Online gambling came into operation in 1994 with the passing of the Free Trade and Processing act by the Caribbean nations of Antigua and Barbuda. Software was developed by Microgaming in conjunction with Cryptologic an online security software company.

By 1998 online gambling had exceeded $830m in Australia, and the Federal Government passed their Interactive Gambling Moratorium, making it illegal for any online casino to operate that was not registered before May 2000, consequently Lasseters Online became the only legal online operator, however they were not allowed to accept bets from Australian citizens. By 2008 estimates by H2 Gambling Capital believe that online gambling world-wide had reached $21 Billion.

Australia has the highest percentage rate of gambling in the world. 80% of adults partake in this past time. In the 2007/08 fiscal year the Australian government received $7.9 billion from the gambling institutions in taxes.

Australians refer to slot machines as ‘POKIES’ which is an abbreviated term for the poker machines found in casinos. Gambling has been part of the Australian history from the time the settlers first started arriving during the late 18th and 19th centuries. There have been major developments in the last twenty to thirty years with the legalisation of casinos and online gambling, so much so that in 2000 Australians had wagered almost $114 Billion.