Aussie online casinos are not exactly legal, and the Government has assigned ACMA with the job of restricting access to offshore brands still operating Down Under. The approach hasn’t worked really well, since ACMA can do so much – like blocking the IP address of the online casino, only to see them launching under a new domain 24 hours later.
What the current approach has actually accomplished is a lack of regulation that ultimately puts players at risk. Without a trustworthy, official iGaming body providing licenses to online casinos who is to say which brand Aussies can trust? Well…we are here to help.
Since players are not really bothered about licenses and just want to play their favourite pokies online, Pokies.bet is striving to keep everyone informed about overseas online casinos offering their services in Oz. You can learn about our review process here, and continue for sites that failed to meet our criteria – ultimately being added to our blacklist.
Our Blacklist: Casinos to Avoid at All Costs
| Brand | Problems |
| Planet 7 Oz | Not paying out players |
| Jokaroom | Hidden company information and unfair terms |
| Jack21 | Hidden owner and operational details |
| Pokie Mate | Terrible reviews online |
| Raging Bull | Unpaid winnings |
| Spinaru | Shut down after big scandal |
| True Blue | Part of a large group of scammy RTG casinos |
| Pokienations | Fake games and refusing to pay out players |
| Bruce Pokies | Manipulated software |
| Royal Oak | Not on Gamstop Casinos |
| XPokies | Closed shop after refusing several payouts |
| 22AUD | Awful website, hidden information, pirated games |
| Majista | False advertising and redirecting to other casinos |
| PlayAUD | False claims, operates without a license |
| Azure Hand | Unlicensed and hidden ownership |
| Jackpot Charm | Not on Gamstop Casinos |
| K9Win | Several user complaints about payouts |
| Crazy Star | Not on Gamstop Casinos |
| Pokie Island | False advertising and redirects |
| Red Lion | Not on Gamstop Casinos |
| Pokizino | Running on fake software |
| Play at Harrys | Not on Gamstop Casinos |
| Lucky Green | Unresponsive support and lack of iGaming license |
| Spinstralia | Pirated games and operates under different domains |
| AllSpark Casino | Closed shop after scamming several Aussie players |
| BetFlip | Not on Gamstop Casinos |
| All Spins Win | Unfair terms and conditions |
| Agent Spins | Not on Gamstop Casinos |
| Robin Roo | Doesn’t disclose the owner |
| Pokie Place | Bad customer support and slow payouts |
| 24 Pokies | Fake games / Affiliated with Baron Group |
| ThePokies.net | Pirated games |
| House of Jack | Shut down after operating without any official details |
| Pokies Lounge | Irregular registration process via agents |
| Q7 Online Pokies | Wild West Telegram casino |
| Golden Pokies | Unlicensed and hidden ownership |
| WPokies | Manipulated games |
| Player7Club | Telegram casino with zero regulation |
| Pokie Surf | Fake games |
As you can see, the above brands have found themselves on our blacklist for various reasons. By no stretch is this list complete, since thousands of online casinos operate in Australia, and about 10% of those are worth their salt. We work around the clock to review each and share our thoughts.
For now, you can also check ACMA’s blocked gambling websites list. However, they don’t assess brands using reasonable criteria like us and simply block any domain that falls within their radar. It’s their job at the end of the day, but that doesn’t help you distinguish between good and bad casinos as a player.
Further, the ACMA blacklist mainly includes the same domain x 30 times, since brands it blocks resurface under a similar domain. For instance:
- allspinswin.com
- allspinswin248.com
- allspinswin263.com
- allspinswin278.com
- allspinswin293.com
- allspinswin308.com
- allspinswin514.com
- allspinswin713.com
An even more absurd example:
- fairgo.casino
- fairgo.co
- fairgo4u.com
- fairgoau.com
- fairgoaud.com
- fairgoaussie.com
- fairgocasino.com
- fairgocasinoau.com
- fairgocasino-au.com
- fairgocasinoaud.com
- fairgocasinobonuses.com
- Fairgoforyou.com
- fairgofun.com
- fairgogames.com
- fairgojackpots.com
- fairgolive.com
- fairgonow.com
- fairgoonline.com
- fairgoplus.com
- fairgoslots.com
- fairgowins.com
FYI, both the above brands are still well and kicking under their new domains, so kudos ACMA. Even worse, FairGo Casino is actually a great website operating with a valid Curacao license and powered by RTG. They have been paying players without issues for years, and Deckmedia N.V. has been successfully running the brand to this day. On the other hand, AllSpinsWins is a truly rogue operator that will take your money and run away any day of the week.
That’s why we have created our blacklist, to ensure you get a valid assessment of brands and find an accurate list of operators to avoid.
Report a Casino
If you are having problems with a casino you can let us know here. As a first step, we will try and help you resolve the issue, and if nothing works we will blacklist them to at least protect other players from getting scammed.
If the casino in question is already blacklisted, you can contact us to help you gamble safely in the future.
About the Pokies.bet Blacklist
The list of online casinos provided on this page should always be checked before joining a new casino. Aussie players love to hunt new brands to claim massive bonuses, but it is important to not randomly select operators you will be trusting with your money. Even we often find it challenging to distinguish a rogue operator, so we get how much harder it might be for the untrained eye.
Although online gambling isn’t legal in Australia, overseas online casinos still accept players who are glad to spend some money to play pokies. Instead of simply telling you to just visit the nearest casino, we actively review brands to help you distinguish between solid and untrustworthy operators. We never promote operators that have engaged in questionable practices, so you could simply select brands we advertise without second thoughts. In any case, you should not find yourself anywhere near any of the blacklisted casinos.
Reasons We Blacklist Casinos
An online casino might be blacklisted for one too many reasons. The criteria are also dynamic, depending on the jurisdiction you are gambling from. For instance, we would never recommend a Curacao-licensed casino in the UK, since 500+ gambling sites hold official licenses from the UKGC. On the other hand, Aussie online casinos cannot do any better than an eCuracao permit.
With that in mind, here are the most usual reasons online casinos make it to our blacklist:
No official license
Online casinos licensed by Curacao are the only ones who dare to operate in Oz. This license is quite easy to obtain and doesn’t say much, yet it is better than no license. That’s because licensed brands disclose their owners and have at least passed a yearly test proving the legitimacy of their banking methods and games.
A license is even more important in other countries since the iGaming authorities act as mediators between casinos and players in the case of a dispute. Here, you are left alone if something goes wrong, so this is something to consider when choosing an operator to play at.
Pirated games and software
This is less common, however, we’ve seen a fair amount of brands operating with fake games. The challenge with this is that the pirated games seem and operate similarly to the original titles powered by the respective iGaming vendors, even when they are not.
Our team goes to extreme lengths to spot if the games at a casino we review are the official titles. For instance, we check that all Pragmatic Play pokies have the replay feature, which cannot be replicated with fake software.
Another sign of dodgy software is the inclusion of games that are not typically available Down Under. For instance, Aristocrat pokies are exclusively offered at physical venues, while Konami pokies are primarily offered at US online casinos. If we see a nobody website featuring these titles, chances are they use fake versions.
Why you shouldn’t play rigged games for real money should not require any further elaboration.
Refusing or delaying payouts
An online casino might delay payouts for valid reasons, like failure to pass KYC checks or when a player hasn’t completed the wagering requirements or met the minimum withdrawal limit. When such issues are not apparent, the online casino should pay out within 5 days, with up to 15 for Wire Transfers at most.
Nonetheless, many brands simply find excuses to delay payouts or outrightly remove funds from the users’ accounts. If we see evidence of this happening, it’s an instant block from us.
Long processing times are something we tolerate if payments are processed at the end of the day, but we assign negative rankings in this area during our reviews.
Lack of customer service
Every online casino has a live chat these days. The quality of the service is what matters, and something we always assess during our reviews. If a casino representative takes ages to get back to our queries or isn’t accommodating, we will tell you.
More serious breaches like completely ignoring or finding excuses to not help you with payments or problems caused by the casino’s side are not accepted and lead to a block from Pokies.bet.
Predatory terms
Some legit online casinos that end up on our blacklist tend to trick players through sneaky terms. Although users casually accept the terms of service during registration, unpleasant surprises at the withdrawal stage are not uncommon.
We don’t wait for the tragedy to happen and proactively read each casino’s T&Cs in detail. If we spot huge bonus wagering requirements, massive payout fees, too high minimum or too low maximum withdrawal limits, restrictions on progressive jackpot wins, vague terms about strategies, etc. – we don’t recommend an operator. If their terms are not just unfair but outrightly a scam, we blacklist them.
The Warning Signs
I have deducted a few points from the reasons we blacklist online casinos to help you quickly assess a brand you encounter for the first time. Actively look for the following signs before joining any online casino:
- Games by Aristocrat, Konami, Playtech, and NetEnt available in their Aussie lobbies.
- 50x bonus wagering requirements or over.
- Too good to be true deposit matches or no deposit bonuses.
- Registration through a 3rd party site like Inclave or Telegram.
- Various negative reviews by other players.
- No company or licensing information on the website footer or T&Cs page.
- Complicated or impossible to find rules.
- Unprofessional or sketchy-looking websites and interfaces.
- Live chat that is unresponsive or uses bots.
- A$200+ minimum withdrawal limits.
- Below A$500 per day maximum withdrawal limits or payouts tied to VIP level.
- Crypto-only banking methods.
- Proprietary/in-house developed games.
- A casino associated with a brand we have blacklisted.
If you are unsure about a casino we haven’t yet reviewed, you can simply send us an email and we will do the legwork for you.
Examples of Blacklisted Aussie Casinos
I could spend days going through examples of blacklisted online casinos since so many exist in markets without an official body safeguarding players’ interests. That’s the case Down Under and in the US. New Zealand is slightly better, since MGA and UKGC brands legally operate there, even offshore.
To give you some background of our thought process, I have included two prime examples of operators that rightfully earned a spot on our blocked casinos list:
‘Casinos Not on Gamstop’
These brands include several operators from our blacklist, like Play at Harry’s and Betflip. Not on Gamstop brands are actively promoted on websites targeting a very particular audience from the UK and Australia who have registered on Gamstop to protect themselves from excessive gambling. Of course, they go against various other assessment criteria, but explicitly ignoring lists designed to protect players and even actively engaging them is despicable.
‘ThePokies.net’
This brand deserves to be on our blacklist for various reasons. For one, thePokies.net fails to pay players in various cases, with player reports stating that the winnings suddenly vanished from their accounts or they got blocked after submitting a request. Their site looks fake, without any informational pages or valid T&Cs. Even worse, the brand is filled with popular physical pokies machines that you cannot find anywhere else except on their site. How convenient is that? The saddest part is that casinos like ThePokies.net are actually pretty popular, and so many players end up scammed as a result.
How to Gamble Safely Online
The easiest way to gamble safely is to find an online casino without any of the warning sites and with overwhelmingly positive reviews. All the brands we list on our promotional banners fit that description.
Your next best bet is to always start with small deposits, ensuring you lose minimal amounts in case things go south.
And remember to only sign up at online casinos that meet the following criteria:
- Encrypted website and detailed privacy policy rules.
- User-friendly sign-up process and website.
- Optimized mobile casino site.
- Games sourced by reputable companies like BGaming, Yggdrasil, Evolution, Nolimit, and Betsoft.
- Bonuses for new and existing players with reasonable terms and conditions.
- Fair payment limits, with deposits starting at A$5 minimum or up to A$20.
- Withdrawals are processed instantly or within 48 hours.
- Several customer support gateways with quick response times.
- Prominently featuring their license, company name, and address.
- Responsible gambling tools, support links, and features to limit your play.
Our dedicated casino reviews cover every area in detail, so you can skim through them to find the right casino for your needs.
Submit a Complaint About Our List
If you are an operator we have blacklisted, we would love to hear from you.
Our blacklist is in place to help Aussie players gamble online safely, but we are not immune to error. Certain brands get blacklisted based on user complaints we receive, so there is a chance we could have wronged you.
Likewise, if your casino is now under a different ownership and wants to start over, we could discuss whether you deserve to be removed from our blacklist or at least inform our readers about the changes.
Simply submit a request on this page and we will assess it as soon as possible.
FAQs
Why should I avoid these sites?
Online casinos that end up on our blacklist tend to have unfair terms and conditions, features that don’t check out, and various negative user reviews for unpaid winnings, lack of customer service, or similar. Unless you enjoy getting scammed, you should not play at these casinos.
Do casinos get off our blacklist?
If an online casino changes course due to new management or rebranding and has performed outstandingly for 1 year +, we might consider removing them from our blacklist. This is something we always explore on a case-by-case basis.
Does a single casino affect the whole group?
In most cases, a blacklisted online casino will affect the ratings we assign to all casinos owned by the same company. That’s the case at least with Not on Gamstop Casinos and brands owned by the Virtual Casino Group, which went rogue at the same time. In any case, if we see the same owner of a blacklisted operator at a new casino we are reviewing, we will go to extreme lengths to assess its validity.
What to do if I already play at a blacklisted casino?
If you are already playing at a blacklisted casino, you should try to withdraw your winnings in small increments. By no chance should you make future deposits. Even if the casino has previously paid you, it most likely won’t if you win any sizeable amount.
How can I spot a casino that doesn’t pay out?
An online casino that doesn’t pay out might have complicated or no banking terms, limited payment options, no official license, and several complaints. A rogue casino might even look great at face value, which is why you should only trust recommended brands from our experts.
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Why Trust Us?
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Pokies.bet operates with your interest in mind, and we would never recommend a brand we wouldn’t trust with our money. You can learn more about our team and values to put your mind at ease.
- About the Author
- Affiliate Disclosure
Michael has reviewed and verified all information on this page. Having worked in the iGaming industry for over 8 years, he is the most capable person to help you navigate online casinos, pokies, and the Australian gambling landscape.
