Betting on various sporting or entertainment events has been around for centuries. People have probably competed with each other in predicting the results as early as the Stone Age.

The stakes were different, of course, and there were no odds, but simple bets like “Who can throw the javelin the farthest?” are very likely.

 

Sports betting as we know it today is known to have existed as early as ancient Rome, when you could predict and bet on gladiators, horse races, etc.

In recent centuries, sports betting has gained popularity and has mostly been an illegal activity associated with organized crime.

Of course, there are exceptions and countries where it has not been banned. More cunning countries have used the popularity of betting to increase their state coffers.

In recent decades, with the advent of the internet, major changes have also occurred in sports betting.

Sports betting online

The first sports betting portals were opened in the mid-90s. One of the most popular at the time was Unibet sports betting.

After the turn of the millennium, online betting became hugely popular and this caused a major headache for many countries, some of which still do. For example, Finland still lacks regulation and a large part of its people’s money flows into the tax money of other countries.

Malta was one of the first countries to legalize online sports betting in the European Union, and it is now one of the most important economic sectors in the small island nation.

 

Australia legalized sports betting in 2010 and it was done well. The tax rate is reasonable and Australian players don’t look too far outside the borders.

However, there are examples where national regulation is too “safe” and players are looking for better odds elsewhere. For example, in Latvia, the problem is the tax issue, where a player has to pay income tax if the annual payout exceeds AUD3,000. It doesn’t matter whether you win or lose. Therefore, players are looking for other options.

Sports betting in Australia

The first online sports betting portal in Australia was spordiennustus.ee.

However, at the beginning of 2006, an international competitor, Triobet, entered the market, and many chose Triobet with its larger selection and higher odds.

Triobet had no competitors and attracted a large number of players. In 2010, the situation changed when Olybet launched its own site.

Triobet’s name today is Betsafe and it continues to be one of the most popular sports betting portals in Australia.

Sports betting sites in Australia as of 2025:

The best sports betting or how to find the best portal for you?

Actually, it’s not very complicated. There are only a handful of sports betting portals operating in Australia that offer very good sports betting.

The rest use third-party systems and support. They work for placing some bets, but if you want to bet seriously, you should choose a portal that offers decent odds, fast customer support, and reasonable betting limits.

Our list ranks sports bets according to:

• Odds level
• Odds selection
• Livebet selection
• Live stream available

Of course, all of these factors are personal.

• Some portals offer higher odds, for example, on the final result of a game, while others offer higher odds on the Asian handicap.
• Some have high odds, but the live betting selection is poor.
• Some people want to watch the event live while betting, or use a live stream, etc.

Our list has been compiled in such a way that we have taken all these factors into account and identified the best on average.

The five best sports betting sites in Australia:

What are odds and how are they obtained?

Odds, surprise surprise, are actually percentages that determine the chance of a choice being made.

The easiest way is to make an example. For example, Anett Kontaveit and Kaia Kanepi meet.

The oddsmaker rates Kontaveid’s chances of success at 60% and Kaia Kanepi’s chances at 40%.

Now, before calculating the odds from this, we also need to take the profit from the sportsbook offering the odds. Since this is a relatively risk-free match, let’s say the profit target is 5%. In this case, 2.5% is added to both participants. We get 62.5% for Kontaveit and 42.5% for Kanep.

Now comes the formula for calculating the coefficient, which is 100/%, or in our case 100/62.5%= 1.60 and Kanepi coefficient 100/42.5%= 2.35

Voila. In sports betting, you will find betting opportunities like this. You bet on Kontaveid with odds of 1.60 and on Kanep with odds of 2.35. For example, if you bet AUD100 on Kontaveid, you will be paid out AUD160, or a net profit of AUD60.

And if you want to convert the odds to a percentage, you simply need 100/odds = percentage chance of winning.

Coolbet sports betting

Coolbet is not a very old portal. They started their operations in 2016 and are going very strong.

Coolbet’s motto is to hide nothing from the customer and to offer the best odds. They are one of the last so-called real bookmakers in the world to have recently opened their doors.

There are very few bookmakers left where the odds are developed and risk is monitored by a single company.

When it comes to odds, Coolbet is the site with the best odds in Australia. It is true that the best odds are only offered on the winner of the game selection, but most players bet on that.

Coolbet is nothing special when it comes to live betting. The service is partially bought in, but it’s still up to par.

Unibet sports betting

Unibet is one of the oldest sports betting sites in Europe. It opened its doors in 1998. In our opinion, it is also one of the best sports betting sites in Australia. The selection of places to bet on is really great. Plus, great odds and live betting.

Another big advantage of Unibet is the presence of live streams. Not only that it is available, but there is also a huge number of games. For example, you can watch all the tennis Grand Slam tournaments and many other events live on Unibet.

Unibet had its own in-house sports betting, but years ago it was spun off and a company called Kambi was created, which then offers the same sports betting platform to other casinos and sportsbooks. For example, Paf uses it in Australia.

Bet365 sports betting

This is the world’s largest sports betting portal. The level is quite incredible. Bet365 does everything in-house and also sells their service to others. For example, their live betting product can be found at many other sports betting sites. You could say that there is Bet365 and others are following suit, especially when it comes to odds.

As mentioned, Bet365 livebet is one of the best in the world and of course they have also invested in showing live streams in Australia. This is a hugely expensive service, especially considering that they do not do any work to promote themselves in Australia. Those who want to bet know that Bet365 is the best.

One thing that is grumbling about Bet365 is that they tend to limit winning customers, meaning that the maximum winning amounts are reduced.

Betsafe sports betting

Betsafe is the oldest Australian sports betting portal. It was launched in 2006 under the name Triobet. In 2016, it was rebranded and renamed Betsafe.

Betsafe is a decent sportsbook, although in our opinion it lacks in usability – the page colors make navigation a bit difficult. The odds level is very good and there is a lot of choice. Local odds are also offered nicely. As with the other sportsbooks described above, Betsafe also has its own team that takes care of the odds and risk. So there should be no complications when betting.

Epicbet Sports & Casino

The dark horse of our sports portals is Epicbet Sport & Casino. Epicbet is expected to become one of the most unique online casino and sports event brokers in Australia.

Their sister brand ReSpin has already made its mark, so there is no reason to doubt that EpicBet can also create added value for players.

In conclusion

There are very good sports betting portals in Australia and it is not necessary to look abroad. Of course, there are also Pinnacle and Betfair, which to some extent give better odds, but is it worth taking the risk? In sports betting sites with a gambling license in Australia, the player’s money and safety are guaranteed.

Everyone makes their own choice of betting site, but we definitely recommend checking out our list of which portal offers the best service and the best odds.