To get bonus bets in Australia you must be an existing customers of betting sites, one promotion common to many betting sites is to give bonus bets or cash back if your horse selection finishes 2nd or 3rd,  a similar promotion exists for other events, and these can be found on promotion pages of your account after signup.  Betting sites have switched to this form of bonus bet (which are automatically loaded onto your account) away from signup betting offers due to government restrictions.

Neds #1 promotions:

Bonus bets Australia used to be given by betting sites through a deposit signup offer, however these bonus bet offers for signing up  have not been available to Australians of any state since 2018/19.
At this moment, by Australian law, betting sites are not longer allowed to give or advertise sign up bonus bets to any Australians from any state whether it is QLD, NSW, VIC, WA, TAS, or SA
There used to be a $200 bonus for referring a friend to betting sites, and that has also been banned for Australian customers.

Below we present the bonus bet situation for Australians within each state:

Bonus Bets QLD

Australian Bonus Bets in QLD can only be found in the promotions sections for existing customers.
In most cases they will offer you with what they have in their promotions section of their website, those include bonus bets for 2nd or 3rd, bonus bets if one leg of a same race multi loses and other bonus bets.

It is always a good idea to read the terms of conditions for the offers, usually found in a link next to the promotion, if ever in doubt about such things as expiry date or turnover rules ask the betting site’s customer service. As a general rule of thumb, expect bonus bets received to expire in 7 days and that you need to “turnover” (bet the same amount as) the initial deposit into the account.

Are Bonus Bets legal in QLD?

Yes, but not to encourage sign up. The Australian government does not want to allow new users to be tempted into gambling (as fun as it may be for the vast majority of us).  An ABC article has pointed out that there are 115,000 problem gamblers in Australia with 40% of those hooked on pokies. However up to 6.8 million Australians will gamble regularly in what is considering a national past time! Regardless, the law is there to protect people, and that is where we stand. 

Although QLD was one of the last states to ban signup bonus bets, the law has been there since May 2019, promotions can only be offered to Queenslanders if they are existing members. The channels for such bonus bets are invariably found in the promotion sections of an existing account, or send via SMS or email.

Of late these will be offered to existing account holders in the form of a matched deposit. Which sites offer the most bonus bets? well, we are not legally allowed to say, but certainly some companies offer more matched deposit bonus bets than others.
These matched deposit offers are also up to the whim of betting site’s marketing teams.

Bonus Bets NSW            

You can get bonus bets if you are an existing customer, simply go to the promotions pages once logged in. Companies like Neds also have a whole bunch of impressive back-up style features and boosted odds in their ‘Toolbox’, definitely worth checking out and using on race day.

Betting sites are still able to advertise boosted odds to customers. This is a great feature amongst the biggest betting sites, and provides enhanced odds for at least one race per day.

In regards to bonus bets on signup, as in all of Australia, the NSW state government made these signup bonus bets illegal. Enticing new customers to gamble came to be seen as public enemy number one, and the government got its way. Some have accused prominent racing figures for being too vocal about signup bonus bets on TV advertisements, but that is speculation and scape-goating.

The organisation responsible for the changes are called OLGR, the Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing, some have called them the “fun police” or “bleeding heart” gang, however if you ask them they are protectors of the vulnerable and upholders of the idea that people should gamble within their means.

Clause 12(1) (h) of the Racing Administration Regulation 2012, outlawed any advertising or incentivizing of signup bonus offer, which were previously the biggest and best bonus bets in NSW. Before the legislation change, sign up bonus bet offers were readily available to NSW residents.

Bonus Bets Victoria

Signup bonus bets for Victorians are no longer allowed to be offered or advertised. The Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation has made laws to that apply heavy fines on betting companies if they encourage punters with the offer of bonus bets to sign up.
But the punting fun goes on in other ways, if you are an existing customer of betting sites you are automatically enrolled in their bonus bet offers displayed in the promotions page or through their betting tools like daily boosted odds.

If you hear that a betting site is offering bonus bets to those from VIC, say immediately after signing up, one should treat is as untrue until, sign up bonus bets Australia are sadly a thing of the past.

Bonus Bets Melbourne Cup

The great Melbourne Cup is the grandest day for Australian horse racing, and can easily be classed as one of the biggest racing days on the planet.

On this day, the marketing teams of betting sites will go into overdrive in anticipation of all the online punters wanting to get into the action. Expect to find bonus bet promotions for the Melbourne Cup in the promotions section of betting sites, just sign up and take a look, there will probably more than one, so make note of which races they cover and what is on offer.
The larger betting sites such as Neds, Ladbrokes and Playup usually have top offers.

A promotion you should see is offering money or bonus bets back if your selected horse comes in 2nd, 3rd (sometimes 4th) in the Melbourne Cup. Many of the other races have higher than normal odds, so using that couple with the backup plays in the promotion section enhance your chances.

Bonus Bets WA

Western Australian punters are subject to the same restrictions as that of NSW, VIC , QLD and the rest of Australia. Betting sites are not permitted to incentivize the public to join with a bonus bet or financial reward.
Existing customers are entitled to bonus bets and these can be located in the promotion section of an existing betting account.

No Australian can receive bonus bets as an incentive to sign up as per the Gambling Act 2017. This is a shame since bonus bets have been an entertaining part of Australian punting for quite a while, it has all come to an end as of May, 2019,  to get access to bonus bets and other features such as boosted odds, you need an account.

What bonus offers WA punters actually get?

Punters don’t need signup bonus bets to enjoy themselves, that’s because there are get plenty of other options to get such offers. Most betting sites have boosted odds, or they have bonus bets or cash back if your selection loses by a narrow margin. Every betting site is different, just log in and take note of the details such as which races are covered, or by what margins your team selection can lose by.

Online betting sites have switched their budgets for bonus bet from new customers to existing ones, so there are some great promos to be part of, not all bookies are made equally though, so best to sign up to the best ones and check out what they have on offer.

Bonus Bets South Australia

Bonus bets are not illegal if you are a registered user with a betting site, however signup bonus bets are not advertised and not an option from a legal points of view.
The short answer to get bonus bets is to sign up to a betting site and check the promotions section setup within your account’s backend.

All across Australia and South Australian included, betting sites are not allowed to offer the public financial benefits to entice signing up. This includes not being able to advertise outside of their existing customer base, such activity is strictly illegal. South Australia was one of the first states to ban incentivized bonus bets for signup.
However, promotions that involve bonus bets are still available, simply login to your account and check the promotions pages. Most betting sites have these three bonus bet types:

• Bonus bet or cash back if your runner comes 2nd or 3rd (usually for selected races, check the promotions sections)

• Bonus bet or cash back if your selection loses by a small margin.

• One or two opportunities to boost odds on a selected runner of your choice.

For what reasons were sign up bonuses banned across Australia?
Since May, 2019 signup bonus bet offers have been banned, this was ratified in Australian government legislation, the justification for this would be in the same realm as why the government wants to restrict drinking or smoking. There are a percentage (albeit a minority) of the public that will not responsibly control their gambling behavior, and so the authorities want to step-in with strong measures to reduce the temptation for such people to partake in what becomes a problem for them. Online poker and casinos also had their operations come under legal restrictions.

Wrapping Up

Australian government restrictions have removed the sign up bonus bet from the punting landscape indefinitely. Clever punters need to make note of the current boosted odds and promotions that betting sites have on offer much more so than in the past.
Many of the most reputable betting sites, such as Neds, BetStar or Ladbrokes will alway deliver in this regard.

More about Bonus Bets can be found here.