Live Casino in Australia: The Short Answer
Live casino games — blackjack, roulette, baccarat and game shows dealt by a real person and streamed to your screen — cannot legally be offered to people in Australia when you bet online. A live stream does not change the law: it is still an online casino game played for money. If you want a live dealer legally, the place to find one is an Australian casino, where the same games run under rules approved by the state regulator.
This guide explains what a live casino is, who makes the games and where they are filmed, why they fall under the Interactive Gambling Act, what the ACMA warns about using them, and the legal ways to play the same games in Australia.
What a Live Casino Is
How a live game works
A live casino game is played in a studio. A dealer runs a real table — cards, a wheel, a shoe — in front of cameras, and the video is streamed to an online casino. Players watch the stream and place their bets through the site; software records each bet and settles it when the dealer reveals the result. The dealer and the cards are real; the betting, the account and the licence are all online.
Who makes live games
Most online casinos do not run their own studios. They buy the games from specialist suppliers. The two best known are Evolution and Pragmatic Play Live. Evolution’s timeline traces its studios from Riga in 2010 through Spain, Malta, Belgium, Romania, Canada, Georgia and several US states to the Philippines and Brazil in 2025. Pragmatic Play Live says its games are “broadcasted from our studio in Bucharest” (Pragmatic Play).
Who licenses them
Evolution Gaming Malta Limited is licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority (licence MGA/CRP/187/2010/01), and Evolution Malta Holdings Limited by the Gambling Commission in Great Britain. Pragmatic Play Live lists approval by the Malta Gaming Authority, regulation by the UK Gambling Commission and a Class II licence from Romania’s ONJN. None of these is an Australian licence, and none makes a game legal to offer to Australians.
Is Live Casino Legal in Australia?
What the Act says
Under section 4 of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, a gambling service includes “a service for the conduct of a game” where the game is played for money or anything else of value, is a game of chance or of mixed chance and skill, and the customer pays to play. Under section 5, it becomes a prohibited interactive gambling service when it is provided in the course of business over the internet or similar services.
What the ACMA says
The ACMA lists “online casinos” among the services banned by the Act, and names “casino-style games (like poker, blackjack and roulette)” among illegal online services. It does not use the phrase “live dealer”. Applying the Act to a live game is straightforward, though: a dealer on camera does not change the fact that the game is played for money over the internet.
Who the law targets
The offences fall on providers. Section 15 makes it an offence, with a penalty of up to 5,000 penalty units, and a civil penalty contravention of up to 7,500 penalty units, to provide a prohibited interactive gambling service with an Australian-customer link. Players are not the target — but they are not protected either.
What changes in 2027
From 1 January 2027, under the Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Act 2026, Australian banks and payment systems must block payments to designated illegal gambling services, and internet services, app stores and search engines must stop providing access to them. Our guide to whether online gambling is legal in Australia covers the full set of changes.
Live Casino Online vs a Real Table in Australia
The table can look identical on screen and in a casino. What differs is everything behind it.
| Live casino online | Live table in an Australian casino | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal to offer to Australians | No | Yes, with a state or territory licence |
| Licensed by | Overseas regulators (Malta, Great Britain, Romania and others) | The state or territory regulator |
| Game rules | Set by the studio | Approved by the regulator and published |
| If winnings are withheld | “Australian regulators will not be able to help you” (ACMA) | The casino’s own process and the state regulator |
| Access to your account | Blocked sites may lock you out (ACMA) | Your chips are in your hand |
| Payments | Banks must block payments to designated illegal services from 1 January 2027 | Cash and chips at the table |
Popular Live Games and Their Legal Equivalents
Live blackjack
Live blackjack is the most common live game online. In Australian casinos, blackjack is dealt under rules approved by each state’s regulator — with no hole card, 3 to 2 blackjacks and doubles on 9 to 11. Our guide to blackjack in Australia compares those rules casino by casino and gives basic strategy for them.
Live roulette and multiplier versions
Live roulette streams a real wheel; multiplier versions add random bonus payouts to some numbers. In Australian casinos you will find single-zero, double-zero and triple-zero wheels with house edges of 2.70%, 5.26% and 7.69%. Our guide to roulette in Australia shows where each wheel is used and what every bet really pays.
Live baccarat
Baccarat is a staple of live casino lobbies online. Played online for money, it is a casino-style game like any other and cannot legally be offered to Australians.
Game shows
Game-show formats — wheels, bonus rounds and presenters rather than a card table — are a category of their own in live casino lobbies. They are online casino games played for money, and there is no legal online version for Australians.
Electronic Table Games: The Legal Option Inside Casinos
Australian casinos offer something close to a live online game, legally: electronic and automated table games on the casino floor. Section 8B of the Act treats a game played on electronic equipment made available at a particular place by a licensed provider as an excluded gaming service — which is why these games are outside the online ban.
- Rapid Roulette at Crown Melbourne: a semi-automated game in which players bet on terminals and the wheel is spun manually or mechanically.
- Fully automated and virtual roulette at Crown Melbourne.
- Electronic roulette at Crown Perth, bet on individual touch screens, and named products such as Fusion Roulette and Vegas Star Roulette.
The difference from a live online game is where you are sitting: on the casino floor, under the casino’s licence and the state regulator’s rules.
Free Live-Style Games and Social Apps
Casino-style apps played with virtual chips are sold in Australian app stores. Since 22 September 2024, video games with simulated gambling have been legally restricted to adults and classified R 18+, and new games carry the consumer advice “High-impact simulated gambling” (Australian Classification). The rating is about who the game is for; it does not make real-money online play legal.
If You Play Live Casino Offshore Anyway
The ACMA is specific about the risks of using an illegal online gambling service:
- Your money: “If you gamble online using a company that operates illegally, you risk losing your money.”
- No help from regulators: “Australian regulators will not be able to help you” if the provider treats you poorly or withholds your winnings.
- Losing access: “There is also a risk that these websites will be blocked. This means you may not be able to log in and access your existing account.”
- Payments from 2027: banks and payment systems must block payments to designated illegal services.
A live stream makes an offshore casino feel more trustworthy than a screen of animated games. It is not: the dealer is real, but the protections are not there.
Live Casino at a Glance
| What | Fact | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Legal to offer online to Australians | No — casino-style games online are illegal services | ACMA |
| Applies to live dealer games | Yes — played for money over the internet | Interactive Gambling Act ss 4–5 |
| Penalty for providers | Up to 5,000 penalty units (offence) and 7,500 (civil) | Interactive Gambling Act s 15 |
| Evolution licence | Malta Gaming Authority MGA/CRP/187/2010/01; Gambling Commission (GB) | Evolution |
| Pragmatic Play Live studio | Bucharest | Pragmatic Play |
| Legal alternative | Live tables and electronic table games in Australian casinos | Interactive Gambling Act s 8B; casino rules |
| Payment blocking | From 1 January 2027 | Gambling Reform Act 2026 |
| Free apps | R 18+ since 22 September 2024 | Australian Classification |
Keeping It a Game
Live games are fast and social, and the stream makes it easy to keep playing. Set a budget and a time before you start, and stop at either. Free, confidential help is available 24 hours a day on 1800 858 858 and at Gambling Help Online; our responsible gambling guide covers limits and self-exclusion.
The Bottom Line on Live Casino in Australia
Live casino games are filmed in studios licensed in Malta, Great Britain, Romania and elsewhere, and none of those licences makes them legal to offer to Australians. Played online for money, live blackjack, roulette, baccarat and game shows are online casino games under the Interactive Gambling Act. For a real dealer and real cards within the law, sit down at a table in an Australian casino.
How We Put This Guide Together
The law comes from the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (sections 4, 5, 8B and 15), the Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Act 2026 and the ACMA’s pages on the Act and on illegal operators. Studio and licence details come from Evolution’s timeline and Pragmatic Play Live’s live casino page; electronic table game details from Crown Melbourne’s and Crown Perth’s approved rules; classification from Australian Classification. All were read on 10 November 2026. Written by Michael Jones — see how we review. 18+ only. If gambling stops being fun, call 1800 858 858.
