Short answer. Yes, where the Acts allow it. Section 70 of the Gaming Machines Act 2001 makes possessing an approved gaming machine an offence unless the holder is one of the persons it lists, and section 64 says how a machine is approved.
Two layers of law answer the question for New South Wales. The State's Unlawful Gambling Act 1998 says which games are unlawful and which forms of gambling the Act leaves alone; the Gaming Machines Act 2001 says who may possess an approved gaming machine and how a machine gets that status. The sections are quoted from the in-force texts on legislation.nsw.gov.au as pulled on 2026-09-12. The Commonwealth Interactive Gambling Act 2001, which reaches online casino services offered to people anywhere in Australia, is quoted on this site's online casino law page and is not repeated here.
What the Act says
Unlawful Gambling Act 1998 (NSW), section 5: which games are unlawful games
(1) For the purposes of this Act, the following games are unlawful games - (a) the games called respectively fan-tan, pak-a-pu, two-up, hazard, baccarat, faro or roulette, or any similar game of chance, (b) any game of chance that is played at a table or with gaming equipment, (c) any game involving the use or operation of a prohibited gaming device, (d) any game that involves the disposal of money by lottery or by chance, (e) any game in which the chances are not alike favourable to all the players, including among the players, the banker or other person (if any) by whom the game is managed or against whom the other players play or bet, (f) any game that involves playing or staking against a bank that does not pass from one participant in the game to another - (i) by chance or by regular rotation among all the participants in the game, and (ii) without any requirement to pay a charge or comply with any other condition, (g) any game with cards or other gaming equipment from which a person receives a percentage or share of the amount wagered, (h) any game of skill or chance, or of mixed skill and chance, in which any money is staked or risked by a person on an event or contingency specified by the person and in which - (i) there is a dealer, croupier or banker who is not a participant in the game while acting in such a capacity, or (ii) a person, other than a participant in the game, receives a payment or other benefit from the playing of the game, or (iii) a payment or other benefit is given or sought for the right to participate in the game or for the right to enter the land or premises on which the game is played.
Section 5 of the Unlawful Gambling Act 1998 (NSW), in-force text on legislation.nsw.gov.au, pulled 12 September 2026.
Section 7: the forms of gambling the Act does not prohibit
This Act does not prohibit any of the following - (a) conducting a totalizator, or conducting any betting activity, under the authority of a licence granted under the Totalizator Act 1997, (a1) processing bets in accordance with section 9A or 9B of the Totalizator Act 1997, (b) conducting or being a participant in a gaming activity (within the meaning of the Community Gaming Act 2018) that is authorised under that Act, (c) conducting or participating in a public lottery (within the meaning of the Public Lotteries Act 1996) that is authorised under that Act, (d) conducting or participating in a game of two-up that is lawful under the Gambling (Two-up) Act 1998, (e) gambling that is declared lawful under the Casino Control Act 1992, (f) keeping or operating an approved gaming machine within the meaning of the Gaming Machines Act 2001 in a hotel or on the premises of a registered club in accordance with that Act, (g) exhibiting any device for promotional purposes if the device - (i) is exhibited by the holder of a dealer's licence or seller's licence within the meaning of the Gaming Machines Act 2001, and (ii) is exhibited with the approval of the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority and in compliance with any conditions to which the approval is subject, and (iii) is designed to be used to play a game that could lawfully be played by means of an approved gaming machine within the meaning of the Gaming Machines Act 2001, and (iv) is not used for the purposes of gambling, (h) the possession, keeping, use or operation of a gaming machine within the meaning of the Gaming Machines Act 2001 in the circumstances referred to in section 8 of that Act. (i) (Repealed)
Section 7 of the Unlawful Gambling Act 1998 (NSW), in-force text on legislation.nsw.gov.au, pulled 12 September 2026.
Section 14: participating in an unlawful game
A person must not participate in, or bet on, an unlawful game. Maximum penalty - 50 penalty units or imprisonment for 12 months (or both).
Section 14 of the Unlawful Gambling Act 1998 (NSW), in-force text on legislation.nsw.gov.au, pulled 12 September 2026.
Section 17: gambling by minors
(1) A minor must not participate in any form of gambling. Maximum penalty - 20 penalty units. (2) A minor may not be imprisoned, or detained in a detention centre, as a consequence of a failure to pay a penalty that is imposed in respect of an offence under this section.
Section 17 of the Unlawful Gambling Act 1998 (NSW), in-force text on legislation.nsw.gov.au, pulled 12 September 2026.
Section 17 of the Unlawful Gambling Act 1998 (NSW) states that a minor must not take part in any type of gambling. It also provides that if a minor is given a penalty for committing this offence and does not pay it, the minor cannot be imprisoned or held in a detention centre because of the failure to pay.
Gaming Machines Act 2001 (NSW), section 70: who may possess an approved gaming machine
(1) A person who is in possession of an approved gaming machine is guilty of an offence unless the person - (a) is the holder of a gaming-related licence, or (b) is a hotelier or club lawfully in possession of the approved gaming machine, or (c) has possession of the approved gaming machine in the ordinary course of a business involving the transportation or storage of goods, or (d) is an inspector exercising functions under this Act, or (e) is in lawful possession of the approved gaming machine as a consequence of its seizure under the authority of a search warrant under section 184.
Section 70 of the Gaming Machines Act 2001 (NSW), in-force text on legislation.nsw.gov.au, pulled 12 September 2026.
Gaming Machines Act 2001 (NSW), section 64: how a machine becomes an approved gaming machine
(1) The Authority may declare that a device referred to in the declaration is an approved gaming machine for the purposes of this Act.
Section 64 of the Gaming Machines Act 2001 (NSW), in-force text on legislation.nsw.gov.au, pulled 12 September 2026.
Section 64 of the Gaming Machines Act 2001 (NSW) provides that the Authority has the power to declare a device specified in its declaration to be an approved gaming machine for the purposes of the Act. This applies only to devices referred to in the declaration and only for the purposes set out in the Act.
Licence status in Australia
None of the sites covered on this site (read here against New South Wales 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.
How to read this page
The quotes are the law as published on the two registers; the line under a quote is our plain reading of it, and the quote is what counts. Penalty amounts sit inside the quoted sections where the Act prints them. This page gives no legal advice and decides no individual case; the section numbers are the reference.
Play responsibly
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