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What sites are used to play online poker in Australia? We use website traffic statistics to analysis which real money poker sites are being used in Australia and around the world.
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There are several factors that effect how Australians decide where to play online poker. The unique historical, political, technological and legal conditions in the country have led to some interesting traffic analytics. Let's dig deeper into some of those things now.


What poker sites get the most traffic in Australia?

Global Analytics

There is only user statistics data for two poker websites in this region. It is likely there are Australian's playing on other poker sites through VPN but this is difficult to measure. This article details the increase in VPN usage due to data and privacy concerns.

Ignition Casino

Website Info:

  • With consistently more than 1 million monthly users coming to its site,  Ignition Casino  receives more traffic than any other poker website in Australia.

  • Established in 2017, Ignition is the little brother brand of the two gambling site giants Bodog and Bovada. Ignition, Bodog and Bovada all share a poker player pool, so you are playing against millions of opponents around the world.

  • Ignition currently only accepts players from the United States and Australia.

Website Features:

  • Ignition recently created the new poker feature called "Play Now". This feature lets you play real poker through the browser. That means you can get on the tables fast without downloading an annoying poker client or mobile app. "Play Now" is currently supported on Chrome and Safari browsers.

  • Ignition restricts all players to a maximum of 4 tables. This means you don’t have a to worry about a bunch of professionals or poker bots playing 20 tables plus at once.

  • Ignition also make the tables anonymous, so me or my opponents don’t have a screen name. This stops people from using statistics programs to track their opponents play and get an unfair advantage. With these sorts of restrictions in place, Ignition is really trying to aim their games at players who just want to have a bit of fun. This is refreshing when you compare them to some of their competitors.

Juicy Stakes

Juicy stakes is a smaller site that still accepts players from Australia. Founded in 2009, it's predecessor was Cake Poker. The low site traffic means they don't get as many tables up and running like on a bigger sites. The software is also not at the same level as their competitors.


The history of online poker in Australia

Historical Traffic Analysis

Online gambling took off in Australian in 1996 when Centrebet began offering online sports betting. Two years later, Planet Poker started offering real money online poker for the first time ever. Live poker had been around for decades, so the leap to online poker was never in question.

In the late 1990s, the federal government brought out the  Interactive Gambling Act 2001   (IGA) . The IGA outlawed online gambling sites from accepting and advertising to Australians. Not all types of gambling were banned however, with sports betting, race betting and lottery websites given the OK.

There was no punishment for Australian citizens participating in online gambling. Only the providers were affected under the legislation.

In 2017, the Australian government increased their powers to act against unlicensed offshore gambling websites. Some of the largest poker sites in the world were operating in the country without a license. When these powers came into effect in the country, the big sites left.

A few of the smaller sites like Blackchip Poker remained in the country for a while. But in 2018, mostly all sites had left.

Ignition Casino started accepting Australian's in July 2017. This was before the Interactive Gambling Act reforms passed parliament. Ignition was previously only operating in the United States.

At the end of 2019, the Australian government started getting ISP providers to block unlicensed gambling sites that refused to leave the country. Most sites have continued to operate, either by encouraging the use of VPNs or by creating several new domains.

These sites have however seen a consistent monthly decrease in player numbers since the domain blocking started. The government has stated since the 2017 change of legislation, there has been a reduction in unauthorized online gambling.


Is it legal to play online poker in Australia?

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As mentioned in the history section above, the IGA ban only applies to providers of gambling websites. It does not ban or punish Australians for using online gambling websites.

Although it is not illegal for Australian citizens to use unlicensed websites, the government strongly discourages people from using them. The government reports it has received several complaints about unlicensed offshore websites.

It should also be noted that if the government blocks a casino domain with your money on it, you won't be able to retrieve your funds unless you have a VPN or the site creates a new domain.

  • Poker Site Traffic's goal is to provide factual data and information on every online poker site in every country in the world. We are not qualified legal experts. You should seek advice from a legal professional about your specific situation and location if you are unsure. See our Terms of Service for more info.


Cryptocurrency is Becoming a Leading Deposit Method for Australian Poker Players

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The unique situation in Australia for online poker sites has created disruptive shifts in what banking methods used for online poker. Australian's are increasingly starting to play online poker with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

With the rapid adoption of cryptocurrency globally, poker sites like Ignition Casino are shifting towards handling the majority of deposits and withdrawals with Bitcoin. Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash are currently offered on the site. Deposits remain instant and free for credit/debit cards but withdrawals aren’t. Here’s a look at the withdrawal method time frames.

Transaction Times
Transaction Times

It shows that Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash can be used for free withdrawals that take up to 15 minutes. Real money withdrawals can take up to 15 days, so Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash are significantly faster.

There are several local cryptocurrency exchanges in each country, or you can use one of the bigger global exchanges like Binance . These exchanges let you use credit card or bank transfer to buy it. If you want to sell it you can then transfer your local currency back to your bank account.

What are some of the pros for cryptocurrency?

Increased Privacy:

  • No bank details or identity verification are required when making a transaction. Some people don't trust the website they're using with their bank details. Will that sight protect your identity data properly?

Minimal Fees:

  • There are often no fees to to deposit by a casino but a bank could make charges or restrict payments to online casinos. Bitcoin is decentralized, so no bank can stop someone doing what they want with their money.

  • There is usually a small fee to send bitcoin. This is for maintaining the security of the Bitcoin network.

Increased Speed:

  • Like we outlined in the above image, Bitcoin will arrive at your site within 15 minutes. Withdrawals might take a bit longer to be processed. This is because the online casino must approve the withdrawal first.

What are some of the cons for cryptocurrency?

Not backed by government:

  • The Australian dollar is backed by the government. Cryptocurrencies are only as strong as their infrastructure. If that breaks the whole system goes with it.

Take care with transactions:

  • You need to make sure the address your sending to is correct. There's not middle man like at a bank to retrieve your lost money.

Practice good security:

  • You need to make sure cyber criminals can't get a hold of your cryptocurrency wallet. The same privacy benefits of a cryptocurrency are unfortunately exploited by criminals without the possibility of tracking them down. Here's an article that gives a deeper look into bitcoin and it's blockchain technology if you want to find out more.

Other Transaction Methods are Still Accepted

The usual methods are often still accepted by an online poker room in Australia like credit cards, bank wire transfers, e-wallets, mobile payments and instant banking.

Credit/Debit Cards:

  • Some banks no longer allow transactions to poker sites in Australia but many still do.

  • While some casinos may accept your credit or debit cards, you should consider if this is a suitable option for this type of transaction.

Pre-Paid Cards:

  • Some users don't wan't to use a credit card or e-wallet or might want strict control of their bankroll. These players might use a pre-paid card. These cards are purchased from retail outlets. A player needs to see if cards are suitable for the online casino of their choice.

Bank Wire Transfer:

  • A player gets their bank to arrange a wire transfer. This is a dated method but some poker rooms still accept it.

E-Wallets:

  • Again this method might be used to avoid transiting sensitive banking details to the poker website that is not trusted. A player deposits money from their bank into their e-wallet. Once it's in their e-wallet they can deposit that money into the poker account.

Mobile Payment:

  • This is rare but some online poker sites let players credit their account through a mobile payment operator. Basically a player can deposit money by adding the funds to their monthly phone bill.

Instant Banking:

  • The last on the list is instant banking. It is the same as a wire transfer, but it is sent instantly. A player can seamlessly transfer funds to their poker account.


  • Remember to always gamble responsible and stay in control. If you think you're in trouble, get help. Check out our Responsible Gambling page for some online resources.