugby league, the horse racing or any other number of games played or followed by people down under.
The amount of bookmakers available to Aussies is growing all the time with various corporates entering and leaving the market. There is a huge regulated market in Australia which includes websites like William Hill, Crownbet and Sportsbet who are all registered to trade by the Northern Territory Gambling Commission.
SportsBettingSites is dedicated to arming you with everything you need to know about the betting scene in Australia and the safest and most respected websites for us to lay our hard earned down with.
Best bookmakers for Australian sport & racing
There are a number of factors to take into consideration when choosing a bookmaker to bet with. These factors include deposit options, what type of punter you are, what sport are you betting on and of course what value you can get out of the bookie you decide on. The team at SportsBettingSites only recommends bookmakers licenced to operate in Australia, we feel there is no need to endorse offshore bookmakers when there are plenty of options at home.
Crownbet: This is owned 100% by Aussies with James Packer and Matthew Tripp steering the ship. It was rebranded from BetEasy in early 2015 and offers a huge range of markets on sports at home and internationally. One of the biggest features of Crownbet is they are willing to take a bet, with some of the biggest bets of 2015 being placed at this bookie.
Sportsbet: Sportsbet is arguably Australia’s most well-known bookmaker, having originally been founded by Matthew Tripp, before it was sold to Irish betting giant Paddy Power. The bookie offers a huge array of markets on sport and racing.
William Hill: Another global raider that swallowed up Sportingbet in early 2015. Hills’ decision to rebrand Sportingbet to their eponymous brand has not overly affected the product they deliver, with a good range of both sport and racing available across several different platforms.
Bet 365: While not quite as flash or suited to Australian sports & racing as some of the other bookmakers licenced here. This global giant does boast a strong range of futures markets on Australian sports – most notably thoroughbred and greyhound racing.
Popular sports to bet on in Australia
Australians bet more per head than any other country in the world, but where exactly do we spend this money? Big gambling sports in Australia include the Australian Football League, the National Rugby League competition and of course horse racing – what other country has a “race that stops a nation”?
AFL: This game is the national sport of Australia and has been running for over 100 years. The AFL’s official betting partner is Crownbet and millions of dollars are bet on the game annually. The grand final attracts millions in its own right and is held in late September each year.
Horse racing: Punting on the nags happens almost every day in Australia. A few of the bigger carnivals like the Melbourne Cup Carnival, the Championships and the Magic Millions attract 100,000 people to the track for a single meeting. Millions is bet at both bookies at the track and online corporates.
National Rugby League: The national league competition attracts betting interest from all over the world. The following in Australia largely comes from the Northern States, like NSW and Queensland, although Melbourne’s team the Storm has been a dominant force in the competition.
Tennis: Tennis obviously is a global sport and runs all year round, but when the Australian Open rolls around each January, suddenly most Australians know their backhands from their forehands and can be found betting. Other major betting events include Wimbledon, the US Open, the French Open and the Davis Cup.
Basketball: Australia has the NBL and WNBL but much interest with online bookies is in the NBA. If you’re reading this you have probably backed a few winners while you are sitting at (cough) work on a Monday morning. All of the bookmakers mentioned offer betting on the NBA and other leagues from around the world.
Cricket: The summer sport of Australia is another that is played all year round. Some of the major events we bet on include the Big Bash, the IPL and of course the Test cricket, where Australia is due to tackle England in the Ashes later in 2015.
Soccer: Known as Football in most parts of the world, Aussies bet on everything from the World Cup, held every four years, to the English Premier League, to the A-League, which is the local competition.
Mobile betting
Each of the mentioned bookmakers have apps available for iOS and Android devices. The betting options are very similar to the desktop websites, with the only downside the deposit methods can sometimes be reduced.
Australians can legally gamble at regulated bookies on a smartphone or tablet, with it growing increasingly popular as the technology improves. As we build out this site we will review the apps available to Australians, but for now we can vouch for the website we have mentioned above – each has outstanding apps. Although Crownbet is probably a clear winner in the mobile space.
Australian sports betting laws
Australians are legally allowed to gamble at licensed online bookmakers in Australia. The only real restriction we have placed on us is if we want to bet “in-play” or on events that have already started. The government banned this practice to cut back on corruption in sport and problem gambling. Now if we want to bet “in-play” we have to do it via the phone.
There is no law really forbidding Australians from betting at offshore bookmakers, however this website does not condone doing this – because we have plenty of good options based here that have better reputations, odds and services.
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