South Australia gambling laws: pokies, casino and tax

Key facts

Consumer and Business Services (CBS) and the Liquor and Gambling Commissioner regulate gambling in SA under five main Acts, led by the Gambling Administration Act 2019.
No venue can have more than 40 gaming machines. Each licence sets its own maximum, which can be lower.
Machines with note acceptors take notes up to $50 only, and stop accepting notes once the credit balance reaches $100. $100 notes are banned.
Venues approved for 30 or more machines, where at least one takes notes, must use approved facial recognition to identify barred people entering the gaming area.
Betting operators pay 15% of net SA wagering revenue above a $150,000 tax-free threshold, a tax SA has charged since 1 July 2017.

South Australia gambling laws: the key rules

South Australia gambling laws put most of their weight on the machine itself: how much it holds, what cash it takes, and who can walk into the room. The rules that matter most to players:

Rule	South Australia
Regulator	Liquor and Gambling Commissioner, with Consumer and Business Services (CBS)
Venue cap	40 gaming machines
Banknotes	Up to $50 only; $100 notes banned
Credit balance	No notes accepted once the balance is $100 or more
Ticket in, ticket out	Ticket can't push credit above $149.99; tickets out up to $5,000
Facial recognition	Required in venues approved for 30+ machines that take notes
Expected return, new pokies	87.5% or more
Casino	Adelaide Casino, the state's only casino
Betting tax	15% of net SA wagering revenue above $150,000
Help	Gambling Help 1800 858 858

Who regulates gambling in SA

Gambling in SA is regulated by the Liquor and Gambling Commissioner, with Consumer and Business Services handling applications, compliance and enforcement. The Commissioner publishes orders and enforcement actions, and the state publishes the gambling codes of practice that venues must follow.

CBS lists five Acts as the legal base:

Gambling Administration Act 2019, the general framework
Gaming Machines Act 1992, for hotel and club pokies
Casino Act 1997, for the Adelaide Casino
Authorised Betting Operations Act 2000, for the TAB and bookmakers
Lotteries Act 2019, for lottery operators

Poker machines: venue caps and entitlements

The most any SA venue can have is 40 machines. Each licence sets an approved maximum, which may be below 40. A venue that wants more must apply to the Commissioner, who decides whether a community impact assessment is needed, and approval does not come with machines attached. The venue still has to buy entitlements in one of three ways: through the government's approved trading system, through a contract with Club One approved by the Commissioner, or through a Commissioner-approved arrangement between licensed non-profit associations, such as a club merger.

SA pokies are set to pay back more than in some states. The SA Government's gambling help service says new pokies are expected to return 87.5% or more of money bet over time, compared with the 85% floor in NSW and Victoria. That still means about $12.50 of every $100 bet stays with the machine on average, in our calculation. Try different bet sizes in our pokies calculator to see what that costs per hour.

In 2024-25, South Australians lost $1,008 million on hotel and club pokies, or $666 per adult, according to the national gambling statistics series. The state collected $454 million in gaming machine revenue.

Cash rules on SA machines

SA treats cash in a machine as a harm issue, and the rules are specific:

Note size. Banknote acceptors take Australian notes up to $50. Using $100 notes is prohibited.
Credit ceiling for notes. A machine must not accept notes if its balance is already $100 or more.
Tickets. With ticket in, ticket out (TITO), a ticket can't be redeemed if it would push the credit meter above $149.99, and the biggest ticket a machine can print is $5,000.
Ticket life. A ticket can be used in a machine for 30 days and expires 12 months after it was issued. Each ticket must show the 24/7 national gambling helpline.

Note acceptors and TITO are optional for venues. From 1 February 2026, version 12.1 of the national gaming machine standard applies in SA.

Facial recognition in SA venues

SA requires facial recognition in larger pokies rooms. Venues authorised to operate 30 or more gaming machines, where at least one machine accepts banknotes, must install approved facial recognition technology to identify barred people entering a gaming area. A notice must be displayed at every gaming area entrance, and the system cannot be used for loyalty programs, incentives to gamble or lotteries. This is how those venues check for barred people. Our self-exclusion guide explains how barring works.

The Adelaide Casino

SA has one casino, the Adelaide Casino. Its owners and operators include SkyCity Adelaide Pty Ltd, whose parent is New Zealand-based SkyCity Entertainment Group.

On 19 June 2026, CBS announced that SkyCity Adelaide would be fined $21 million under an in-principle agreement with the Liquor and Gambling Commissioner. The fine resolves disciplinary proceedings that followed an independent review by retired Supreme Court judge Brian Martin, whose August 2025 report described "a litany of failures" in anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing, gambling harm minimisation and culture. The agreement also includes:

a majority of independent non-executive directors at SkyCity Adelaide by 1 January 2028
cash transactions over $4,999 to be phased out
a permanent ban on junkets
new powers for the Commissioner to give binding directions to the parent company on some casino operations

The casino took $169.97 million from players in 2024-25, in the national statistics.

Betting in SA

SA's point of consumption tax on betting has applied since 1 July 2017, well before NSW and Victoria introduced theirs in January 2019. RevenueSA charges 15% of net state wagering revenue, with a tax-free threshold of $150,000 a year. It applies to bookmakers licensed anywhere in Australia that take bets from people in SA, and it is the bookmaker's cost. For how your own winnings are treated, see our gambling tax in Australia guide.

Online gambling and SA

The same national rule applies here as everywhere: online pokies and casino games cannot legally be offered to anyone in Australia under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001. An offshore site offers none of the SA protections above: no $50 note limit, no facial recognition barring, no Commissioner to complain to. See whether online pokies are legal in Australia, and compare SA with the other states on our gambling laws in Australia page.

Help in SA

Gambling Help is free and confidential on 1800 858 858, 24 hours a day. The SA Government's Gambling Harm Support site has information on how pokies work and where to get local counselling.

Frequently asked questions

Who regulates gambling in South Australia?

The Liquor and Gambling Commissioner, supported by Consumer and Business Services (CBS). The Commissioner decides venue applications, including requests for more machines, and takes enforcement action.

How many pokies can a South Australian venue have?

At most 40. Each venue's licence sets an approved maximum, which can be lower, and a venue that wants more must apply to the Commissioner and buy entitlements through the approved trading system or a Club One arrangement.

Can you use $100 notes in SA pokies?

No. Banknote acceptors in SA gaming machines accept notes up to $50, the use of $100 notes is prohibited, and a machine must not accept notes once its balance is $100 or more.

Do SA pokie venues use facial recognition?

Yes, the larger ones. Venues authorised to operate 30 or more gaming machines, where at least one accepts banknotes, must have approved facial recognition technology to identify barred persons entering a gaming area. It cannot be used for loyalty programs or incentives to gamble.

What is the minimum return on SA pokies?

The SA Government's gambling help service says new pokies are expected to return 87.5% or more of money bet over time, higher than the 85% minimum used in NSW and Victoria.