How Does Live Betting in Australia Work?
Live betting is the most thrilling way to bet on your favourite sports, letting you make informed decisions as the action unfolds. In-play betting means that you have the opportunity to place bets after a game has started, with the odds changing in real time. However, something I need to make really clear here is that online live betting in Australia is not legal under the Interactive Gambling Act.
That means that if you’re looking to find a betting platform that allows you to place bets online during an event, you won’t find it, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t get involved in the excitement. There are a few sportsbooks that will allow bettors to place in-play wagers over the phone, so you’re not entirely limited to pre-match betting.
Our Top Three Sites for Placing In-Play Bets in Australia
So now that we’ve cleared up any confusion around whether live betting in Australia is allowed, let’s talk about other types of bets that you can place. There are a few sportsbooks that allow you to place in-play bets over the phone. This, of course, isn’t the same as live betting online, but it does allow you to react to player performance and other factors that can influence match outcomes. I've compiled a list of the top three sportsbooks that offer this, so let’s take a look at how they compare.
Following its major acquisition and rollout on March 1, 2026, NextBet has successfully absorbed PlayUp and CrossBet into a single unified platform. For live betting fans, this means you can seamlessly check live odds on the app and use its click-to-call feature. Better yet, if you enjoy daily fantasy sports, PlayUp's Draftstars platform is now fully integrated under the NextBet umbrella.
You can either filter the events out using the sport categories or scroll down until you find the game or match that you’re looking for. You’ll also see the available betting markets, and fans of
football betting
can enjoy placing in-play wagers on the final rounds of the FIFA World Cup. Once you’ve found the market and odds you’d like to bet on, go ahead and call the listed number. Make sure that you’ve got your username to hand as you’ll need to quote it to confirm your bet.
NextBet’s live interface makes it easy to track changing match dynamics and shifts in possession before jumping on the phone to lock in your live price. Once you’ve found the market and odds you’d like to bet on, click to call the listed number. Make sure that you’ve got your username handy, as you’ll need to quote it to confirm your bet.
Betr: Live Stream Horse Racing Events
As soon as you land on the Betr homepage, it becomes very clear that
horse racing betting
is their biggest focus, and honestly, we’re not mad about it. To the left, you’ll find racing-specific tabs like ‘Today’s Racing’ and ‘Next Up Racing’ to quickly find upcoming events. If you’re unsure whether the races you’re looking for are covered, just click the ‘All Racing’ drop-down. Or I can just save you some time and tell you that yes, it’s covered since I’ve never found a race yet that Betr didn’t offer.
While horse racing remains Betr's premier focus, its feature set has received a massive upgrade. You no longer need to jump out to external sites for vision; Betr now features Sky Racing 1 & 2 live streaming directly inside the app.
When it comes to phone-based in-play betting, Betr offers a clean, automated interface on select markets. If you prefer multi-leg strategies, their Same Race Multi lets you stack runners to finish in the top 2, 3, or 4, with highly competitive live-tracked data.
Bet365: Enjoy Live Streaming Across Racing and Sports
Fans of in-play betting will definitely want to check out bet365, which offers a massive number of sports, including cricket, international football leagues, tennis, and horse racing. Fans of
NBA betting
will also be pleased to hear that bet365 offers live betting for Australian users on basketball games. While American basketball is deep in its summer offseason right now, bet365's live engine has pivoted entirely to Wimbledon Championships and the FIFA World Cup.
Many of these premium summer sports markets feature live, high-definition video feeds and commentary. Just remember that you can’t live bet online directly through an app in Australia, so you’ll need to place your wagers over a secure voice link. To get access to these live feeds, you need to either have an account balance above zero or have placed a wager within the last 24 hours.
Simply stream your chosen court matches and use the app's Instant Call digital line to bypass human operators and confirm your live bet over an automated voice recognition queue in under five seconds.
How to Place an In-Play Bet
Since Australia has strict regulations on live betting, the process for placing in-play bets over the phone differs slightly. It’s a little bit more complicated than it is in other places, but don’t worry, as I’m about to walk you through the entire process.
Online sportsbooks in Australia offer in-play betting through what’s called the click-to-call method. This means that once you’ve decided what event you’re going to place a bet on, whether that be cricket or perhaps you prefer
greyhound racing betting, you’ll need to call the phone number that’s listed on the site to place your wager. As I said, it is a little bit complicated, so to help you out, I’ve pulled together this handy step-by-step guide for placing in-play bets over the phone:
Step 1: Sign Up for Your Chosen Sportsbook
First things first, you’ll need to choose a betting site from the list above and go ahead and create your account. To do this, simply head to your chosen sportsbook using our links, complete the registration form, verify your account, and you’re good to go.
Step 2: Make a Deposit
You can’t place any type of bet unless you’ve got some funds in your account, so you’ll need to make your initial deposit. Payment methods vary depending on the site you choose. Betr offers a decent range of options, including traditional debit cards, BPAY, PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.
With NextBet, you’ll be able to make a deposit using a variety of local payment options, including PayID, POLi, BPAY, EFT, Apple Pay, and debit cards. bet365 is slightly more limited in its funding options, offering debit cards, PayPal, PayID, and Apple Pay. Across all these sites, the minimum deposit is $10, and the maximum varies by method.
| Betting site |
Available payment methods |
| NextBet |
BPAY, POLi, Visa/ Mastercard (Debit Cards only), bank transfer |
| Betr |
Visa/Mastercard (Debit Cards only), Bank EFT, BPAY, PayID, POLi, Apple Pay, Google Pay |
| bet365 |
Visa/Mastercard (Debit Cards only), Apple Pay, PayPal, PayID |
The defining advantage of premier Australian apps like Picklebet and NextBet is the integration of direct New Payments Platform (NPP) PayID cashouts. By routing approved payouts via automated, real-time security scripts, your winnings completely bypass old-school 48-hour bank clearing queues, landing cash directly into your personal checking account in under 60 seconds flat.
However, high-volume punters must remain aware of institutional retail banking frameworks. While the sportsbook's cashier allows instant outward processing, major domestic banks (including CommBank, Westpac, ANZ, and NAB) enforce strict internal rolling caps—typically $10,000 to $25,000 AUD per 24 hours—for incoming real-time gambling bank transfers. If you score a massive payout on a multi-leg summer accumulator this weekend, wins crossing those threshold boundaries may still be split or held for a brief, manual security review by your bank's local fraud desk before clearing into your spendable balance.
Step 3: Head to the In-Play Betting Section
The next step is to head to the live betting section of your chosen sportsbook. This is usually easy to find via a ‘live betting’ or ‘live sports’ tab. Once here, simply scroll down the list of available odds until you find the market you’d like to bet on. Just keep in mind that since these are live odds, they will change in real time depending on how the game, match, or sporting event is unfolding.
Step 4: Get the Code for Your In-Play Phone Bet
Once you’ve found the odds that you’d like to wager on, you will be given a code number that corresponds to these odds. This is super important as you’ll need to quote this code on the phone when you place your bet. This allows the betting site to know exactly what you’d like to back.
Step 5: Call and Place Your Bet
Now all that’s left to do is call up and place your bet. Find the relevant phone number for the site and give them a call - some sites have live customer support agents while others will use an automated system. Call up, quote your betting code and place your wager. Make sure that you have your account username to hand too, as you will be asked for this.
Top operators now utilise advanced in-app automated voice recognition bots. Instead of waiting on hold for a human operator, the app's click-to-call link seamlessly connects the punter to a secure voice line, where they simply read out the 4-digit code generated on their digital bet slip to lock in the live price in under 5 seconds.
And there you have it! All that’s left to do now is sit back and enjoy the game or event to see how your bet turns out.
Final Thoughts on Live Betting in Australia
Just remember that online live betting in Australia is not allowed; however, there are a few sites that offer bettors the opportunity to place in-play wagers over the phone instead. To place an in-play bet over the phone, simply sign up to your chosen sportsbook, find the odds that you’d like to bet on, call the designated phone number, and place your bet.
Keep in mind that live betting odds tend to change in real time as a match or game unfolds, so it can take a bit of getting used to. If you’re looking for the best sportsbooks to place telephone in-play wagers, then NextBet, Betr, and bet365 are all fantastic options with much to offer, including competitive odds, a range of sports and racing markets, and dedicated mobile apps.
Don't Miss Our Selected Bookies
WHAT ARE YOU REALLY GAMBLING WITH? For free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.All licensed Australian bookmakers are integrated with BetStop - the National Self-Exclusion Register. If you choose to self-exclude, you will be blocked from placing wagers nationwide.
Live Betting in Australia - FAQs
Gamble Responsibly
Playing at online sportsbooks, real money casinos, and sweepstakes sites should always be safe and enjoyable. Keep control of your activity by following
responsible gambling
guidelines such as:
Set a Budget:
Decide on a budget you’re comfortable with and stick to it. Once it’s gone, stop playing.
Don’t Chase Losses:
Trying to recover losses often leads to overspending.
Play with a Clear Head:
Avoid playing under the influence, or when angry, stressed, or tired.
Set Time Limits:
Take breaks and ensure gambling doesn’t cut into time with family or friends.
Know Your Stuff:
Learn the rules, bet types, odds, and payouts before playing to avoid mistakes.
Use Responsible Gambling Tools:
Make use of features like budget limits and self-exclusion.
If you or someone you know is struggling to gamble responsibly, these free, confidential resources can help:
To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by
Nick Slade
as part of our fact-checking process.
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