Sectors
Skill-based Gaming
Our skill-based gaming specialists provide expert regulatory advice on Australia’s gaming landscape, offering guidance on compliance, new products, and practical solutions to navigate complex legal requirements.
The application of Australian gambling law to skill-based games involves a patchwork of federal, state and territory laws and regulations.
Do skill-based games involve gambling under Australian law?
The application of Australian gambling law to skill-based games involves a patchwork quilt of federal, state and territory laws and regulations. For example, while genuinely skill-based games may not be considered “gambling” under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (Cth), skill games and/or competitions with no element of chance, may be treated as gambling by state and territory gambling regulators. There has been limited consideration by the Australian courts of what constitutes a skill-based game but it is clear that the outcome of a game must genuinely be determined by skill as opposed to chance. The legal status of skill-based esports tournaments involving entry fees raises a number of complex legal and regulatory considerations (as an example).
Skill-based gaming machines (which are a mixture of skill and chance) are starting to emerge in casinos both internationally and in Australia; however, regulatory approvals have been slow to date. This is in part due to the lack of research available to regulators to understand the impact skill-based games have in exacerbating gambling harm. Those that have operated to date have been regulated in a ‘sandbox’ approach.
A regulatory sandbox is a safe harbour, where business can test concepts under relaxed regulatory conditions in a controlled environment. In addition to sparking industry innovation, sandboxes can be a vehicle to advance smarter responsible gambling initiatives and outcomes.
Furthermore, if these games are not entirely skill-based (that is, there is an element of chance), then they will be subject to the relevant gaming laws at both state, territory and/or federal level.
How our team can help you
Senet are legal and regulatory gaming experts with a deep understanding of skill-based gaming in Australia. Our legal and regulatory specialists work with current and prospective market entrants to provide pragmatic and coherent advice in relation to permissible and prohibited products and services and requirements to comply with the legal and regulatory obligations across each state and territory in Australia. Our team frequently advises operators on:
Technologies and any potential gambling law and regulatory implications
Investigations and/or potential breaches or gambling laws and regulations
Terms and conditions
Contractual arrangements
Engagement with regulators
Regulatory sandbox arrangements
Get in touch for a complete range of gambling law and advisory services
FAQ
Skill-based Gambling Knowledge
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Skill-based games and competitions with no element of chance fall within a complex area of law in Australia. Although they may not be captured within the definition of gambling in the key federal statute, the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (Cth), they may be captured under some state and territory gambling laws. This needs to be approached carefully and on a state-by-state basis.
As an example, the State of Queensland’s legal framework provides for an interactive gaming licensing regime that extends to skill-based games offered online
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As a general rule, social games (no prize money) and skill games (no element of chance) are not classified as being a gambling activity and, as such, are not generally regulated under the relevant gambling laws. Skill games with no element of chance may however, when operated online, fall within certain ‘interactive gaming’ regimes regulated by State and Territory gambling regulators. For completeness, we note that betting on fantasy sports in Australia is typically offered pursuant to a Corporate Bookmaker Licence.