Northern Territory Gambling Laws & Regulation

Northern Territory gambling regulation is shared among a wagering commission, statutory officers, Licensing NT and federal agencies. The correct regulator depends on whether the matter involves a bookmaker, casino, pokies, lottery or online service. Let me explain.

The Northern Territory Wagering Commission is an independent statutory authority established under the Racing and Wagering Act 2024. Following the recent amendments that commenced on 22 June 2026, its remit is concentrated on the wagering industry, while racing regulation is administered separately.

The Commission determines applications for betting licences, supervises licensed bookmakers and betting exchanges, issues directions and guidelines, sets rules for novelty wagers and approved sporting events, investigates complaints and may take disciplinary action. It can also direct licensees to introduce consumer-protection and harm-minimisation measures.

The Director of Racing and Wagering administers the statutory framework, while appointed inspectors monitor compliance and investigate suspected breaches. Licensing NT provides the Commission with administrative, licensing, investigative and enforcement support.

Licensing NT operates within the Department of Tourism and Hospitality. In addition to supporting the Wagering Commission, its compliance team carries out much of the day-to-day regulatory work involving casinos, gaming machines, Keno, lotteries and licensed internet-gaming operators.

The Gaming Control Act 1993 establishes the Director of Gaming Control, whose responsibilities cover casinos, lotteries, community gaming and licensed internet-gaming businesses. The Gaming Machine Act 1995 separately establishes the Director of Gaming Machines for poker machines in licensed hotels and clubs.

Gaming inspectors and other authorised officers have statutory powers to inspect venues, systems, records and equipment, investigate suspected breaches and support enforcement action. Their exact powers depend on the legislation governing the relevant gambling product.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority, or ACMA, enforces the federal Interactive Gambling Act 2001. It acts against illegal online casinos, unlicensed online wagering, online in-play sports betting and other prohibited services.

ACMA also maintains the national register of licensed interactive wagering providers and supervises BetStop.

The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre, commonly known as AUSTRAC, supervises applicable anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism-financing obligations.

Casinos, bookmakers and covered gaming-machine businesses must comply with the federal AML/CTF obligations applicable to their services. These can include customer checks, transaction monitoring, record-keeping and reporting, although exemptions and modified requirements apply in some circumstances.

Updated obligations for existing reporting entities started on 31 March 2026, with transitional arrangements for certain requirements. AUSTRAC’s role remains separate from gambling licensing and standard customer dispute resolution.

The Territory does not rely on one universal gambling statute, but several gambling laws. Different Acts apply to casino gaming, poker machines, wagering, racing, lotteries and totalisator betting. These laws are supported by regulations, licence conditions, codes of practice and regulatory directions.

The Gaming Control Act 1993 is the main law for casinos and several non-wagering gambling activities. It covers:

• Casino agreements and licences
• Approved casino games
• Lotteries and community gaming
• Mail-order lotteries
• Internet-gaming licences
• Unlawful games and unlicensed gaming

The Act establishes the Director of Gaming Control and provides inspection, investigation and enforcement powers relating to casinos, lotteries and other regulated gaming activities.

The Act also permits the Minister to issue internet-gaming licences. However, an NT internet-gaming licence does not override the Interactive Gambling Act. It cannot authorise a provider to supply prohibited online casino services to customers physically present in Australia.

The Gaming Machine Act 1995 regulates poker machines in licensed hotels and clubs. It covers gaming-machine licences, venue and machine approvals, machine-number restrictions, machine managers and repairers, monitoring, operating rules, payments, underage access and enforcement.

The Act does not apply to casino gaming machines, which operate under the separate casino framework in the Gaming Control Act.

The Racing and Wagering Act 2024 is the principal law for:

• Sports bookmakers
• Betting exchanges
• On-course bookmakers
• Wagering licences
• Approved sporting events and novelty wagers
• Wagering accounts and records
• Complaints and disciplinary action
• Racing administration and control bodies

The Act also prohibits unlawful wagers and gives regulators powers to declare a wager valid or void in appropriate cases.

The current framework includes amendments made in June 2026. Under the updated structure, the Northern Territory Wagering Commission oversees wagering, while the Director of Racing and Wagering is responsible for racing regulation and the wider statutory framework.

The Totalisator Licensing and Regulation Act 2000 governs the Territory’s exclusive totalisator and retail betting system.

UBET NT Pty Ltd, part of Tabcorp, was awarded a 20-year totalisator licence in 2015. The licence permits totalisator and retail sports and racing betting through agencies, racecourses, hotels, clubs and casinos.

Federal rules also apply. Most importantly, the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 determines which gambling services may legally be supplied online or by telephone to people in Australia.

The Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 26 August 2026. Most substantive reforms commence on 1 January 2027, but this is subject to implementation and transitional arrangements.

These reforms are supposed to introduce further controls on wagering advertising, inducements and activity-based commissions, strengthen action against illegal gambling services, and amend the rules for BetStop and certain online lottery products.

The following activities are legal when conducted under the required licence:

• Casino table games and gaming machines at Mindil Beach Casino Resort and Lasseters Hotel Casino
• Poker machines in licensed hotels, pubs and clubs
• Sports and racing betting through licensed online, telephone, retail and on-course providers
• Totalisator betting through authorised outlets
• NT Keno at authorised casinos, hotels and clubs
• Foreign, community and trade lotteries
• Bingo, raffles, lotto, sweepstakes, Calcuttas and tipping competitions
• Approved internet-gaming and lottery businesses, where the service is lawful under both Territory and federal legislation

These activities are recognised within the Territory’s gaming, wagering, totalisator and community-gaming frameworks.

Licensed online sports and race betting is legal. Online casinos, online pokies and online casino poker cannot legally be offered to people physically present in the Northern Territory. An NT internet-gaming licence does not override that federal prohibition.

The Northern Territory has two licensed land-based casinos:

• Mindil Beach Casino Resort in Darwin
• Lasseters Hotel Casino in Alice Springs

Each casino operates under an agreement with the NT Government and the licensing framework established by the Gaming Control Act 1993. Mindil Beach Casino Resort is also licensed to operate NT Keno through participating hotels and clubs.

Casino games require regulatory approval, and the Director of Gaming Control has supervisory powers involving accounts, approved games, internal operations and compliance. People under 18 are not allowed to gamble.

Both casinos must follow the NT Casino Code of Practice for Gaming Harm Minimisation 2023.

Pokie machines are legal in licensed hotels, pubs, clubs and casinos. However, the hotel-and-club system is regulated separately from gaming machines inside the casinos.

A territory-wide cap of 1,659 machines applies to licensed pubs and clubs. A venue with a hotel liquor licence may operate up to 20 machines, while a club may operate up to 55. Machines inside the two casinos are excluded from this limitation.

Applications for a new gaming-machine licence or an increase in machine numbers normally require public consultation and an independent Community Impact Analysis assessing the likely social and economic effects on the surrounding area.

Licensees cannot offer credit for machine play, and must prevent people under 18 from gambling. Hotels and clubs must also comply with the NT Code of Practice for Responsible Gambling 2022 and the applicable directions concerning machine placement, cashless systems and ATM or EFTPOS positioning.

Where banknote acceptors are installed, current NT rules permit Australian banknotes but limit the amount loaded onto a machine to A$1,000. Clubs must also report their community contributions through twice-yearly community benefit statements.

Sports and racing betting is legal through licensed bookmakers, betting exchanges, on-course bookmakers and the Territory’s totalisator network. Customers can place authorised bets online, through mobile apps, by telephone, at retail outlets or at approved racecourses.

The Northern Territory Wagering Commission licenses and supervises NT sports bookmakers and betting exchanges. However, a provider available to a Territory resident may instead be licensed by another Australian state or territory.

Before depositing money, customers should confirm that the service appears on ACMA’s register of licensed interactive wagering providers. Accessibility in Australia, an Australian-themed website or sponsorship of an Australian sporting event does not prove that a provider is licensed.

Australian-licensed wagering providers must follow the National Consumer Protection Framework for Online Wagering. Its measures include:

• Identity and age verification
• Restrictions on inducements
• Prohibition of lines of credit
• Simple account-closure procedures
• Deposit-limit tools
• Monthly activity statements
• Consistent gambling-risk messages
• Staff training
• National self-exclusion through BetStop

Online in-play sports betting remains prohibited through websites and apps. Since 11 June 2024, online and telephone wagering providers have also been prohibited from accepting credit cards, credit-linked digital wallets and digital currencies such as cryptocurrency.

The Northern Territory uses product-specific codes to promote responsible gambling:

• The Code of Practice for Responsible Service of Online Gambling 2019 applies to NT-licensed wagering operators.
• The NT Casino Code of Practice for Gaming Harm Minimisation 2023 applies to casino operators.
• The NT Code of Practice for Responsible Gambling 2022 applies to gaming-machine operators.
• The NT Internet Gaming Code of Practice for Harm Minimisation 2025 applies to internet-gaming licensees.

Casino gaming, poker-machine play and regulated wagering are restricted to adults aged 18 or older. Operators must train relevant employees, provide responsible-gambling information, maintain intervention and complaint procedures and support self-exclusion.

Venue self-exclusion can last for up to two years and may cover:

• The entire premises
• A designated gaming area
• Casino table games
• Poker machines
• Keno
• TAB services
• Lottery betting services

A person can apply to exclude themselves from as many as 35 participating venues through one application. A three-day cooling-off period applies after the notice is submitted.

A separate NT wagering notice can exclude a person from selected bookmakers or from all current and future NT-licensed wagering operators. The exclusion can last for a selected number of months or be permanent.

BetStop provides a separate national exclusion from every Australian-licensed online and telephone wagering provider. While a person is registered, licensed providers must not accept bets from them, open new accounts in their name or send them direct wagering marketing.

Free support is available through:

• National Gambling Helpline: 1800 858 858
• Amity Community Services: 08 8944 6565
• BetStop: 1800 238 786

Start by contacting the venue or operator. Clearly explain the issue, the evidence available and the outcome you are seeking. Keep copies of account statements, tickets, screenshots, emails, terms and conditions and any complaint reference number.

A complaint about an NT-licensed bookmaker or betting exchange may be referred to the Northern Territory Wagering Commission when it concerns:

• An alleged breach of the Racing and Wagering Act 2024
• A breach of the regulations, an approved code or wagering rules
• The way an accepted wager was handled

The customer must first make reasonable efforts to resolve the matter directly with the operator. A Commission complaint should generally be submitted within 60 days of discovering the issue and cannot be lodged more than two years after the event. Most complaints are resolved within six months.

The Commission does not handle every commercial disagreement. It generally cannot deal with:

• Requests for compensation or damages
• Ordinary customer-service complaints
• Bets that were never accepted
• Unavailable or withdrawn cash-out offers
• Account restrictions or betting limits
• Minimum-bet disputes
• Accounts closed by the operator
• BetStop complaints

Complaints involving an operator licensed outside the Territory should normally go to that operator’s home licensing authority.

Complaints about casinos, gaming-machine venues, lotteries or community gaming should be directed to Licensing NT or the relevant statutory Director. Licensing NT’s gaming inspectors can be contacted on 08 8999 1800.

Illegal online casinos, unlicensed betting services, prohibited online in-play wagering or breaches of the federal wagering credit ban should be reported to ACMA.