Australia Banned Credit Cards for Online Betting in 2024. So How Are Aussie Players Paying Now?
A few years ago, topping up a betting account took about ten seconds. You typed in your credit card, hit deposit, and the money landed before the next race jumped. Plenty of punters loved that speed. Regulators loved it a lot less.
Since 11 June 2024, that shortcut has been gone at every Australian-licensed betting site. You can't bet with a credit card, and you can't bet with crypto either.
More than two years on, most people have quietly switched to other ways of paying, and the rules change again on 1 January 2027.
What the Ban Actually Covers
The rule applies to online and phone betting in Australia. That means the big sports betting apps, plus on-course bookmakers who take bets online or by phone. Lotteries are not part of it.
Licensed betting sites can no longer accept:
- Credit cards
- Money linked to a credit card, including phone wallets set up with one
- Digital currency, such as Bitcoin and other crypto
They also can't lend you money to bet, or help you borrow it from someone else, like a payday lender.
The idea wasn't new. Pubs, clubs and land-based casinos already couldn't take credit cards for gambling, so 2024 simply brought online betting into line. Companies that ignore it can face fines of up to $247,500, and the government has started a formal review of how well the ban works.
The Ways Aussie Punters Pay Now
Most people just switched to the debit card already in their wallet. Here are the main options at Australian-licensed betting sites today.
Payment method | Allowed? | What to know
Debit card (Visa or Mastercard) | Yes | The most common swap. Feels like a credit card, but it spends your own money.
Apple Pay or Google Pay | Only with a debit card | If the wallet is linked to a credit card, the deposit gets declined.
PayID | Yes | A bank transfer sent to an email or phone number. Usually lands in seconds.
Bank transfer or BPAY | Yes | Safe and simple, but often slower than a card or PayID.
Credit card | No | Blocked since June 2024.
Crypto | No | Counts as digital currency, so it's banned too.
Debit card (Visa or Mastercard) | Yes | The most common swap. Feels like a credit card, but it spends your own money.
Apple Pay or Google Pay | Only with a debit card | If the wallet is linked to a credit card, the deposit gets declined.
PayID | Yes | A bank transfer sent to an email or phone number. Usually lands in seconds.
Bank transfer or BPAY | Yes | Safe and simple, but often slower than a card or PayID.
Credit card | No | Blocked since June 2024.
Crypto | No | Counts as digital currency, so it's banned too.
Phone wallets catch a lot of people out. If you set up Apple Pay years ago with a credit card, it still works at the shops but fails inside the betting app. Add your debit card to the wallet and pick it for betting.
PayID is popular for another reason. The money comes straight from your bank, so you never type a card number or a BSB into a betting site.
Online Casinos Were Never Part of This Rule
This is the part that confuses people. The credit card ban covers licensed betting sites, and Australia has no licensed online casinos at all. Under the Interactive Gambling Act, offering online casino games to people in Australia is illegal, so no local company can run one.
That hasn't stopped offshore casinos from chasing Aussie players. Many still take credit cards, crypto, Neosurf vouchers and e-wallets like MiFinity, and some show PayID through a third-party payment company. The credit card ban doesn't reach these sites, and neither does BetStop.
So the checking is on you. A casino that takes your card in seconds but pays winnings by slow bank wire is a bad deal. CasinoBankingMethods keeps a list of every online casino for Australian players it has reviewed, showing the deposit and withdrawal methods each one accepts, from PayID and e-wallets to Bitcoin.
Use it to check which methods work both ways, what the limits are and how long a payout takes.
What Changes on 1 January 2027
The next set of rules is already law. The Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Bill 2026 passed Parliament on 19 August 2026, and most of it starts on 1 January 2027.
For payments, the big change targets illegal operators. The new law lets banks and payment systems block transactions to illegal gambling services, and it gives ACMA more power to block those sites faster. ACMA already keeps a public list of blocked gambling websites, and that list keeps growing. ACMA says it will publish more guidance before the start date, so the details of how bank blocking works should become clearer over the next few weeks.
In plain words, a deposit to an offshore casino that goes through today could be stopped by your bank next year. If you have money sitting in an offshore account, it makes sense to withdraw it before the new rules kick in.
This matters most for methods that look like normal bank payments. A PayID transfer or a debit card payment to an offshore site passes through Australian banks, so it's exactly the kind of transaction the new powers are built to catch. Crypto sent from your own wallet is harder to stop, but it comes with its own problems, like price swings and transfers you can't reverse if something goes wrong.
The reforms reach well past payments too. They include:
- A ban on wagering ads during live sport and in sports venues
- No direct marketing of bonus offers to new account holders in their first 14 days
- Stronger rules and more funding for BetStop, the national self-exclusion register
Smart Habits, However You Pay
The ban took away one fast way to pay, but a debit card can still drain an account if you're not careful. A few simple habits make a big difference:
- Keep betting money separate. A second bank account just for betting shows you exactly what you've spent.
- Use your bank's gambling block if you need a break. Most big Australian banks let you block gambling payments in their app.
- Check the way out before you pay in. Know how your winnings come back to you, how long it takes and what it costs.
- Set a deposit limit on day one. Licensed betting sites have to offer one, and it takes a minute to set up.
- Use BetStop if betting stops being fun. One sign-up at BetStop excludes you from every licensed online and phone betting service. It had more than 65,400 registrations by the end of June 2026.
The way Aussies pay has changed a lot since 2024, and it will change again in January. The basics stay the same, though, no matter which app or card you use. Bet with money you can afford to lose, know how you'll get your winnings back out, and stop when it stops being fun.
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