Roulette in Australia
A casino in every capital, single-zero wheels throughout, and a federal ban on online casino games that dates from 2001.
Australia licenses one or two large casinos per state and territory: Crown Melbourne, Crown Perth, Crown Sydney, The Star in Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast, and others in Adelaide, Hobart, Canberra, Darwin and Cairns. Roulette is single zero, with electronic terminals everywhere. The Interactive Gambling Act bans online casino games for Australians while allowing licensed sports betting.
The land picture
Wrest Point in Hobart (1973) was the first legal casino; by the 1990s every state and territory had one or two, typically under long exclusive licenses. Crown Melbourne is the largest; Crown Sydney opened its gaming floor in 2022 after an inquiry and runs no poker machines. Roulette on Australian floors is single zerowheelZeroThe single green pocket that no even-money, dozen or column bet covers; the source of the house edge. Also: single zero, 0.Read full → at standard payoutsmoneyPayoutWhat a winning bet returns, quoted as “X to 1” on top of the returned stake.Read full →; electronic terminals and “rapid roulette” stations are universal, and some floors run electronic-only wheels in off-peak hours.
Online
The Interactive Gambling Act 2001 prohibits offering online casino games (including roulette) to people in Australia. It allows licensed online sports and race betting, which is why Australian online gambling advertising is all bookmakers. Offshore roulette sites that accept Australians are breaking Australian law, and the Australian Communications and Media Authority blocks hundreds of them a year. A player who uses one has no domestic recourse.
Regulation and the player
Each state licenses and inspects its casinos; the 2021–2022 inquiries into Crown and Star led to independent monitors, cashless-play trials and tighter anti-money-laundering rules. Entry is 18 and over. Self-exclusion is available at every venue and through state registers; BetStop (2023) is the national register for online wagering. Tipping is not customary and in some states dealers may not accept tips.
Wrest Point, Hobart: the first legal casino.
Adelaide, Perth and Darwin casinos open within a year of each other.
Crown Melbourne opens; the largest floor in the southern hemisphere.
Interactive Gambling Act bans online casino games for Australians.
Crown Sydney opens its gaming floor after the Bergin inquiry; cashless and carded play trials begin.
BetStop national self-exclusion register for online wagering.
Advice for a visitor
Expect single-zero wheels at 2.70%, no la partageruleLa partageFrench rule: when zero hits, half of an even-money stake is returned. Halves the house edge on those bets to 1.35%.Read full →, A$10–25 live minimums in the big cities and A$5 at the terminals. The electronic stadiums are the cheapest honest roulette. Carded play is spreading: you may be asked to register a card to sit at a table. Do not look for online roulette from an Australian address; the legal product does not exist.
Help lines by country
Questions
No. Single zero is universal.
Because the 2001 Act drew the line there: wagering on events is permitted, casino-style games are not. It has been reviewed several times and kept.
An electronic betting terminal attached to a live wheel. Same odds as the table, lower minimum, faster pace.
Comic relief
The wheel is on the floor. The internet gets the horses.
Sources
- Interactive Gambling Act 2001.
- Australian Communications and Media Authority.
- Schwartz, D. G. Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling.