Online casino services are restricted in Australia under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, administered by ACMA — Australian players legally access offshore-licensed operators — and the five new operators on this list hold either an Anjouan or a Curaçao licence, each verified against its issuing registry.
Australia has no regulated private online-casino market at state or federal level. The Interactive Gambling Act 2001 restricts operators from offering casino-style games to Australian residents, but does not criminalise the act of playing at an offshore site. Australian players therefore access casinos licensed in Curaçao, Anjouan, or Malta — the licence that matters is the one the operator actually holds. We verified each of our five picks against its licensing authority and required published, eCOGRA- or iTech Labs-audited RTP before listing it.
We did not include any casino whose licence number could not be confirmed against its issuing registry, regardless of bonus size — an unverifiable licence is the single clearest red flag at a new casino.
ACMA — Federal Regulator
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) enforces the Interactive Gambling Act 2001. ACMA publishes a list of prohibited interactive gambling services; any casino on that list should be avoided. Offshore operators not on the prohibited list can be accessed legally by Australian players, though consumer protections are limited to what the offshore licence provides.
Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) — International Standard
The MGA is a widely respected standard for international online gambling licences, requiring segregated player funds, published RTP reports, and withdrawal disputes processed within 10 business days. None of our four current picks holds an MGA licence — all four operate under Curaçao or Anjouan licences instead — so we weight the licence as one trust signal alongside SSL encryption, independently audited RTP, and our own measured payout times, rather than treating it as sufficient on its own.
How to Verify a Casino Licence
- Find the licence number in the casino’s footer
- Check ACMA's prohibited services register at acma.gov.au to ensure the casino is not blocked, then visit authorisation.mga.org.mt if the casino claims an MGA licence — our five current picks are Curaçao/Anjouan-licensed, so check those registries instead
- Search for the operator name or licence number
- Confirm the licence status shows “Active” with a valid expiry date
If the licence number does not appear in the registry, do not deposit.