Northern Territory gambling laws: why so many bookmakers hold an NT licence

Northern Territory gambling laws: two very different jobs

Northern Territory gambling laws do two jobs. The first is local: pubs, clubs, two casinos and the tote, for a population of about 199,000 adults. The second is national: the NT licenses a large share of the online bookmakers that Australians use, so a punter in Melbourne or Perth may well be betting with an NT-licensed company.

The NT bookmaker licence

An NT bookmaker licence is a sports bookmaker licence granted under the Racing and Wagering Act 2024, and it lets the holder take bets on racing, approved sporting events and declared novelty events. Applications go to the Northern Territory Wagering Commission, which describes its role as regulating the wagering industry and promoting integrity, transparency and accountability. After recent changes to the 2024 Act, the NT racing industry itself is regulated separately.

The NT Government lists what an applicant must provide or do:

1. Fingerprint checks on all directors, major shareholders and key personnel.
2. A bank guarantee of up to $250,000, lodged after approval and before the licence is issued.
3. The latest audited financial statements and a 3-year business plan.
4. Knowledge of NT racing rules and regulations.
5. Approval of its wagering system by Licensing NT, and approval of its terms and conditions.
6. A local nominee and an inspection of local premises.
7. Responsible gambling training for key employees.
8. Registration with BetStop, the national self-exclusion register.

The application fee is non-refundable, and the operator cannot start trading until the Commission confirms its conditions are met. Key people need their own key person licence.

Who holds an NT licence

The Commission publishes a list of licensed wagering operators. When we read it in October 2026 (last modified 22 June 2026), it named more than 40 trading names under about 20 companies, including:

Some companies hold many brands, and some listed brands are marked as not currently trading. A brand on this list is a licensed Australian bookmaker; a brand that is not on any Australian register is not. Our betting sites in Australia guide explains how to check, and our page on offshore betting sites covers what you lose without a licence.

What an NT licence means for you

The licence brings the national consumer rules with it, wherever you live:

• your bookmaker must be registered with BetStop, so you can exclude yourself from all licensed bookmakers at once
• it cannot take online in-play bets on sport, or deposits by credit card or crypto
• if a dispute is not resolved by the bookmaker, you can refer a complaint about an NT-licensed bookmaker or betting exchange to the NT Wagering Commission
• the NT Government also offers temporary self-exclusion from a sports bookmaker or betting exchange

Tax follows the customer, not the licence. Each state charges its own point of consumption tax on bets placed by its residents, for example 15% in NSW and 25% in the ACT, so an NT-licensed bookmaker pays tax to every state its customers live in. We could not find a separate Territory point of consumption tax in the Territory Revenue Office's list of its main revenue Acts. For how your own winnings are treated, see our gambling tax in Australia guide.

Pokies in the NT

NT pubs and clubs can run gaming machines within fixed limits:

Territorians lost $159 million on club and hotel machines in 2024-25, or $798 per adult, in the national gambling statistics. Across all forms of legal gambling, NT adults spent $1,869 each, second only to NSW and well above the national average of $1,528. For how machines decide each result, see how pokies work.

Casinos in the NT

The Territory has two casinos, each run under an operator's agreement with the NT Government:

• Mindil Beach Casino and Resort, Darwin
• Lasseters Hotel Casino, Alice Springs

Together they took $113.51 million from players in 2024-25, according to the national statistics.

Online casinos and the NT

An NT licence is a wagering licence. It does not cover online pokies, blackjack or roulette, which the federal Interactive Gambling Act 2001 bans for everyone in Australia. If a site shows an NT licence alongside online pokies, that licence does not cover those games. Our guide on whether online pokies are legal in Australia explains the federal ban, and gambling laws in Australia compares every jurisdiction.

Help in the NT

Amity Community Services runs NT Gambling Support on 08 8944 6565. Gambling Help Online is on 1800 858 858, BetStop on 1800 238 786 and Lifeline on 13 11 14, all listed by the NT Government.

Related reading

Guide WA WA is the only state with no poker machines in pubs and clubs. Electronic gaming machines exist in one place, the Perth casino, and since December 2025 every player there needs a card with time and loss limits. Read more Guide SA SA limits every venue to 40 pokies, bans $100 notes in machines and makes larger venues use facial recognition to spot barred gamblers. Here is how gambling in SA is regulated and what changed at the casino in 2026. Read more Guide Malta licence An MGA licence comes from a well-known European regulator, which is why fake MGA claims are common. Here is how to check one, what the MGA can do for players, and why it does not make a casino legal in Australia. Read more Guide Queensland Queensland caps pokies per venue and statewide, rewrote its casino law in 2024 to force carded play, and charges bookmakers a 20% betting tax, above the 15% most states use. Here is how it all works. Read more Guide Tasmania Tasmania caps pokies bets at $5, keeps note acceptors out of pubs and clubs and sets an 87% minimum return. A plan for a mandatory player card was deferred in 2024. Here is how gambling in Tasmania is regulated. Read more Guide Victoria Victoria passed a carded play law in 2025, already makes Crown players use a card with loss limits, and caps every venue at 105 machines. Here is what the rules are, who enforces them and what is still being rolled out. Read more