If there’s one thing that unites all Australians, it’s a passion for sport and gambling.

That passion may change depending on where you live and what time of year it is, but having a punt on our favourite past time is embedded into the culture.

While the passion and love for sport and racing runs deep, it is uniquely and famously paired with the love of taking on the bookies.

Australia betting sites mean the country has one of the most active and diverse bookmaker industries in the world and for good reason — we gamble more per-person than any other nation on average.

While we once focused all of our time and energy on the pillars of Australian sporting folklore — AFL, NRL, racing and cricket — Australia’s love of sport and gambling has expanded to the point where punters can find both live vision and gambling markets on almost every single sport being played right around the world.

Whether it’s the AFL Grand Final, the NFL Super Bowl, the Melbourne Cup, FIFA World Cup or a game of darts, you’ll find a wide array of odds at a number of online bookmakers.

With a large number of quality bookmakers competing for their business, punters are spoilt for choice.

Let us guide you through what to look out for and how to maximise your returns on every single cent you gamble in the land down under.

Australia has a big, well-regulated sports betting industry that provides legal betting access to every citizen in all of the country’s eight states and territories.

Most of the major online bookmakers have received their bookmaker licenses from the Northern Territory Gaming Commission.

We at Bets.com.au cannot stress enough that you should only be dealing with the licensed and regulated bookmakers that we recommend below. There are unlicensed bookmakers out there that do not offer the appropriate safety measures for depositing, withdrawing and secure banking options.

So, which bookmaker is the right one for you? Let’s take a look at the field:

Sportsbet.com.au:

The PaddyPower-owned Sportsbet is one of the biggest success stories of the Australian bookmaker industry. It was the first ever licensed bookmaker in 1993 and in 2005 exploded online after being purchased and reignited by Matthew Tripp. Sportsbet is the country’s biggest corporate bookmaker and in addition to its funny, cheeky advertising and promotional campaigns, offers great weekly bonuses and promotions, as well as ‘justice’ and early pay outs for unlucky or savvy punters. Sportsbet continue to innovate with its Same Game Multis and PowerPlay betting.

Neds.com.au: 

Launched in 2017 by former Ladbrokes CEO Dean Shannon, Neds has wasted no time carving out a significant share of the Australian bookmaker industry, before being sold to Ladbrokes for a whopping $68 million a little more than a year later. Neds has a fantastic suite of daily promotions in sport and racing, a unique ‘Tool Box’ in which punters can earn handy bonuses and perks and has a dynamic website and easy to use Apple and Android apps.

Bet365.com.au:

Bet365 is a global phenomenon with an enormous international customer base for a reason — they adhere to a simple formula of competitive odds, weekly promotions, diverse betting markets and quality customer service. When it comes to sports, Bet365 specialises in futures betting markets and all international soccer games. The bookmaker was also an innovator when it comes to live streaming sporting events — a feature they continue to expand and provide to satisfied members.

Unibet.com.au:

Owned and operated by the internationally-renowned Kindred Group, Unibet has a big global customer base and has also been a dominant bookmaker in Australia since being established in 2006. Unibet boasts competitive odds, daily promotions, a new interactive racing platform, esports markets and a new free-to-play game called Unibet Streak, where punters can win up to $5000 for successful tipping.

Palmerbet.com.au:

An old stalwart of the New South Wales on-course bookmaking scene, Palmerbet has undergone a steady evolution to become a quality alternative online to Australia’s bigger online bookmakers. Palmerbet has markets in every sport one could hope to bet on and calls on its vast experience when crafting racing markets and weekly promotions.  

Betfair.com.au:

Betfair became the first bookmaker to introduce a betting exchange when it was launched in 2000 in the UK. The betting provider has had great success in Australia, where punters will take on sport and racing bets by laying wagers against one another. Technically, Betfair has no liability and is not technically a bookmaker — instead they take 5% commission from winning bets.

PlayUp.com.au:

The wait is over! PlayUp launched its much-talked-about sports betting platform in October 2019 - merging all of its smaller known betting brands Topbetta.com.au, Classicbet.com.au and Madbookie.com.au into one strong and innovative new brand. If you're looking for a new online betting site to try out then PlayUp is a must.

Betstar.com.au:

Founded by father and son bookmakers Michael & Alan Eskander in 2007, BetStar has offered a quality corporate bookmaker service out of Darwin and Melbourne for more than a decade. BetStar offers weekly promotions, live betting on sport and racing and has a itunes and Android betting apps.

SportChamps.com.au:

SportChamps is a new player to the Australian betting scene, capitalising on the growing phenomenon that is fantasy sports gambling. SportsChamps specialises in daily fantasy tournaments where punters can take each other on instead of the bookies. Tournaments in which players can deposit between $0 and $100 as an entry fee are available for AFL, NRL, NBA, soccer, horse racing and other popular events.

Bookmaker.com.au:

After starting out overseas, Bookmaker.com.au reached Australian shores in 2012 before being bought out during Ladbrokes’ Aussie invasion of 2013. Bookmaker has a great website design that is easy to navigate, its own bookmaker EFTPOS card so punters can immediately withdraw funds, as well as weekly promotions and live betting.

Bluebet.com.au:

Founded by the former CEO of William Hill Australia, Michael Sullivan, BlueBet launched in Australia in 2015 with the goal of offering punters a ‘uniquely Australian experience’ in a time that saw UK gambling giants buy up the biggest bookmaker brands. BlueBet has grown quickly to offer a comprehensive sport and racing service for punters, flexi and fixed odds betting and a unique website interface.

PointsBet.com.au:

PointsBet is a new player to the Australian market, offering a comprehensive service in US-style spread betting on a wide variety of sports. If you are looking to be entertained and think you can find real betting value beyond the simple win/loss equation, spread betting offers a unique service in which advanced punters can maximise their dollar.

A competitive Australian bookmaker industry is a great thing for Australian punters, as it means each and every online bookmaker extends itself more and more to attract our business.

The country’s biggest bookmakers, in an effort to attract our punting dollar, offer weekly promotions on our favourite sports and big events.

When it comes to the AFL and NRL Grand Finals, State of Origin, the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival and other big sporting events like the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the Super Bowl, bookmakers will provide punters with a variety of unique markets, in addition to offers like early and justice pay-outs, bonus bet insurnace for bad beats and more.

Unfortunately for punters, sign-up bonuses, first deposit matches and any advertising that incentivises punters to open new betting accounts is now illegal in Australia, thanks to the implementation of the National Gambling Framework in May, 2019.

We implore each and every punter to keep a keen eye on the offerings from their bookmakers and other ongoing specials to make sure they are maximising their returns on each bet.

A number of bookmakers in Australia now offer live streaming of sport and racing for punters to watch on their mobile devices.

For Australians that can’t get to a pub, don’t have Foxtel or may be stuck at a wedding, birthday or children’s recital during the big game, there are plenty of options so you don't miss a minute of the action.