Online pokies are a prohibited interactive gambling service in Australia: section 15 of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 makes it an offence to provide them to customers here, so no online pokies site holds an Australian licence, and none of the sites covered on this site does. The Act's card rule is written for licensed wagering services: section 15C(1A) makes it an offence for them to accept payment by a method listed in subsection (4A) - a credit card, an account linked to a credit card, or digital currency. This page does not list where a card is taken. A bank can block gambling payments on its own cards; how is on the page about bank gambling blocks.
What the Act says
Section 15(1): providing a prohibited service to customers in Australia
(1) A person commits an offence if: (a) the person intentionally provides a prohibited interactive gambling service; and (b) the service has an Australian-customer link (see section 8).
Section 15 of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, compilation in force on 14 October 2024, on legislation.gov.au, pulled 7 September 2026.
Section 15C(1A): card and crypto payments for licensed wagering
(1A) A person commits an offence if the person: (a) intentionally provides a regulated interactive gambling service that is a wagering service; and (b) accepts, or offers to accept, payment in connection with the service using a method mentioned in subsection
Section 15C of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, compilation in force on 14 October 2024, on legislation.gov.au, pulled 7 September 2026.
Section 15C(4A): the payment methods the rule names
(4A) For the purposes of paragraphs (1A)(b) and (3A)(b), the methods of payment are as follows: (a) a credit card; (b) an account, service or facility in which payment is made from a credit card linked to the account, service or facility; (c) digital currency; (d) a method of a kind determined by the Minister by legislative instrument for the purposes of this paragraph.
Section 15C of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, compilation in force on 14 October 2024, on legislation.gov.au, pulled 7 September 2026.
What this does not settle
This page quotes the Act and gives no legal advice. Section 15C is written for licensed wagering services, and the offshore sites covered here hold no Australian licence; section 15, quoted above, is the offence of providing a prohibited interactive gambling service to customers in Australia.
Licence status in Australia
None of the sites on this page about paying by card and the law names an Australian licence; each is an offshore operator as far as Australian law is concerned. The Interactive Gambling Act 2001 and the ACMA's powers under it are quoted on our law page. Amounts are quoted as each operator prints them; nothing is converted to A$.
Play safely
18+ only. Gambling Help Online 1800 858 858 - free, confidential, 24 hours a day, Australia. Self-exclusion register: BetStop.