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No matter what state of Australia you live in, you can find a bookmaker to bet on: there are many betting sites in Australia that will offer you this service. But keep in mind that this country is made up of states and you should take this into account when searching. For example, Victorian residents should play at Victorian betting sites: this way, they get the smoothest experience possible.
Victoria is the second smallest and most densely populated state in Australia. It is named after Queen Victoria and like other states is free to make its own laws (as long as they don't go against federal regulations). The Victorian Parliament creates its own special legislation on many issues, and gambling is one of them: Since 1966, gambling/betting has been legal in this state. In other words, some of the names on the list of Victorian bookmakers have been active for almost 50 years.
For the same reason, however, there are many names on the list of Victorian bookmakers, and choosing among them is not an easy task for reasons that we will explain below: the scope of services offered by Australian online betting sites can be quite different. That's why we've put together our own list of Victorian bookmakers to help you get started quickly: every name on this list will ensure you get the best service possible.
But we recommend that you don't just take a look at our list of Victorian bookmakers and continue reading our article, as below we cover everything you need to know about the gambling/betting industry in this state.
| Province / State Name | Victoria |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | VIC |
| Population | 6.7 million as of 2022 |
| Biggest cities | Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Mildura,Shepparton, Wodonga, Warrnambool |
| Popular sports |
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| Best clubs |
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Victorian has a slightly different arrangement than other states in terms of legal gambling. In this state, a license is required to offer legal betting services too, but more than one organization can grant this license. Other states authorize a single government-controlled commission to issue licenses. Victorian, on the other hand, also uses “sports controlling bodies” for this job.
It will be easier to understand if we explain it from the beginning. Victorian made gambling legal for the first time in 1966, but the scope of the relevant legislation was quite limited. In 1998, a comprehensive law (Racing and Betting Acts) was enacted for sports and race betting. This law allowed bookmaking licenses to be issued through the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC), but also made it possible for the commission to share that authority. VGCCC could authorize certain sports controlling bodies to issue betting licenses.
To give a simple example, the Australian Football League (AFL) was free to issue its own private betting license only for matches in its league. This was also true for other controlling bodies: after being approved by the VGCCC, each body could issue its own private betting license to any bookmaker they wished. As of 2024, sports controlling bodies approved by the VGCCC consist of:
This can mess things up a bit. All the names on the list of Victorian bookmakers offer a legal service, but they may be licensed by different agencies. For example, some bookmakers are licensed by only a few sports controlling bodies. Others choose to get the VGCCC license only. This causes the names on the official list of Victorian bookmakers to often fail to provide consistent service, especially for sports betting. For the same reason, most Victorian licensed bookies do not support sports other than AFL, NRL, and Cricket because they have not obtained the necessary licenses.
Fortunately, this issue doesn't directly affect you: you don't need to waste time searching for which names on the list of Victorian bookmakers support which options. There are also international online bookies new who support all sports and races in Australia: you can find them all in our own list of Victorian bookmakers. There are no regulations prohibiting you from playing on global bookies and by doing so, you can access more sports, more bonuses, and better odds. That's why we recommend choosing any of the names from our own list of Victorian bookmakers to place sports and racing bets from this state.
[1] https://www.vcglr.vic.gov.au/gambling/wagering-and-sports-betting/sports-controlling-bodies
[2] https://content.legislation.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/f9d58807-2038-3bbc-8bb1-85007712f0d9_98-097a.pdf
The situation we have explained above also applies to horse racing bets. "Racing Victoria" is authorized to issue licenses for horse racing in this state. This is a company founded by the following clubs: Country Racing Victoria, Melbourne Racing Club, Moonee Valley Racing Club, and Victoria Racing Club. Racing Victoria is also a member of the Victorian Bookmakers' Association (VBA).
In this state, only the clubs named above are authorized to organize a horse race, and any bookmaker wishing to offer bets on any of these races must be licensed by Racing Victoria. In other words, all names in the "horse racing" section of the list of Victorian bookmakers are licensed by this company. In this regard, there are more Victorian bookmakers with race licenses than sports betting, but this license only applies to horse racing betting. In any case, if we were to make a list of Victorian bookmakers for sports betting and compare it to another list of Victorian bookmakers for betting on horse racing, it would be possible to see a much larger number of names in the latter.
It only costs 1,500 AUD to apply for a license and any company with assets of 250,000 AUD can apply. However, Racing Victoria requires a cash guarantee from applicants, and it can freely determine the amount of this guarantee. This means that it practically controls who the names on the list of Victorian bookmakers can be.
You can expect some changes to the list of Victorian bookmakers licensed to offer racing bets for the 2024-2023 season, as Racing Victoria licenses must be renewed at the end of July each year. Of course, you don't have to settle for a local list of Victorian bookmakers as we mentioned above: You can also choose international betting sites for Victorian horse racing bets. We recommend using our own list of Victorian bookmakers for this, as we have personally tested and selected every name on it.
[3] https://www.racingvictoria.com.au/wagering
There are multiple laws and regulations that bind all licensed operators on the list of Victorian bookmakers. You can see the most important of them below.
[4] https://content.legislation.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-02/58-6353aa178%20authorised.pdf
[5] https://content.legislation.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/f9d58807-2038-3bbc-8bb1-85007712f0d9_98-097a.pdf
[6] https://content.legislation.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/05c1be26-0b5f-3857-bca2-cf112ccda87c_94-2sr001.pdf
[7] https://content.legislation.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/31ea79c8-4fd3-3139-844b-acd71d0d7a95_99-041a.pdf
[8] https://content.legislation.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/b7074822-80b9-3e38-b654-ca45e0c341c5_07-072a.pdf
[9] https://content.legislation.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/a48e0f2b-aa38-3000-9713-44bc6d37b407_03-114a.pdf
Some brands on the list of Victorian bookmakers are licensed directly by the government, namely the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC). As of 2024, there are two operators with a VGCCC license:
Of these, Tabcorp is the largest gambling company in Australia and has multiple brands of its own. TAB, Sky Racing, and The Lott are the best known of them. This brand is featured not only on the list of Victorian bookmakers, but on all Australian state listings. However, as we mentioned above, there are also sports controlling bodies authorized to issue licenses, and Racing Victoria (RV) is one of the largest. Many more names appear in the license lists of these bodies. For example, RV's list of Victorian bookmakers includes nearly a hundred names, including global operators. For example:
Once again, you don't have to choose one of these sites to place bets on sports or horse racing from Victoria: The list of Victorian bookmakers also includes international operators. They are not licensed directly by VGCCC or a controlling body in Victoria, but they are still licensed by other countries and accept bets from Aussie players. On this site, you can find a list of Victorian bookmakers that showcase the best of global operators: any brand we recommend to you will be able to offer a far more satisfying experience than VGCCC licensed bookies. This is especially true for bonuses: As we'll explain below, local brands on the list of Victorian bookmakers cannot offer you promotions due to federal laws. However, if you use the list of Victorian bookmakers we have prepared, you can continue to benefit from offers such as bonus bets, free bets, and welcome packs.
[10] https://www.acma.gov.au/check-if-gambling-operator-legal
[11] https://www.tabcorp.com.au/
[12] https://www.racingvictoria.com.au/wagering/approved-wagering-service-providers
Victorian, like other Australian states, is free to make its own laws and has done so when making betting legal. However, as a state, it can use this right only as long as the laws it makes are not contrary to federal regulations. In other words, if there is a federal regulation on gambling/betting, Victorian should adapt their laws accordingly and ask the brands on our list of Victorian bookmakers to make the necessary changes too.
In November 2018, a new federal regulation took effect in Australia: The National Consumer Protection Framework (NCPF). This was a regulation that set 10 basic principles that all online merchants had to follow in order to protect consumers, and each state had to align its specific laws with it. One of the NCPF provisions was the prohibition of advertising and offers that encourage consumers to gamble. In other words, no Australian bookmaker can offer a promotion (bonus bet, cashback, free bet, etc.) to new and existing members, regardless of state.
In May 2019, all states brought their online merchants in line with the NCPF provisions. After this date, no brand on our list of Victorian bookmakers has been able to offer a bonus bet or any other promotion. Once again, this applies to any bookmaker in any state: it is not specific to the brands on our list of Victorian bookmakers. Simply put, you cannot take advantage of bonus promotions at local Aussie bookies anymore. This also applies to live betting: due to federal laws, Victorian bookmakers can only offer live bets by phone, this option cannot be offered online.
[13] https://addisons.com/knowledge/insights/restrictions-on-gambling-advertising-latest-measures-introduced-under-the-national-consumer-protection-framework/
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