Do Australians Pay Tax on Casino Winnings? The ATO Position
General information, not tax advice. This page explains how the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) generally treats gambling winnings. It is not personal tax advice and does not take your circumstances into account. Rules and their application change, and edge cases exist. Before you act on anything here, speak to a registered tax agent or your accountant.
Short Answer
For an ordinary, recreational player the answer is straightforward: no, you do not pay tax on gambling winnings in Australia. The ATO treats a casino, pokies or table-game win as a windfall — the product of luck — rather than as assessable income you earned. Because it is not income, you do not include it on your tax return and you do not pay income tax on it. That covers the vast majority of Australians who play for fun, whether the win came from a local venue or an online site.
There is one trade-off baked into this rule, and one practical caution. The trade-off is that your losses are not deductible either — you cannot claim a bad run against your other income. The caution is that while the winnings themselves are not taxed, the ATO can still ask you to explain where large deposits into your bank account came from, so keeping records of sizable withdrawals is sensible. The rest of this page unpacks each of those points.
In one line: recreational winnings = a tax-free windfall (not declared); recreational losses = not deductible; running gambling as a genuine business = the rare exception where different rules apply.
Why the ATO Treats Winnings as a Windfall
Australian income tax attaches to assessable income — broadly, money you earn from working, running a business, or holding income-producing assets. A gambling win does not fit any of those categories for a normal player. You did not perform a service, sell anything, or apply a business system; you placed a bet and chance decided the outcome. Long-standing ATO practice and Australian case law treat that kind of receipt as a windfall gain, which sits outside the income tax net.
There is also a logical symmetry that explains why the ATO holds this line. If the government taxed every winning bet as income, it would face strong pressure to allow every losing bet as a deduction. Because gambling is, in aggregate, a losing activity for players, letting people deduct their losses would cost the revenue far more than taxing the occasional win would raise. Keeping recreational gambling entirely outside the income tax system is simpler and, for the ATO, safer. That is why the "not taxed / not deductible" pairing is the default, and why it applies to the same win regardless of whether you played at a licensed Australian venue or an offshore site such as Wild Royal.
Losses Are Not Deductible Either
This is the flip side that players sometimes forget. Because your winnings are not assessable income, the money you lose gambling is not an allowable deduction. You cannot offset a losing month at the pokies against your salary, your business profit, or a capital gain. There is no "gambling loss" line on your individual tax return for recreational play, and trying to claim one would be incorrect.
It is worth being blunt about what this means in practice. The tax treatment does not soften the cost of losing — the ATO neither taxes your good sessions nor subsidises your bad ones. The only sustainable way to limit gambling losses is to limit gambling itself: set deposit limits, treat any bonus terms (Wild Royal's welcome package runs a x40 wagering requirement and a max cashout of x10 the bonus, for example) as a cost rather than free money, and walk away when a session is done. If gambling is causing financial strain, see our responsible gambling resources — support is free and confidential.
When It Changes: the Professional Gambler Test
The one situation where the default flips is when a person is found to be carrying on gambling as a business — a "professional gambler". In that case winnings can become assessable income and, correspondingly, losses and expenses can become deductible. Crucially, this is not a status you choose or opt into; it is a conclusion the ATO or a court reaches based on the facts, and the bar is very high.
Factors that point towards a business include activity that is systematic, organised and businesslike; a genuine profit-making intention rather than pastime enjoyment; reliance on gambling as a primary source of income; the application of skill, analysis or a system (more plausible in areas like professional betting than in pure-chance pokies); the scale and frequency of activity; and the keeping of detailed records like a business would. No single factor decides it — the ATO weighs the overall picture.
For the overwhelming majority of Australians, none of this applies. Playing regularly, or even winning a large sum once, does not make you a professional gambler. The category is deliberately narrow and is applied to very few people. If you genuinely think you might fall into it, that is exactly the moment to get advice from a registered tax agent rather than relying on a guide.
Why You Should Keep Records Anyway
Even though the winnings themselves are not taxed, there is a very practical reason to keep paperwork: the ATO's data-matching and its power to question unexplained bank deposits. Banks report large or unusual transactions, and if a significant sum lands in your account, the ATO can ask you to explain the source. The onus is on you, the taxpayer, to show that the money is a non-taxable windfall rather than undeclared income from work or a business.
That is easy to do if you can point to the trail — and awkward if you cannot. So if you make a sizable withdrawal from a casino, keep the evidence: the withdrawal confirmation, the transaction reference, the dates and amounts, and the corresponding bank credit. Our withdrawal guide explains how payouts are processed and approved (Wild Royal aims to approve or decline within two days, subject to KYC verification before your first payout), which is the same paperwork you would use to satisfy the ATO if asked.
| Scenario | How it is usually treated | What to keep |
|---|---|---|
| Recreational pokies or casino win | Windfall — not assessable income, not declared | Withdrawal confirmations for large amounts |
| Recreational gambling losses | Not deductible against other income | Deposit/limit records for your own budgeting |
| Large deposit into your bank from a payout | Not taxed, but the ATO may ask you to explain the source | Transaction references, dates, matching bank credit |
| Gambling run as a genuine business ("professional") | Winnings may be assessable; losses/expenses may be deductible | Full business-style records — see a tax agent |
| Winning at an offshore online casino | Same windfall treatment for a recreational player | Withdrawal and FX records; crypto cost-base records |
| Selling crypto you withdrew, later, at a gain | May trigger a separate capital gains tax (CGT) event | Acquisition value, disposal value and dates |
Offshore Casinos and Crypto
Playing at an offshore operator does not change the basic position for a recreational player: a win is still a windfall and still not assessable income. Wild Royal is operated by BigBit Group and holds an offshore Costa Rica registration rather than an Australian licence — see our legal status page for what that means for you as a player. The offshore location affects things like consumer protection and dispute options, but it does not turn a chance-based win into taxable income.
Crypto adds one wrinkle worth flagging. If you deposit or withdraw using cryptocurrency and later sell or convert that crypto, the disposal can be a separate capital gains tax (CGT) event that is independent of the gambling win itself. In other words, the win may be a tax-free windfall, but a later gain on the crypto asset between the time you received it and the time you sold it can still be assessable. If you use crypto, keep the cost base (what the asset was worth when you got it) and the disposal details. Our crypto page covers the same-method rule and how deposits and withdrawals work; the tax side is best confirmed with an adviser.
What to Keep
You do not need an accounting system for recreational play, but a light paper trail protects you if questions ever arise. A sensible checklist:
- Withdrawal confirmations for any large payout — the operator reference, amount and date.
- Bank statements showing the matching credit, so the source is obvious.
- FX notes where relevant: Wild Royal holds accounts in EUR, so an A$ payout depends on the exchange rate at the time — keep the converted figure that actually hit your account.
- Crypto records: the value when you received the coins and when you disposed of them, for any CGT calculation.
- Your own limit and deposit history — useful for budgeting and for demonstrating recreational play.
Reminder — this is general information, not tax advice. Everything above describes the ATO's general approach for typical recreational players. It does not account for your personal situation, and it is not a substitute for professional guidance. For advice you can rely on, consult a registered tax agent or the ATO directly. We do not give individual tax recommendations or calculations for specific amounts.
Affiliate disclosure: this site contains affiliate links and may earn a commission if you sign up through them, at no extra cost to you. It does not affect this information. Last updated: 27 Jul 2026.
FAQ
Do I pay tax on casino winnings in Australia?
For a recreational player, no. The Australian Taxation Office treats casino winnings as a windfall from luck rather than assessable income, so you do not declare them on your tax return. The flip side is that your gambling losses are not deductible either.
Are pokies winnings taxable?
For everyday players, pokies winnings are not taxable in Australia. The ATO views them as a chance-based windfall, not income earned from work or a business, so there is nothing to declare. Consistent, business-like professional gambling is the rare exception, and it is hard to establish.
Can I deduct gambling losses?
No. Because recreational winnings are not treated as assessable income, the matching losses cannot be claimed as a deduction. The rule works both ways: the ATO does not tax the good sessions and does not subsidise the bad ones. Only assessed professional gamblers face a different, business-based treatment.
When does the ATO treat gambling as a business?
Only in rare cases where gambling is run like a business: systematic, organised activity, reliance on winnings as a main income source, skill, records and a profit-making intention. The bar is very high and applies to very few people. For almost all Australians, gambling stays a private recreational activity.
Do I need to declare offshore casino winnings?
For a recreational player the treatment is the same wherever the operator sits: a windfall, not assessable income, so nothing to declare. However, the ATO can ask you to explain large bank deposits, so keep records of sizable withdrawals. Selling crypto later can trigger a separate capital gains event.