Opening a betting account is the first step in being able to place a bet with a particular bookmaker. In this page, we’ll talk you through the process of opening a betting account, as well as some of the best betting sites to do it with and a whole lot more.
How to open a betting account
How to open a betting account
Opening a betting account is a process which you’ll need to do individually with every betting site prior to using them. Fortunately, however, betting sites make it incredibly easy for you to open betting accounts, and it should only take a minute or two to register your account with each new betting site.
Of course, the exact process of opening a betting account will vary a little bit from betting site to betting site. By and large, however, it will be very self-explanatory and straightforward, and shouldn’t vary too drastically from one bookmaker to the next.
The first step you’ll need to undertake before opening a betting account with a new betting site is to head to the desktop site, or download the betting app. Assuming you’re on the desktop site, simply locate the appropriate button, which will most likely say ‘Sign Up’, as you can see in the PlayUp example below. Typically, this will be in the top right hand corner of the betting site that you’re on, for example see screenshot below from playup's site.
Once you click this, it will open up a page which will require that you fill in a whole bunch of information. The exact format and the exact information that you are required to give will not be exactly the same across different betting sites, but there are a few things which will always pop up and there generally won’t be too much difference in what’s asked of you.
Things you will always have to fill in are some personal details about yourself. This will include your name, your date of birth (this helps the betting site to confirm that you are at least 18 years of age, which you legally need to be in order to have a betting account), and probably things like your address and email address.
After that (or with some betting sites, before) you’ll need to fill in details specific to your betting account. This will include your username, which you simply make up but which needs to be one that doesn’t already exist on the site, as well as a password.
In line with the increased focus on responsible gambling, most betting sites will now ask you to also decide whether you want to set a deposit limit. This basically means that you can choose to limit the amount you’re able to deposit into that betting account over a certain period of time, which can be a really beneficial feature to ensure you don’t spend more money gambling than you can afford to, or that you initially intended to.
Once you fill in these pieces of information, you’re typically pretty ready to go. At some point you will also have to verify your betting account – this can be done in a multitude of ways and will generally include you sending a photo of your drivers’ license, passport or something similar.
You’ll also have to verify your bank or debit card details – at least, you will if you ever need to withdraw funds. Depositing doesn’t require any verification, but if you’re at a stage when you want to withdraw funds then you will need to verify that the bank account or card you’re using belongs to you. How this process works will depend on the betting site, but you will be directed to do so and simply need to follow the prompts presented to you.
How to find the best betting sites to open a betting account with
In Australia, there are a plethora of different betting sites with whom you can open a sports betting account. These vary in a number of ways, including where they are based, how many markets that they offer, how good there odds are, their customer service offering, whether they have a good desktop site, whether they have a good betting app, and more. In this section, we’ll take a look at each of these factors that you should consider when deciding which betting accounts in Australia you should open.
Selection of markets
For me, this is at the absolute top of the list when I’m looking at the quality of a betting site to open a betting account with, and it’s not close. Having a range of different betting market is pivotal for me as somebody who likes to bet on things like player props, so betting sites that simply offer the basics like head to head aren’t really worth me opening a betting account with.
The selection of markets can refer to a couple of things. Firstly, it can be related to how many different sports there are available to bet on with a betting site. Following that and digging a little deeper, you should look at individual leagues and head to head matches, and how many different markets there are for those to help you get a gauge for whether this is a betting site with a good selection of markets.
Odds level
This is a pretty obvious one. Odds are what punting is all about – it’s not just about finding something that you think will happen, it’s about finding an outcome which you think is more likely than the odds suggest. The better the odds on a betting site, clearly the more likely it is that you’ll be able to do this.
The best way in my view to check the odds level is to simply look at the line markets available for individual matches. These odds are meant to be even, so you can figure out the bookies margin from this. If they’re at about $1.87 that’s not great, while the betting sites with the best odds that you should look to open a sports betting account with will be closer to $1.91. Take a look, for example, at an upcoming footy game on Bet365, which has some of the best odds in the business.
Desktop site
Clearly when you’re opening a betting account, you want to be able to do so on a platform which is easy to use. This is pretty simple to find out – simply head to the betting site that you’re thinking of opening a betting account with, and scroll around for a minute or so. This will help you to get an idea of the site’s functionality; whether it’s easy to find what you need to, and whether it operates smoothly and efficiently.
Betting app
Not all betting sites have betting apps, but it’s at the point where the vast majority do. They’re not all of equal quality, though, so if you’re planning on using a betting app for the site you open a betting account with then you should download and scroll around on the betting app to determine if it’s easy to use, similar to what you would do with a desktop site.
Customer support platform
Now to the nitty gritty. Ideally you don’t want to have to contact customer support, but if you open a sports betting account with a bookmaker and then use them fairly regularly, then at some point you will most likely have to. Some have a really good customer support platform, with live chat, phone numbers and sometimes 24/7 service. Others only provide relatively limited support, so do the research to find out what the customer support is like at the betting site you’re researching before you open a betting account.
Payment methods
Finally, to payment methods. This isn’t super important for me because I always use debit card to deposit and withdraw to my bank account, which is available on every betting site. If you want to use an eWallet or something a little less common, however, then you should take a look at the payment section of a betting site to find out what options you’ll have available to you.
PlayUp
PlayUp was one of the first in a wave of new betting sites in Australia, opening up back in 2017. Since then, it’s become a favourite for many punters for a lot of reasons.
Perhaps the most immediately notable of those is the fantastic user experience they provide. The PlayUp website is super easy to use and loads very fast, and the PlayUp betting app is no different. It’s intuitive, reactive and makes it very easy to place a punt.
They’ve also got a really good selection of markets, particularly for a relatively new betting site given they tend to start off with a fairly small offering. This is across a big range of sports and racing, so if you’re looking to open a betting account with a bookie with plenty of markets they could be your go.
On top of that, they’ve got very competitive odds, and their customer support platform is perhaps the best in Australia. It’s got live chat available 24/7, so you can get in touch quickly and easily any time you need to.
This is one of the best betting sites in Australia for a number of reasons, and if you’re looking for somewhere new to open a betting account with in Australia then this should be one of your first choices.
Best Fixed Odds, Playup Playbook
Dabble
Dabble is one of the newest betting sites in Australia, which means that plenty of punters haven’t yet opened a betting account with them. But there’s plenty of reason to do exactly that.
Dabble is every bit the modern bookmaker – in fact, so modern are they that they didn’t even bother to create a desktop site! Instead, they have only a betting app, which is great if that’s how you prefer to bet anyway because invariably they’ve spent plenty of time on it, and it’s really good too!
You can quickly and easily open an account with Dabble on the betting app, and once you do you’ll have access to a bookmaker with a great range of markets and competitive odds.
Like PlayUp, Dabble also has really solid customer support, making it an extremely well-rounded betting site, particularly given how new it is.
A new way of betting on Racing and Sports
Bet365
Bet365 stands in stark contrast to Dabble. Where Dabble is a new, Australian-owned bookie, Bet365 is one of the biggest betting sites in the world, and has been in Australia for over ten years.
There’s not much not to like about Bet365. I certainly tend to flock to them because of their extraordinary range of betting markets, which is probably better than any other site in the country, so if you’re looking to open a betting account with a bookie with heaps of markets then this could be your go.
Likewise if you’re after great odds. Bet365 has fantastic odds for the regular markets, with line markets sitting at about $1.91, but they also have far better odds for player props than what you’d find with most bookmakers.
Rounding them out is the fact that they have an incredibly responsive and easy to use betting site and mobile app. Their customer support is good too, albeit a little hard to fine, but everything else is just about as good as any of their competitors. If you haven’t yet opened an account with Bet365, then they’re certainly worth at least taking a look at.
Most well known bookmaker – always a solid experience
Palmerbet
Palmerbet doesn’t typically get recognised as one of the best betting sites to open a sports betting account with, but they probably should be. I’ve certainly been using them more often than usual of late, with their excellent range of sports betting markets a major reason why.
Their odds are also really competitive, particularly in the player prop space – you’re probably noticing something of a trend here in terms of the betting sites I’m listing as the best with which to consider opening a betting account with!
Their mobile app is also fantastic, although their desktop site can be a little clunky to use at times. Still, I usually bet with mobile as do many punters these days, so that isn’t a particular problem for me. Overall, there’s plenty of reason to open a betting account with Palmerbet, so don’t overlook them, even if they’re not talked about as often as some of the names above.
Australian operated and owned
FAQs
How to open a TAB account?
TAB is one of the biggest betting sites in Australia, and is the company from whom most betting sites source their odds. They are also a really good bookmaker in their own right, and opening a sports betting account with them is definitely worth considering if you haven’t already.
To open a TAB account, simply head to the website: www.tab.com.au. From there, head to the top right hand corner of the home page and locate the link which says ‘Join’. This will take you to a page which you can see below.
As you can see, you’ll initially be prompted to fill in some personal details, which include your name, and your date of birth. TAB will also ask you to verify your details, something which not every betting site asks you to do at this early stage.
Verifying your identity will simply entail filling in details about your license number and the state of issue. You do, however, have the option to skip this step and do it later, but as TAB specifies you’ll need to do it within three days or your account will be frozen.
You’ll then have to give them your phone number, before filling in your account details. This will require you to create an account name, a password, a four digit security pin, as well as a security question and answer.
As mentioned above, when opening a sports betting account these days you’ll also be asked to decide whether you want to set a deposit limit, and TAB is no different in this regard. They’ll ask at the bottom, and if you choose not to they’ll ask you to tick a disclaimer that says that you understand the benefits of a deposit limit. Finally, accept the terms and conditions, click ‘Create Account’, and your TAB betting account will be created.
How to open multiple betting accounts?
Opening multiple betting accounts isn’t something that takes a huge amount of work, though it can be a little time consuming. As mentioned above, however, there are some benefits to having multiple betting accounts, so it can be worth doing.
To do so, all that you need to do is head to each betting site with whom you wish to create a betting account, and follow the prompts to open a betting account with them. You’ll likely get the hang of it pretty quickly – you’re pretty much always going to be clicking ‘Sign Up’ or ‘Join’ in the top right hand corner, and then filling in a bunch of details much like what is highlighted in the TAB section above.
With each individual betting site, however, you’ll have to do this from scratch, and though it only takes a minute or two if you’re trying to sign up with a large number of betting sites all at once it will take a little while.
What’s more typical is for punters to gradually accumulate betting accounts. You might open one with a betting site that you think will be suitable for you, then find another one which you think is better and open a sports betting account with them, too. Do this a few times and before you know it you’ll have quite a few betting accounts.
It’s important to always keep tabs on how many you have and to ensure that your gambling is remaining under control, however. It’s also worth remembering that if you’re somebody who likes to set a deposit limit, this is only relevant for each individual betting account. So if, for example, you want to limit it to $50 per month, if you do this with ten different betting accounts it will add up to $500 per month, which might be far more than you intended.
If you’re all under control though, then having multiple betting accounts can be beneficial, and isn’t something that is particularly difficult to do.