If you’re an Aussie punter who’s never tried in-play  betting before, you’ll find out everything you need to know in this article. Read on to discover the best live betting sites in Australia, learn how to place live wagers, get some top tips on turning a profit, and a whole lot more.

Top Live Streaming Betting Agencies: A Closer Look

There are plenty of great Australian betting sites out there, and we’ve listed of them – which have in-play features – above. Let’s take a closer look at the very top options in turn, and find out what makes them so appealing.

What is Live Betting?

‘In-play’ offers a completely different betting experience compared to ‘pre-match’. In the latter case, you’re placing your wagers before a particular match has begun. With in play gambling – as the name suggests – you’re placing them while the action is ongoing. In Australia – thanks to the country’s tricky gambling laws – you must place live wagers via phone, rather than doing so directly online.

There are a couple of other key differences between in-play and pre-match. For starters, the odds change much more quickly, in response to the latest goings-on from the match. Also, far fewer markets will be available. While you might have dozens of different bet types pre-game on a soccer match, for example, these might narrow to a mere handful for live betting.

How Does Live Betting Work?

The previous section gave you a general overview of live betting, but it’s time to delve into more detail. To really understand how this form of gambling differs from pre-game betting, let’s look at a practical example using Ladbrokes. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to place your first live wager.

What Makes a Good Live Betting Site?

Not all in play betting sites are created equal. While each of our 10 top options qualifies as a good all-rounder, even these have their strengths and weaknesses. Whether you’re deciding between our recommendations, or trying to find your own bookie, here are five key factors to prioritise in your evaluation.

The Best Sports to Bet on Live in Australia

As noted, you won’t find quite as many sports provided for live betting as for regular pre-match gambling. That said, most Australian bookies will still give you a solid number of options here. Below are some of the best ones you’ll typically find, regarding both their popularity with Aussie punters, and the quality of coverage you can normally expect.

AFL Live Betting

The AFL is the most-watched and best-attended domestic sports league in Australia. Because of its popularity, it’s no surprise to find that the
AFL also enjoys universal in-play betting coverage on Australian betting sites.

Every single AFL match is available to wager on in-play, right up to the Grand Final. The actual bet types you’re offered obviously vary from bookie-to-bookie. Sportsbet provides a particularly strong variety, including both team- and player-based prop bets. Either fixed odds of line-based Match Result wagers are your most sensible options here, but First Goalscorer is a very popular wager to place early in a game.

Live Football Betting

While its popularity is still growing in Australia, soccer is – on a worldwide level – the biggest in-play betting market by far. Once again, you’ll
find live soccer bets available on almost all Australian sportsbooks, although international brands provide arguably your best options here.

All major international games will be available to wager on live, as will the biggest European competitions like the Champions League and English Premier League. Coverage for Australian teams is definitely improving though, with live A-League markets also being common nowadays. While the most popular live market is the simple Match Result, some bookies will also let you stick live Handicap wagers down to gain more control. Over/Under Goals is another classic in-play wager to place on soccer.

Live Golf Betting

Thanks to its slow-paced nature, golf actually lends itself brilliantly to in-play betting. It gives you more time than any other sport to carry out live research, and really think about your picks.

The downside here is a lack of variety when it comes to bet types. Before a tournament begins, you’ll often find a range of intriguing props to consider. In-play though, you’ll often be limited to simple Tournament Winner wagers. That said, there are some bookies who will allow you to bet on certain pairings Hole-by-Hole, which can be extremely enjoyable when you have two titans going head-to-head.

There are plenty of good golf betting sites in Australia, but Ladbrokes is our number one pick for gambling on the sport live.

Live NRL Betting

Among domestic sports competitions, the NRL trails only the almighty AFL in terms of sheer popularity in Australia. It’s not hard to see  why, with the quality of the rugby on display, and betting live on NRL matchups can be genuinely thrilling.

Similarly to Aussie rules, sticking down a First Tryscorer wager early in the game here can be a good way to lock in early profit. Thereafter, while you can place straight-up Head-to-Head bets on any of our recommended live betting sites, we’d actually recommend another approach here. For something truly different, consider using PointsBet to place a spread bet instead. The nature of spread betting makes this a riskier route, but – particularly if you’re an informed NRL bettor – this can be offset by the potential for far bigger profits.

Live Cricket Betting

Cricket has a strong argument for being the best sport of all for in play betting. Admittedly, you’re a little limited for actual bet types in-play.
Many Australian betting sites restrict you to simple Match Result wagers, or – if you’re lucky – Over/Unders for Runs Scored. The brilliance of live cricket betting, though, lies in the variety offered by the different forms of the game.

As with golf, test matches will provide you with a slow-paced, relaxed form of in-play betting. T20 is basically the opposite, with constant momentum swings in contests like the Big Bash League creating enormous volatility in the live odds. Regular 50-over one-day cricket represents a happy medium. In short, there’s a format to suit all types of in-play bettors, and Unibet – in particular – will give you fair and regularly-updated odds in each case.

Live Tennis Betting

Tennis is actually one of the most popular betting sports around the world, and Australian sportsbooks also afford it excellent coverage.
Thanks to its year-round nature, it also provides a never ending stream of in-play betting opportunities.

As with most sports, simply backing the Match Winner is your simplest and most sensible option here. It can be both fun and profitable, though, to bet set-by-set, or even game-by-game instead. This is typically available not only on the slams – including the Australian Open – but the smaller men’s and women’s tour events too. Betfair will actually allow you to place both these kinds of wagers, while – thanks to the nature of betting exchanges – picking between a whole range of different odds.

NBA Live Betting

If golf and cricket offer slow-paced, relaxing in-play betting experiences, basketball is almost the opposite. Both the scoring and the action
here are essentially non-stop, making it a highly exciting – and challenging – sport on which to place live wagers.

Unsurprisingly, the NBA has the most in-play betting markets of any basketball competition by far, with the TAB being especially strong in this area. All 82 regular season games are covered live for each team, plus every playoff game.

Taking spreads on the final result can be a safer alternative to regular Game Winner picks here. Over/Under Total Points is another good bet type to target early in a game, as soon as you’ve got a good sense for whether the offences for each team are clicking or not.

Live Betting With Cash Out

If you’re interested in live betting, you should know that the actual placement of in-play wagers is only a part of the undertaking. Cashing out can also play a major role, and knowing when to do so plays a big part in turning a long-term profit.

For the uninitiated, cashing out means ending a live bet early. If your bookie has a cash out tool in place, they should offer you a price for doing so throughout most of that wager’s lifespan. If it gets to the point where your bet is basically unwinnable, you won’t be offered any money for it. Back Sydney to beat Melbourne in the A League, for example, and – if Sydney are 3-0 down with 10 minutes to go – you almost certainly won’t have a chance to cash out.

Cash Outs Main Two Purposes

The first is to lock in early profits. In our aforementioned example, if Sydney are winning 1-0 with 10 minutes left, you might want to cash out at that point to avoid the chance of an upset.

The second is to bail on a bet that’s going the wrong way. If Sydney are 1-0 down with 20 minutes remaining, and they don’t look like coming back, you might want to cash out. You’ll still take a loss, but at least you’ll walk away with some of your stake.

Not all sportsbooks allow cash outs, but you can check out three of the very best which do provide this tool below.

Live Betting Odds

All betting odds are subject to change over time. Live odds, however, do change in a different way to pre-match ones.

Overall, the changes are both quicker and more dramatic. If an AFL match is still a week away, a bookie has plenty of time to adjust their initial prices depending on the action they’re getting. Those adjustments will typically be more gradual, therefore. If an AFL match is ongoing, the bookie has very little time to react indeed. If one outcome suddenly looks far more likely – with a team scoring being the obvious example – they will need to swing their prices immediately and drastically.

Key to Making a Profit

This example also touches on the other main difference in live betting odds compared to pre-match ones. With the latter, one of, if not the major driver behind price changes is action from the betting public. Sheer probability is actually overrated as a factor. With in-play gambling though, it becomes the determining factor.

The key to making a profit from in-play betting is working the odds. If you’re confident in a particular outcome, but it hasn’t happened yet, be prepared to wait for the prices to rise to an acceptable level. The moment you see odds that you’re definitely interested in though, you must be prepared to strike immediately.

To help you along, these three sportsbooks routinely offer some of the best live betting odds in Australia:

Live Betting Apps

Mobile betting and in-play really do go hand-in-hand. As noted above, the success of your live betting largely relies on your ability to get wagers down quickly, whenever you spot a good chance. With your bookie’s mobile app in place, this should – in theory – be possible at any time, and in any place.

In reality, the actual quality of these apps does vary. If on-the-go betting is important to you, this is something you absolutely must check out for yourself before signing up with a sportsbook.

Narrow Your Choices

The first is the interface. The layout should be clear, straightforward, and have been adapted for the smaller screen size. You should be able to find specific live markets almost instantly when you need to.

The second is not only that live features (preferably including a cash out tool) are present, but also that those features work well. Odds should update frequently, and the system for actually placing the wager must be quick and easy to execute.

To get an idea for what a top quality live betting app should look like, download any of the three listed below and try them out for yourself.

Best Live Betting Online Strategies

Most punters are content to simply make their wagers as and when they spot an enticing opportunity. If you crave a little more structure to your gambling though, here are three simple but effective in play betting strategies you can try out.

Hedging

Hedging essentially involves covering multiple sides of a betting market. You’ll already have one bet on the market, and – at the expense of an additional stake – are choosing to insure yourself against a loss.

Hedging is one of the most famous moves in sports betting, and it’s extremely easy to do in-play too. Let’s say you’ve got $40 on the Eels to beat the Bulldogs in the NRL on one sportsbook, and they’re only up 10-7 with 20 minutes to go. You might then hedge that with an in-play $20 wager on a draw, or the Bulldogs to Win, on a different sportsbook.

As noted, an in-play hedging strategy will eat into your overall profits, but many punters feel that’s a fair price to pay for the additional security they gain.

Last 15 Minutes

If you’re able to stay patient, this can be an extremely profitable strategy. In sports like soccer, the most action will often take place in the final section of the game, with the last 15 minutes being a great window to target. This is when both the potential result and the live betting odds are at their most volatile. Players are tiring, but – particularly if one team is losing – they’ll still be going all-out to score. This is a perfect recipe for goals to be scored, meaning that both Match Result and Over/Under Goals markets are perfect to target here.

Losing Favourites

This is a classic strategy for exploiting the advantages of in-play over pre-match betting. Before a given matchup kicks off – whatever the sport is – the favourites obviously have lower odds, making them a less appealing prospect for the punter. After the game begins though, if those favourites go behind, their odds will immediately start to improve. The longer the game goes on, and the longer they keep losing, the better that price will get.

Again, picking your spot is the key here. If the favourites never go down, you need the discipline to resist taking them anyway. If they do go down, you need the confidence to trust in the pedigree which made them favourites, and back them regardless.

A slight variation on this strategy is ‘Losing Home Teams’. As you might guess, this involves waiting on home teams to go down, then backing them to come back – with the help of their home-field advantage – via a live wager.

5 Ultimate Live Betting Tips

In-play betting can be a whole lot of fun, but it’s also tricky to get right. Ease yourself into it with small stakes to start with, until you’ve got the hang of this quicker form of gambling. After that, be sure to follow these five tips to improve your chances of turning a long-term profit.

Final Thoughts

If you’ve stuck purely to pre-match betting before, we’d highly recommend that you at least give in-play a shot. It represents a completely fresh challenge for punters, with a much higher emphasis being on patience, timing, and generally making quick decisions.

When picking your first Australian in-play betting site, it’s vital that you make the right choice. You’ll find 10 excellent options at the top of this page, each of which offers something different. If you want to find your own bookie instead, be sure to follow the advice elsewhere in this article. Either way, we wish you a safe, responsible, profitable, and enjoyable live betting experience.

FAQ

What are the best bookies for in-play betting in Australia?

We’ve listed 10 of your very best options at the top of this page, including both domestic and international brands. Our pick for the top overall live betting site is the TAB, but Sportsbet definitely run it close.

What different types of live betting sites are there?

There are three main types. Most bookies simply offer regular, fixed odds live bets. Elsewhere though, you can place live spread bets using sites like PointsBet, or exchange bets (against other users) on Betfair.

Can I use the William Hill live betting features in Australia?

Unfortunately not. William Hill used to be a major player on the Australian betting scene. In mid-2018, however, they sold their operation in the country to CrownBet Holdings for a cool $244 million.

What sports are available to bet on in-play?

There are a lot of choices here. Cricket, soccer, and tennis matches from around the world are covered, as are top Australian leagues like the AFL and NRL. Other popular options include eSports, basketball, and golf.

Is live betting legal in Australia?

Absolutely. As in several other areas, though - like special offers - Australian authorities have put some strict rules in place here. Most importantly, unlike with bookies elsewhere in the world, you must place your live wagers here via phone, rather than directly online.