Australian Law

The Australian Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (IGA) makes it an offence to offer or advertise ‘real money’ online interactive gambling services to Australian residents. The term ‘interactive’ has been extended to include live sports betting. This law technically applies to all online operators, regardless of whether they are licensed in Australia. Interestingly, adherence to the IGA is the responsibility of the gambling operators and not Australian punters. An Australian resident is not breaking the law by betting live online.

Most offshore betting providers either ignore, or are unaware of the IGA, and continue to offer live betting to Australian residents. As things stand, Australians are free to participate in live betting offered by international agencies because any infringements would entail penalties for the betting operator and not the punter.

Alternatives to bet365

The following bookmakers offer Australian dollar accounts and adequate deposit & withdrawal methods for Australian residents. Please note that if you are not based in Australia, then bet365 offers the best live online betting service.

To learn more about the bookmakers below, visit the summary table in the Betting Agencies section. To assess whether a bookmaker will suit your needs, visit the upcoming live betting schedule on each site to see whether the service covers the sports you plan to bet on.

10Bet.com

The interface and betting selection is identical to that used by AllYouBet. The odds vary slightly between the two bookmakers, because while they’re using the same platform, their odds shift independently based on their own customer activity. At the time of review, 10Bet.com and AllYouBet offered the largest selection of live events to bet on, and a decent range of betting markets is available for most events. The interface works well, and a large live score graphic is displayed for an event when selected. Overall, the live betting offerings for 10Bet.com and AllYouBet were among the best we surveyed.

12BET

The 12BET betting interface is the least beginner-friendly of the services we reviewed, but its functionality will appeal to experienced punters. The interface is a simple text display in table format, with odds flashing to indicate that they’ve changed. The selection of events is strong, but the depth of markets offered for each event wasn’t as good as some other bookmakers.

AllYouBet

The interface and betting selection is identical to that used by 10Bet.com. The odds vary slightly between the two bookmakers, because while they’re using the same platform, their odds shift independently based on their own customer activity. At the time of review, 10Bet.com and AllYouBet offered the largest selection of live events to bet on, and a decent range of betting markets is available for most events. The interface works well, and a large live score graphic is displayed for an event when selected. Overall, the live betting offerings for 10Bet.com and AllYouBet were among the best we surveyed.

Betfred

The Betfred live betting offerings are minimal. At the time of review, no live events were offered and the upcoming schedule was sparse.

Blue Square

The interface is simple, but well designed. At the time of review the live betting offerings weren’t as extensive as other bookmakers surveyed. Virtual sports are offered, but we recommend you stay clear of these.

Pinnacle Sports

The live betting selection is fairly strong, however the interface is very poor. There’s no single place to view all live sports. Instead you have to navigate around the site from sport to sport to find what is available at any given time. This may not be an issue if you only intend to follow one event live at a time, however if you like to keep an eye on multiple sports you will be frustrated. The number of markets available for each event is less than most competitors.

Stan James

The live betting interface is the best of the bookmakers we surveyed (excluding bet365), however the selection was disappointing, with only one event open for live betting at a time when other bookmakers were offering upwards of eight events. Having said that, the most popular events such as English Premier League games are all catered for, so if you only plan to bet live on popular events then Stan James is well worth considering. Live video feeds are provided for some events.

Victor Chandler

The betting interface is beautiful, but the event offerings weren’t as good as other bookmakers at the time of review. Having said that, the most popular events such as English Premier League games are catered for. Virtual sports are continuously offered, but we recommend you stay clear of these.

William Hill

The live betting selection is fairly strong, however the interface leaves room for improvement. You can look at the live odds for numerous events at once, but if you wish to see additional markets for a particular event, you are taken to a new page. The upside is that the range of markets to bet on for any given event was the best of the bookmakers we surveyed.

Conclusion

Based on our survey, a good shortlist would be 10Bet.com, AllYouBet, Stan James and William Hill. To assess whether a bookmaker will suit your needs, visit the upcoming live betting schedule on each site to see whether the service covers the sports you plan to bet on.

To learn more about the above bookmakers, visit the summary table in the Betting Agencies section.

To reiterate, if you are not based in Australia, then bet365 offers the best live online betting service.

Screenshot of the online betting interface

bet365 has been forced to make these changes to comply with the Australian Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (IGA), which makes it an offence to offer or advertise real money online interactive gambling services to Australian residents. The term ‘interactive’ includes live sports betting. This law technically applies to all online operators, regardless of whether they are owned and/or licensed in Australia. Interestingly, adherence to the IGA is the responsibility of the gambling operators and not individual Australians. The average Australian citizen cannot be punished for betting live online. Most offshore betting providers either ignore, or are unaware of the IGA, and continue to offer live betting to Australian residents. As things stand, Australians are free to participate in live betting offered by international agencies, because any infringements would entail penalties for the betting operator and not the punter.

This move by bet365 is a shame for Australian punters because their online in-play betting interface is the best we’ve seen. A list of other bookmakers that offer live online betting and Australian dollar accounts can be viewed in the betting agencies section.

Betfair’s superiority comes down to two things:

• Ability to bet both for and against athletes
  So often you aren’t able to pick a winner of a tournament, but you certainly know who won’t win. Unlike standard bookmakers, Betfair enables you to bet for and against competitors. If you don’t rate Zonvareva’s chances, you can make a bet that she won’t win the Australian Open. Another benefit of being able to bet against someone is that you can hedge your bets and lock in a guaranteed profit if odds move in your favour. For example you may back Kanepi at 23.00 odds, then later bet against her at 19.00 odds, thus locking in a profit regardless of the outcome. Conversely, if you get cold feet on someone you’ve backed, you can later bet against them to minimise losses.
• Superior odds
  Betfair typically dominates standard bookmakers when it comes to tournament winner odds. Below is a survey of the available odds on the men’s and women’s winners market, as of January 12th.

Even after you take into account Betfair winner fees, the odds easily dominate those offered by standard bookmakers. Be sure to check out our full review of Betfair if you aren’t familiar with betting exchanges.

Centrebet

Enter promo code T20BIGBASH via the Centrebet iPhone app or at m.centrebet.com before placing a bet on the T20 Big Bash and Centrebet will match your first bet stake up to $25 with a Bonus Bet.

Luxbet

Series special: Back any team in the Series Winner market and get a bonus equal to 50% of your stake up to $200.

Match special: Back a team and if they score 150+ and lose, Luxbet will refund your stake with a bonus bet up to $200. The bonus bets may only be used on Twenty20 Big Bash Match markets.

Sportsbet

Back a team and if they score 150+ and lose, Sportsbet will refund your stake up to $100. This promotion applies to the following fixtures:
Below are the upcoming fixtures:
Sydney 6ers v Brisbane Heat 16/12/2011 7:00pm AEDST
Melbourne Stars v Sydney Thunder 17/12/2011 7:00pm AEDST
Adelaide Strikers v Melbourne Renegades 18/12/2011 5:30pm AEDST
Perth Scorchers v Hobart Hurricanes 18/12/2011 9:00pm AEDST

You can view the full fixture list at the Cricket Australia website. Below are the current series winner odds at Luxbet. The Melbourne Renegades are the early favourites, but it’s clear that the bookmakers are having a hard time separating the sides.

Melbourne Renegades 5.50
Adelaide Strikers 6.25
Brisbane Heat 6.50
Melbourne Stars 6.50
Sydney Thunder 7.50
Perth Scorchers 8.00
Sydney Sixers 8.00
Hobart Hurricanes 8.50

There are four race days to compete in: the Victoria Derby on October 29th, the Melbourne Cup on November 2nd, the Crown Oaks on November 4th and the Emirates Stakes on November 6th. You can play one day or play them all.

Simply visit the My Tips page and select one horse in each race for the day and score points if it runs 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th.

You can win cash or free bet prizes playing each day and earn points from each day for the major prizes, including $10,000 cash for the overall winner. Below are the prize details:

Race Day Prizes

Spring Carnival Major Cash Prizes

Winner – $10,000
2nd – $5,000
3rd – $4,000
4th – $3,000
5th – $2,500
6th – $2,000
7th – $1,250
8th – $1,000
9th – $750
10th – $500
11th-30th – $50 Free Bet

Each race day Sportsbet will update the Race Day ladder and if you have scored the most points that day, you win $2,000 cash. Your points are added together over each race day for the Overall Ladder.

Below is a screenshot of the tipping area:

Note: Members selections will appear in your bet slip, but you are not required to place any bets in this free competition.

Click here to learn more about the competition. Best of luck!

Sportingbet

Rugby World Cup Final – Sign Up Offer
Sign up using the promo code FINAL. On top of the regular sign up offer where you make an initial deposit and they match it with a bonus bet up to $200, you will get an extra $50 bonus bet on the World Cup final.

Rugby World Cup – Try & Try Again
Back a player to score first or last. Get triple winnings if he scores first and last.

Score 4, There’s Still More
Have a minimum $10 bet on any Head to Head Rugby World Cup market and if your team scores four tries or more, and subsequently loses the match, get your stake refunded up to $150.

Rugby World Cup Final 50% Bonus
Place a minimum $10 bet on the First Try Scorer/Margin Double market for the World Cup final and Sportingbet will add 50% of your winnings to your bonus balance if your bet gets up.

IASbet

RWC Line Bonus
Place a Line bet on New Zealand v France and if your bet selection wins, they’ll add a 25% Bonus up to $100 to your account.

Centrebet

Money back offer
Place a First Try Scorer bet and get your money back if they don’t score first but score in the first half.

For a Pick Your Own Field bet to have a valid result (Win or Loss) at least one runner in the customised field must finish in the top 4 official placings. All other Pick Your Own Field bets are Void. The customised field for this market can contain between 2 and 21 runners.

To participate, simply select runners in the Pick Your Own Field (PYOF) column.

Click on ‘Calculate Field’ to calculate the odds for your custom field.

Then click on the odds of your selected runner to add that selection to your betting slip. Your bet wins if your runner beats the rest of your selected field.

Sportingbet

• “Score 4, There’s Still More” – Bet on any H2H market throughout RWC and if your team scores 4 tries or more and loses the match, get a refund of your stake.
• 50% Winners Bonus on First Try Scorer/Margin Double in the Semi Final matches.
• 20% Winners Bonus on Margin Double market in the Semi Final matches.

Sportsbet

• Place a bet on Any Try Scorer Market in the Australia v New Zealand match. If the Wallabies beat the Kiwis, and you lose your bet, you’ll get your cash back. Learn more.

IASbet

• Place a Head to Head bet on Wales v France and receive a matched Winning Margin bet (up to $50) on the New Zealand v Australia match. Learn more.

Each week you predict the outcome for each fixture and you will be ranked based on how many picks you get right.

The big money goes to the end of season winners, but there are minor prizes down to those who finish in the top 60, as well as monthly prizes to be won.

Below are the prizes for the 2011/12 A-League competition:

You can create competitions of your own so you can compete against your mates. You do not need to deposit funds with Sportsbet to participate.

Best of luck!