Best 10 Online Lottery in Australia 2023/2024 🇦🇺

Best Australian Online Lottery Sites 2023/2024

The lottery is loved in Australia for its fun and the enormous potential winnings that players can get. Accessibility from numerous providers is also a key factor for lottery popularity in Australia. Most recently, the internet has made it easier for players to access lotteries without making the trip to the ticket seller.

Australia has a population of around 25.9 million people. In 2018, about 10.6 million adults (18+) gambled. Of these, 8.6 million (~44%) purchased a lottery ticket. That is a strong indicator of the popularity of lotteries in the country.

The price of tickets is also a key incentive. The $1 lottery ticket is listed in an article titled 'Why we play the lottery despite knowing we will not win.' Huge jackpots and the thrill of near misses are also named as incentives in the article.

Australia's history of lotteries

The history of lotteries in Australia is very much pegged to an immigrant known as George Adams. Adams left England for Australia in 1881, then aged 16. After doing several jobs, he turned to the betting business and started by taking bets on horses.

The government was unhappy with him and made it difficult for him to do business. He then moved to the Australian state Island of Tasmania. Here, he convinced the government to adopt a lottery known as Tattersall, which is still up and running today.

Lottery returns to the Mainland

After 77 years of success, the government of Victoria approached Tattersall to bring the lotto to the mainland. The first draw was the Saturday Lotto on 24th June 1972. A Tattersall building was constructed on St Kilda Road, Melbourne.

It had hundreds of employees who matched winning coupons with carbon copies before payouts were made. Other states soon followed in establishing lotteries, with the New South Wales introducing Monday and Wednesday Lotto draws on 5th November 1979.

In 1932, the Western Australia area had established the Lotteries Commission of Western Australia to run a lottery in the region. The statutory body took up its mandate immediately. Its first distribution of grants was made in 1933. It was later renamed Lotterywest and continues to serve the region today.

The National Lotto

The regulatory bodies of respective areas continued to evolve throughout the 80s and 90s as the popularity of lotteries grew. Tattersall introduced Tuesday, and Thursday Powerball draws in 1994 and 1996. All states reached an agreement to have all the draws in common.

This would see draws happen for five days every week. That saw the birth of 'National Lotto Draws.' Automation of coupon registration was necessary to cater to the increased number of players in each lottery. This was leased out to external companies.

Lottery nowadays in Australia

The lottery is still very much alive and popular in Australia today.
Lottery Australia is offered in three forms:

State government-owned lottery
Not-for-profit Australia Lotto
Private sector companies' lottery

The main state-government-owned operators are Lotterwest and Tattersall (Tatts Group). Lotterwest runs the lotto in Western Australia while Tatts Group takes charge of the rest of the country - Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia, New South Wales, and the Northern Territory. Other players include the Lottery Office, Intralot Australia, Jumbo Interactive (Publicly listed), and Netlotto (private company).

Modern casino in Australia is continuously moving to the online front. Most of the traditional casinos have established online versions of themselves. Lottery Office and Netlotto are leaders in the online lotto sector. Netlotto resells tickets from other lotteries.

The growth of online ticket sales has enabled many more people to enter the gaming fray. It has also allowed people to play much more easily in lotteries that they would typically not access due to distance restrictions. The Coronavirus-enforced restrictions made the online gaming model even more entrenched.

Future of lottery in Australia

Like many other daily human activities, the future of the lottery in Australia is heavily affected by the internet. Buying tickets online is quickly becoming the main avenue and is likely to continue. Where people initially used to wait for live draws on TV, they are now more likely to follow them through live streams on websites and social media sites.

The lottery will become even more liberalized now that people can play more easily outside their states. The dream of the National Lotto has reached its peak due to the online nature of the lottery.

With the relaxed nature of licensing, the country is also likely to see more players interested in joining the field as lottery providers. However, the success of this will depend on the laws that the country puts in place as a reaction to the changing lottery environment.

Are lotteries legal in Australia?

Yes, lotteries are legal in Australia. They have been allowed by the law for a long time. However, all lotteries need to work under a legal framework. This framework is changed from time to time in response to the evolving lottery market in Australia worldwide. E.g. in response to the introduction of online lottery.

Lottery legislation in Australia

Most of the laws that regulate lotteries in Australia are enforced by state governments. The license fees are specific to these regions, and so are the number of licenses. In Tasmania, for example, the Department of Treasury and Finance is the body that regulates lotteries.

In Western Australia, The Department of Racing, Gaming, and Liquor is the body mandated with this task. Business Queensland is responsible for the same in Queensland.

Australian laws allow players to play in lotteries outside their states. The Interactive Gambling Act (2001) bans lottery betting. This means that players should not bet on the outcomes of foreign lotteries. However, they can buy tickets and participate in those lotteries. This is done through the Lottery Office, a private company. Players purchase tickets from The Lottery Office, which in turn buys matching tickets in the overseas lotteries.

Lottery winnings are not taxed in Australia. However, it is a requirement that one declares any winnings received when filing tax returns. Tickets in most parts of the country are only sold to persons of 18 years or more, except in Western Australia, where the legal age is 16 years.

Lottery acts in Australia

The oldest lottery act in Australia is the Lotteries Act of 1964. It is still operational in 2021, albeit with numerous amendments over the years. It was amended in 1999, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2015, 2016, and most recently in 2021. The act amendments envisage evolutions in the lottery industry.

The high number of recent amendments has been necessitated by a fast-changing environment in online gaming. For instance, when online gaming was first introduced, there were no video streams, which are now available.

Individual states also have legislation acts separately from those of the Federal government. For instance, New South Wales has the Lotteries Act 2019 to regulate lotteries in its territory. State acts that regulate lottery online should not contradict federal acts.

Australian players' favorite lottery games

Over eight million lotto players mean that the games are widely popular in the country. That said, the players often show a common bias in favor of some games.

Sometimes there may be a wave that draws players towards a particular lottery, e.g. when the jackpot is massive or when there is a charity lottery that appeals to many people. But the attention soon returns to the favorite games where interest is determined by factors like odds and the cost of tickets.

The main lottery games in Australia are keno, Powerball, TattsLotto, Oz Lotto, Trackside, The Lottery Office, Lucky Lotteries, Set For Life, and scratch-its.

Perennially popular lotteries

In Australia lottery, there are draws that are more popular than others. Basically, players in Australia prefer a 6/45 lotto. Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday Lotto fall into this category and are thus widely popular.

Despite being a 7/45 game, Oz Lotto is by a distance Australia's most popular lottery. Although the odds are very high, the lottery's jackpot is big and has earned praise as the best online lottery site. Oz lotto tickets are also cheap. These two factors have also made Powerball a very popular lottery.

Lottery payment methods in Australia

Lottery payment methods fall into two categories: paying for tickets and claiming winnings.

Buying tickets

There are methods available for both online and physical purchases to purchase tickets. Cash payment is still popular for physical tickets, where tickets go for as low as AU$1 loose change.

Online methods are, however, becoming more and more popular. Locally popular methods like Send, TorFX, XE transfer, OFX, Transferwise, World Remit, and World First are also popular.

For their convenience, credit cards are widely popular on the best lottery sites too. They allow players to purchase tickets without having to provide too much information. They are fast and can be used without too much 'noise' of bank transactions. They are also free to use in most cases, with no additional charges beyond the ticket price. The same convenience contributes to the popularity of mobile payments.

International payment methods like PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, MasterCard, and Visa are also used on a lesser scale. Bank wire transfers are the least popular.

Receiving payments

For small wins in games like Keno, players can receive their money on local methods like mobile phones and e-wallets. However, huge wins and jackpots are sent to bank accounts. Oz lotto also has an option of providing a bank account where winnings can be deposited if a player forgets/does not claim them.

FAQs

Which laws regulate lottery in Australia?

State governments create laws to govern a large part of the lotteries in their territories. There is also the Lotteries Act 1964, which regulates lotteries countrywide.

What is the legal age to play the lottery in Australia?

The minimum age to purchase lottery tickets is 16 years in Western Australia and 18 years in the rest of the country.

Are lottery winnings taxed in Australia?

No, lottery winnings are not taxed. Players are, however, required to declare winnings when filing tax returns.

Is it legal to play an overseas lottery in Australia?

Yes. Different states have different formats to do this. Some require players to buy overseas tickets through the Lottery Office. Lottery gambling (betting on the outcomes of overseas lotteries) is illegal.

Can I buy lottery tickets online in Australia?

Yes. Most providers now have online models to run entire lotteries.

Which lotteries can I play in Australia?

Australia lotto has a variety of state-owned, private, and non-private lotteries. Players can participate in Keno, Powerball, Oz Lotto, and Lottery office, among others.

Best Online lotteries in Australia 2023/2024