WHEN betting online, it’s important to remember to hold accounts with at least a couple of different online sports bookmakers, in order to find the best odds and widest variety of sporting events and matches.

There are a host of locally-owned and foreign-owned online sports bookies Australians can legally wager with, and we’ve selected what we believe to be the top six most reputable and esteemed sports betting sites in 2016.

Each site is licensed by their respective gaming governing bodies within their regulated jurisdiction, and all allow Australians to directly fund their accounts with AUD currency.

Australian Online Bookmakers

Australia’s Best Online Bookmakers Reviewed

Sportsbet.com.au – Sportsbet can rightfully claim to be Australia’s first licensed bookmaker, established in 1993 and maintaining a strong customer base throughout its illustrious history. Headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, Sportsbet was purchased by Irish company Paddy Power in 2009, while continuing to be run as a separate entity. Sportsbet remains one of the Australian public’s favourite bookies, with some of the best promotions, bonuses and competitions on offer.

Sportsbet is known for its competitive odds, cheeky marketing campaigns and its ‘justice payouts’ in which it will often pay out bets where a controversial umpiring decision, player injury or mistake delivered an ‘unjust’ result.
Visit Sportsbet

Bet365.com.au – Serving a client base of more than 19 million people (and growing) across more than 200 countries, Bet365 not only deals with online sports betting, but also markets online casino games and poker operations. In Australia, only the sports wagering website is legally accessible, and customers can choose from a huge range of local and international sporting, racing, entertainment and political events to place bets on.

Bet365 has the bank to offer competitive odds and a wealth of markets — perhaps the most any sports punter could find online.

Visit Bet365

Ladbrokes.com.au – The Ladbrokes brand was established in 1886 in the United Kingdom and lays claim to being one of the oldest and most successful bookmakers in the history of the industry. After more than 125 years of growth and prosperity Ladbrokes embarked on its Australian adventure in 2013, setting up shop in one of the most enthusiastic gambling nations in the world.

Ladbrokes offers competitive odds, best tote prices for racing and is well-known for its daily promotions and specials.

Visit Ladbrokes

Palmerbet.com.au – One of the few remaining entirely-Australian-owned bookmakers left in the industry, Palmerbet was established more than 30 years ago when Ted Palmer was one of the leading bookmakers in the Sydney racing scene. Three decades later and Ted’s sons, Andrew and Grant Palmer, have taken the business online and continue to grow the brand, dedicated to offering a point of difference to the bigger companies with ‘better odds and bigger limits’.

Visit Palmerbet

PlayUp.com.au – The newest betting brand in Australia, PlayUp was formed from the amalgamation of Topbetta, MadBookie, DraftStars and ClassicBet. The company launched an ambitious website in September 2019, which had much of the functionality of the old Topbetta tournament betting platform, but had greatly improved its betting offering, including become a market-best in esports betting in Australia. You can find out more about this burgeoning betting company in our PlayUp review.

Visit PlayUp

Unibet.com.au – Unibet is one of the most popular online betting sites that we promote on AusBet, with this online bookie having a long history in Australia. Boasting Android and iOS apps, Unibet is an an absolute pleasure to wager with, stacking up exceptionally well against other bookmaker reviews we have done. Unibet’s soccer betting is a clear highlight of the operator, although you will find they take bets equally well on domestic Australian sports.

Visit Unibet

Dabble.com.au – Dabble is an online betting app licensed in the Northern Territory. Dabble sports betting has got some outstanding features including the ability to share your bets with other customers. Dabble has got decent odds in comparison to other online bookmaker reviews we have written, with our testing largely focusing around Australian racing, AFL and NRL. Despite only being available via mobile app, Dabble is definitely worth checking out. Read our Dabble review for more information about this growing bookie.

Visit Dabble

Picklebet.com – Picklebet is a relatively new online bookmaker that we have reviewed on AusBet. After starting out as an esports-only betting site, PickleBet has developed into one of our favourite Aussie-owned betting destinations. PickleBet’s odds are probably where they excel the most, while the fact they delve into more esports than other Aussie bookies, makes them a great option to wager with if you are looking for that. Picklebet’s apps are also very serviceable. Overall Picklebet stacks up well against other online bookmaker reviews. Read our Picklebet review for more.

Visit Picklebet

Desktop, mobile and tablet betting interfaces

Each of our endorsed online sports betting sites boast their own browser-based mobile and tablet betting interfaces – user-friendly, slick and well-designed platforms which allow the customer to bet on the go anytime and anywhere.

Most of the available markets via the desktop interfaces are available via the mobile and tablet interfaces, which are compatible with all smartphones and tabs, including iOS, Android, Windows and BlackBerry devices.

Mobile Betting Apps

All desktop/laptop interfaces are neatly designed, and tabs to all important features, such as banking, all sports and racing markets, your betting slip, customer support, promotions, live betting details and more, are easy to navigate to.

Sports and racing markets

Each bookmaker understands the importance of offering a wide variety of markets on all sporting and racing events in an extremely competitive industry, so you can rest assured that you’ll be able to find the market and odds for the event you’re looking to place a bet on. Each bookie has a ‘next to jump’ betting feature, where the upcoming races and the competitors’ odds are displayed, along with ‘future’ wagering options, live feeds of certain sports matches and racing events, form-guides for popular meets, and other punter-beneficial features.

AFL, NRL, cricket, tennis, American football (NFL), baseball, basketball, boxing, darts, golf, ice hockey, MMA/UFC, motor racing, netball, rugby union, local and international soccer games, snooker, surfing and volleyball are just some of the sports markets offered to customers. Other fields for wagering include politics, entertainment, current affairs and financial events.

Promotions and sign up bonuses

Make sure you sign up with a valid and live email address so you can stay up to date with all the latest bonuses, promotions and competitions offered on a constant basis by each bookmaker.

Mutli-bet bonuses, refer a friend bonuses, specific sport event refunds, protest payouts, money-back specials, double odds, fair go refunds, and tipping comps and fantasy leagues with huge cash prizes are just some of the promos on offer across our recommended sports wagering websites.

All promotions and sign up bonuses were prohibited to NSW customers by law in 2018, and the rest of Australia joined the Bonus Bet Ban in May 2019. While betting specials and bonuses like protest payouts, early payouts, odds boost, enhanced odds, the fold, jump off and cash out are still available; all sign up offers, bet bonus , promo deposit bet bonuses or free bets are unavailable to Australians.

There may be some bonuses and offer that online bookmakers can offer existing customers, so we advise opening accounts at all Australian bookies so they can send you those offers. Neither the bookies, nor Ausbet.com.au are allowed to advertise them unless you are a known customer.

Australian bookmakers are allowed to provide bonuses to punters in the form of cash that have no turnover requirements, are not an inducement to open a new account, and that can be immediately withdrawn. No Australian bookie is yet to offer real cash bonuses in place of the outlawed free bets.

Banking methods (secure deposits and withdrawals)

All financial transactions are protected with the latest secure socket layer digital encryption technology, and no personal information is ever shared publicly. You can opt to have all your details removed from the sports bookmakers’ databases at any time you wish.

Some of the most common deposit and withdrawal methods offered and utilised at our recommended sports betting sites include:

• Credit and debit cards such as Visa and MasterCard
• E-wallets like PayPal, Neteller and Skrill
• Electronic bank transfer from your bank account, or via the POLi and BPAY banking systems
• Cash cards – cards provided by the bookie (which registered members can apply for) which act as EFTPOS cards, where you can transfer money to and from them, and utilise them to pay for goods and services

All operators deal with the Australian dollar. There is typically no set limit on maximum deposits, but if you wish to make a significant deposit or wager, it is recommended that you notify the support staff before doing so, to ensure a straightforward process.

Online bookmaker customer support

At each site, you will find a link to the customer support page, where you can get in touch with team members via a few different means, such as live chat, email and telephone. There are dedicated phone hotlines for racing and sports betting inquiries.