Victoria Gambling Laws & Regulations

Gambling oversight in Victoria is divided among state and federal authorities. The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission regulates most state-based gambling activities, while the responsible minister awards certain major licences. ACMA enforces federal online-gambling law, and AUSTRAC oversees anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism-financing obligations.

The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission, commonly known as the VGCCC, is Victoria’s principal gambling regulator.

The VGCCC was established on 1 January 2022, replacing the gambling functions of the former Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation. Following a six-month transition, gambling and liquor regulation were fully separated in July 2022, allowing the VGCCC to focus exclusively on gambling and casino oversight. It’s an independent statutory regulator that is accountable to the Victorian Parliament through the responsible minister.

Its responsibilities include:

• Issuing and administering many gambling licences, registrations and approvals
• Regulating Crown Melbourne and supervising its casino licence
• Regulating major state-awarded gambling licensees
• Approving gaming premises, machines, games, systems and equipment
• Registering Victorian bookmakers
• Monitoring wagering providers that accept Victorian customers
• Conducting inspections, investigations and compliance audits
• Investigating complaints and suspected offences
• Taking disciplinary and enforcement action
• Monitoring gambling-harm prevention requirements

However, not every major gambling licence is originally awarded by the VGCCC. Certain exclusive or state-wide licences, including public-lottery, wagering and monitoring licences, may be awarded by the responsible minister. The VGCCC then regulates the licensee and administers relevant compliance requirements.

The VGCCC also has inspectors stationed at Crown Melbourne around the clock. These inspectors can monitor casino operations, examine systems, investigate complaints and work with Victoria Police, AUSTRAC and other enforcement agencies.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority, or ACMA, enforces federal online-gambling rules under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001.

ACMA investigates prohibited and unlicensed online gambling services, maintains the national register of licensed interactive wagering providers and can request that internet service providers block illegal gambling websites.

Federal law prohibits operators from offering online casino games, unlicensed online wagering and online in-play sports betting to people in Australia.

ACMA also enforces the national wagering credit ban. Since 11 June 2024, licensed online and telephone wagering providers have been prohibited from accepting credit cards, credit-linked digital wallets and digital currencies as payment for bets.

The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre, or AUSTRAC, is Australia’s anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism-financing regulator and financial-intelligence agency.

Casinos, bookmakers and other regulated wagering businesses may have federal obligations involving customer identification, transaction monitoring and prescribed reports. AUSTRAC supervises compliance with those duties and analyses financial intelligence. Nevertheless, it doesn’t replace the VGCCC or resolve ordinary customer disputes about bets, accounts or withdrawals.

Victoria’s gambling rules are spread across Acts, regulations, licence conditions, ministerial directions, technical standards and approved operating controls. The main Acts provide the legal framework, while more detailed requirements can appear in subordinate legislation or conditions applying to a particular operator or gambling product.

The Gambling Regulation Act 2003 is Victoria’s main general gambling statute. It regulates gaming machines in hotels and clubs, wagering and betting, public lotteries, keno, bingo, raffles and other forms of community and charitable gaming.

Among other things, the Act establishes requirements relating to venue operator licences, approved gaming premises, gaming-machine entitlements, responsible gambling codes, self-exclusion, bookmaker regulation, sports controlling bodies, betting advertising, and access to cash in gaming venues. The version published by Victorian legislation incorporates amendments effective from 22 October 2025.

Detailed operational matters are also prescribed by the Gambling Regulations 2026, which came into force on 12 June 2026 and replaced the expiring 2015 regulations. They cover matters involving gaming machines, wagering, trade-promotion lotteries, community gaming and regulatory fees.

The Casino Control Act 1991 establishes the licensing and regulatory framework for Victoria’s casino.

It gives the VGCCC powers concerning casino licensing, operator suitability, associates, casino employees, approved games, gaming equipment, carded play, internal controls, disciplinary action and ongoing reviews of the casino operator. The Act also enables the regulator to determine whether Crown Melbourne remains suitable to hold Victoria’s only casino licence.

The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission Act 2011 establishes the VGCCC and defines its objectives, functions, powers and governance arrangements.

The Commission operates under this Act while enforcing the Gambling Regulation Act 2003, the Casino Control Act 1991, the Casino (Management Agreement) Act 1993 and relevant provisions of the Racing Act 1958.

If we were to do a complete overview, we’d also need to account for several additional instruments:

• The Casino (Management Agreement) Act 1993, which gives effect to important contractual arrangements concerning the Melbourne casino
• The Gambling Taxation Act 2023, which consolidates major Victorian gambling-tax provisions
• The Casino Control Regulations 2023, which prescribe detailed casino requirements
• The Gambling Regulation (Pre-commitment and Loyalty Scheme) Regulations 2025, which govern aspects of YourPlay, player accounts and loyalty schemes
• Crown Melbourne’s casino licence, casino agreement, approved internal controls and regulatory directions
• VGCCC technical standards applying to gaming machines, monitoring systems, wagering systems and other gambling equipment

Two major state-awarded licences were also updated in 2026. The public-lotteries licence held by Tattersall’s Sweeps Pty Ltd, part of The Lottery Corporation, was extended on 4 May 2026 for a further 40 years from 1 July 2028 to 30 June 2068.

On 21 April 2026, the minister awarded the next monitoring and pre-commitment licence to Intralot Gaming Services Pty Ltd. That 15-year licence will commence on 16 August 2027; the existing monitoring arrangements remain in place until then.

Victoria permits several forms of gambling when they are provided under the appropriate licence, registration or approval. These include:

• Casino table games, poker and gaming machines at Crown Melbourne
• Gaming machines, commonly called pokies, in approved hotels and clubs
• Horse, harness and greyhound racing wagering
• Sports betting through licensed providers
• Public lotteries
• Keno
• Bingo, raffles and authorised community or charitable gaming
• Betting on other events approved under Victorian law

Licensed online sports and race betting are also legal. The wagering provider must hold a licence issued by an Australian state or territory and comply with federal and Victorian consumer-protection requirements. Before opening an account, customers can check whether the provider is listed on the ACMA’s register of licensed interactive wagering providers.

Victoria has only one licensed land-based casino: Crown Melbourne, located in Southbank and operated by Crown Melbourne Limited.

Crown received Victoria’s only casino licence on 19 November 1993. The current licence remains in force until 18 November 2050 unless it is cancelled or surrendered earlier. It permits the casino to operate no more than:

• 2,628 gaming machines
• 440 gaming tables
• 100 additional poker tables

These limits are separate from the gaming-machine entitlement system that applies to Victorian hotels and clubs.

Carded play is mandatory on Crown Melbourne’s gaming machines. Players must use a valid player card and set time and net-loss limits through the YourPlay pre-commitment system before playing.

Since 1 December 2025, mandatory carded play has also applied to fully automated and semi-automated table games. The declaration introducing that requirement didn’t extend the same blanket rule to traditional dealer-operated table games.

Crown’s general breaks-in-play policy also requires:

• A break of at least 15 minutes after three continuous hours of play
• A 24-hour break after 12 cumulative hours of play within a 24-hour period
• A break for the remainder of the relevant seven-day period after 36 cumulative hours of play

Gaming machines aren’t restricted to Crown Melbourne. Instead, approved hotels and clubs can also operate them, but we should note that a venue licence, premises approval and machine entitlements are separate legal requirements.

An organisation must first hold a Venue Operator Licence, which is generally valid for ten years. Its premises must be approved by the VGCCC, and the operator must hold one gaming-machine entitlement for every machine it intends to operate.

The machines must be approved and connected to Victoria’s electronic monitoring system, and relevant employees must hold Gaming Industry Employee licences.

As of May 2026, Victoria had 27,310 gaming-machine entitlements available to venue operators outside Crown Melbourne:

• 13,211 club entitlements
• 14,099 hotel entitlements

Several important operational and machine-design controls are already in force at hotels and clubs:

• Gaming-machine areas must close between 4 a.m. and 10 a.m. every day
• No more than A$100 can be loaded onto a machine at one time
• Machines cannot accept banknotes with a denomination above A$50
• The maximum bet is generally A$5 per game
• Autoplay is prohibited

There are more notable restrictions. For instance, gaming-machine types and games approved on or after 1 December 2025 must have a minimum game cycle of three seconds. Earlier approved types may remain subject to the previous minimum of approximately 2.14 seconds, so the rule should not be described as an immediate change to every existing machine.

Sports and race betting are legal in Victoria through licensed retail, on-course, telephone and online channels. Different regulators may be involved depending on where a wagering provider is licensed and which type of betting service it offers.

Tabcorp Wagering (VIC) Pty Ltd holds Victoria’s principal Wagering and Betting Licence. The current 20-year licence was awarded in December 2023 and commenced on 16 August 2024. It permits on-course and off-course wagering on racing, sports, other approved events and authorised simulated racing products such as Trackside.

Victorians may also use online bookmakers licensed in another Australian state or territory. Approved betting events include major Australian and international competitions in sports such as AFL, cricket, tennis, soccer, basketball, rugby league, rugby union, golf, motorsport and boxing.

A provider offering markets on a sport governed by an approved sports controlling body must generally have a Product Fee and Integrity Agreement with that body.

It’s important to know that Victoria prohibits betting on under-19 sporting competitions and on contingencies involving the individual performance of a participant who is under 18. Team-level betting may still be permitted in a senior or open event where a minor is participating, provided the market doesn’t concern that minor’s individual performance.

Online bets can generally be placed before an event begins. Online in-play sports betting remains prohibited nationally under the IGA. Customers should also remember that the federal wagering credit ban prevents licensed online and telephone betting providers from accepting credit cards, credit-linked digital wallets or digital currencies.

Victorian gambling providers must follow product-specific harm-prevention rules. However, the exact requirements differ between Crown Melbourne, hotels and clubs, wagering providers, lotteries and community-gaming operators.

People must be at least 18 years old to enter gaming-machine areas or participate in regulated gambling. Venue staff are responsible for preventing minors from entering restricted gaming areas and are instructed to request identification when a person appears to be under 25.

The cash access and payout rules in this section apply specifically to hotels and clubs that operate gaming machines. Staff-operated EFTPOS facilities cannot provide more than A$200 in a single transaction or A$500 from the same card within 24 hours, and they cannot provide cash advances on a credit account.

Accumulated gaming-machine credits of A$2,000 or more cannot be paid in cash. They must be paid by non-cash cheque or, if requested, by electronic transfer, with the transferred funds unavailable for at least 24 hours. Separate casino rules and controls apply at Crown Melbourne.

For licensed online and telephone wagering, Victorians can use BetStop, the National Self-Exclusion Register, to exclude themselves from every Australian-licensed online and telephone wagering provider through a single registration.

Once registered, providers cannot accept bets from the person, open new accounts for them or send them direct wagering marketing during the exclusion period.

Free and confidential support is also available through:

• Gambler’s Help on 1800 858 858
• Gambler’s Help Youthline on 1800 262 376
• Gambling Help Online, which provides 24-hour online support
• BetStop support on 1800 238 786

The correct complaint route depends on the operator, the type of gambling and the issue involved. It’s usually best to raise an ordinary account, payment or service dispute with the venue or wagering provider first and keep copies of all correspondence and supporting evidence.

Complaints involving Crown Melbourne, gaming-machine venues, Victorian gambling licensees, gambling-harm breaches or other suspected violations of Victorian gambling law can be submitted to the VGCCC through its online complaint form or by calling 1300 599 759.

Complainants should provide the operator or venue name, location, relevant dates and times, names of people involved and supporting evidence. The VGCCC aims to acknowledge complaints within five working days and normally advises complainants of the outcome within 90 working days. An internal review can be requested within 28 days of the original decision.

Complaints involving licensed bookmakers depend on the subject:

• The operator should normally receive the complaint first for account, settlement, withdrawal or customer-service disputes
• The VGCCC can investigate specified Victorian legal and National Consumer Protection Framework obligations affecting Victorian customers
• A provider’s home state or territory licensing authority may handle broader licensing or regulatory complaints where the operator is licensed outside Victoria
• Racing Victoria may be relevant to certain racing-bookmaker, betting-rule or integrity matters, but it’s not the general complaint body for every sportsbook dispute
• Consumer Affairs Victoria or civil legal processes may be relevant to contractual and general consumer disputes

ACMA should be contacted when a website is offering prohibited online casino games, operating an unlicensed online wagering service, accepting illegal online in-play bets, breaching the wagering credit ban or otherwise contravening the Interactive Gambling Act. ACMA’s interactive gambling complaint form is intended for these federal online-gambling matters.

AUSTRAC supervises gambling businesses’ anti-money-laundering compliance but doesn’t determine ordinary betting disputes. Suspected fraud, theft or other immediate criminal conduct may also need to be reported to Victoria Police.