Casino Table Games in Australia: The Short Answer
No casino table game can legally be offered online to people in Australia — not blackjack, roulette, poker, baccarat or any live dealer game. In Australia’s licensed casinos, all of them are legal, played under rules approved by the state or territory regulator.
This page brings our table game guides together: where each game is legal, where to play it, what it costs in house edge, and which decisions actually change your results. Each section links to the full guide for that game.
Every Table Game at a Glance
| Game | Online for Australians | In Australian venues | House edge | Full guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackjack | Cannot be offered | Every casino we read, under approved rules | about 0.59% with basic strategy | Blackjack in Australia |
| Roulette | Cannot be offered | Single, double and triple zero wheels | 2.70%, 5.26% or 7.69% by wheel | Roulette in Australia |
| Poker (against other players) | Cannot be offered | Casino poker rooms; pub and club leagues | The house takes a rake, not an edge | Online poker in Australia |
| Casino poker games (against the house) | Cannot be offered | Casinos | A built-in edge on every hand | Online poker in Australia |
| Baccarat | Cannot be offered | Crown Melbourne, Crown Perth and The Star Sydney | — | — |
| Live dealer games | Cannot be offered | Live tables in casinos | Depends on the game | Live casino in Australia |
| Electronic table games | Cannot be offered online | Legal on the casino floor | Depends on the game | Live casino in Australia |
The pattern is the same for every game. The ACMA lists “casino-style games (like poker, blackjack and roulette)” among illegal online services, and no Australian licence exists for them online. On the casino floor, the game is legal because the casino holds a state or territory licence and its rules are approved by the regulator.
Where to Play Table Games Legally
These are the land-based casinos operating in Australia when we checked in November 2026. Poker machines are also found in pubs and clubs, regulated by each state and territory; table games are found in casinos.
| State or territory | Casinos |
|---|---|
| Victoria | Crown Melbourne |
| New South Wales | Crown Sydney · The Star Sydney |
| Queensland | The Star Brisbane · The Star Gold Coast · The Reef Hotel Casino (Cairns) · The Ville (Townsville) |
| Western Australia | Crown Perth |
| South Australia | SkyCity Adelaide |
| Tasmania | Wrest Point (Hobart) · Country Club (Launceston) |
| Northern Territory | Mindil Beach Casino Resort (Darwin) · Lasseters (Alice Springs) |
| ACT | Casino Canberra |
Treasury Brisbane’s casino has closed; its website now directs players to The Star Brisbane. Table limits are shown on a sign at each table.
Blackjack
Australian blackjack is not the game in most strategy books. In every casino whose rules we read, there is no hole card: the dealer draws a second card only after all players finish. Blackjack pays 3 to 2 on standard tables, the dealer stands on 17 in the standard game, and doubling is allowed only on 9, 10 or 11.
The rule that changes strategy
What a dealer blackjack takes differs by casino. At Crown Melbourne, Crown Sydney and in Queensland you lose only your original bet; at Crown Perth doubles and splits are lost too, and at SkyCity Adelaide doubles. Our blackjack guide compares the approved rules casino by casino and gives basic strategy calculated for both versions.
The cost
With basic strategy, the house edge is about 0.59% under the rules the Wizard of Odds recorded at Star City — the lowest edge on a typical casino floor, but only if you play correctly. Read the full blackjack guide.
Roulette
Roulette in Australian casinos comes on three wheels. A single-zero wheel of 37 compartments has a house edge of 2.70%; a double-zero wheel of 38 has 5.26%; and a triple-zero wheel of 39, such as Crown Roulette at Crown Melbourne, has 7.69%. Every bet on the same wheel has the same edge, except the five-number bet on double-zero tables at 7.89%.
What strategy can and cannot do
No betting system changes the house margin — The Star’s own roulette guide says so. What you can choose is the wheel, the bet size and how long you play. Our roulette guide works through every bet’s odds, the Martingale, streaks and what a session with a fixed budget really looks like.
Poker
Poker is two different things in a casino. In a poker room you play against other players and the house takes a fee, or rake; skill matters over time. In casino poker games — Casino Hold’em, Three Card Poker and similar — you play against the house, which has a built-in edge on every hand.
Online poker is not allowed
Real-money online poker cannot legally be offered to Australians. The large international poker sites closed Australian accounts in 2017, and in July 2026 the Federal Court imposed A$24.24 million in penalties on the providers and promoters of three online poker services. Our online poker guide covers where Australians play legally, including casino rooms and pub leagues.
Baccarat
Baccarat is a casino table game in which players bet on whether the player hand or the banker hand will finish closer to nine, or on a tie. Crown Melbourne, Crown Perth and The Star Sydney each publish a baccarat page on their websites. Online, baccarat is a casino-style game like any other, and cannot legally be offered to people in Australia — including live baccarat streamed from a studio.
Live Dealer and Electronic Table Games
Live dealer games online
Live casino games are filmed in studios and streamed to online casinos. The best-known suppliers are licensed in Malta, Great Britain and Romania — none of which makes a game legal for Australians. A real dealer on camera does not change the law.
Electronic table games in casinos
Electronic and automated table games inside a casino are legal: the Interactive Gambling Act excludes electronic equipment that a licensed provider makes available on its own premises. Crown Melbourne’s Rapid Roulette and Crown Perth’s touch-screen roulette are examples. Our live casino guide explains both.
House Edge Compared
| Game or bet | House edge | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Blackjack, basic strategy | about 0.59% | Wizard of Odds (Star City rules) |
| Blackjack paying 6 to 5 | about 2% | Wizard of Odds rule effect |
| Roulette, single zero | 2.70% | The Star; Wizard of Odds |
| Roulette, double zero | 5.26% | The Star; Wizard of Odds |
| Crown Roulette, triple zero | 7.69% | Crown Melbourne |
| Five-number bet, double zero | 7.89% | Wizard of Odds; our calculation |
The house edge is an average over many bets. It tells you which game costs least to play over time, not what will happen tonight.
What A$1,000 of bets costs
Wager A$1,000 in total — say 100 bets of A$10 — and the average cost is about A$6 at blackjack with basic strategy, A$27 at single-zero roulette, A$53 at double zero and A$77 on Crown Roulette. A 6 to 5 blackjack table costs about A$20 for the same amount. These are our calculations from the published house edges.
Skill or Chance?
| Game | Do your decisions change the edge? | What matters most |
|---|---|---|
| Blackjack | Yes — basic strategy keeps the edge near its minimum | Playing the chart for the casino’s rules; never taking insurance |
| Poker against players | Yes — you compete against other players | Skill relative to the table; bankroll |
| Casino poker games | Partly — good decisions reduce the edge, not remove it | Knowing when to fold or raise |
| Roulette | No — every bet on a wheel has the same edge | Choosing the single-zero wheel |
| Baccarat | Little — the decision is which hand to back | The house rules on the bets you choose |
In every game, the decisions that protect your money most are the ones made before the first bet: which game, which table, what budget and when to stop.
Table Games and the Law Online
The Interactive Gambling Act 2001 makes it illegal for providers to offer online casino services to people in Australia, and the ACMA has had 1,822 illegal gambling and affiliate websites blocked since November 2019. From 1 January 2027, Australian banks and payment systems must block payments to designated illegal gambling services. Our guide to whether online gambling is legal in Australia explains the law and the 2027 changes in full.
Free Table Game Apps
Casino-style apps played with virtual chips are sold in Australian app stores. Since 22 September 2024, video games with simulated gambling are classified R 18+ and restricted to adults. They are useful for learning the rules; they do not make real-money online play legal.
Keeping Table Games a Game
Table games are social and fast, and it is easy to stay longer than planned. Choose the game with the lowest edge you enjoy, set a budget and a time before you sit down, 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.
Our Table Game Guides
- Blackjack in Australia — the approved rules of Australian casinos compared, and basic strategy calculated for them.
- Roulette in Australia — three wheels, every bet’s odds, and what betting systems really do.
- Online poker in Australia — the law, where to play legally, the rules and the odds.
- Live casino in Australia — who makes live dealer games, where they are filmed, and the law.
- Online pokies — RTP, volatility and bonus terms.
How We Put This Guide Together
The legal status of each game comes from the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 and the ACMA. Casino rules come from the approved rules and official pages of Crown Melbourne, Crown Sydney, Crown Perth, the Queensland casinos, The Star Sydney, SkyCity Adelaide and Casino Canberra, and baccarat pages of Crown Melbourne, Crown Perth and The Star Sydney, all read on 10 November 2026. House edges come from the Wizard of Odds, The Star and Crown Melbourne; the cost per A$1,000 is our calculation. Written by Michael Jones — see how we review. 18+ only. If gambling stops being fun, call 1800 858 858.
