Small Betting Sites in Australia

Betting sites come in all different shapes and sizes, from big, global businesses through to local, family-owned sites. On this page, we’re going to focus on small betting sites, analysing what it is that you can expect from these sites, some features they often have, and which small betting sites are the best in Australia. 

When we talk about small betting sites in Australia, we’re essentially referring to those bookies that don’t fit into the mold of a big, corporate bookmaker – think Bet365 and Unibet for examples of those. Instead of those global betting giants, those whose offices are overseas and who have a presence in many countries around the world outside of Australia, we’re looking at typically Australian-owned, small online bookmakers. 
 
There are no specific parameters surrounding what puts a bookmaker into the category of small online betting sites, but there’s generally a pretty clear-cut difference between the big dogs and their far smaller competitors. In the below sections, we’ll take a bit more of a closer look at small online bookmakers in Australia, discussing the pros and cons of using them, the different features that they might offer, and provide a few tips for finding the best one. 

For all intents and purposes, small betting sites and corporate betting sites offer the same basic service; a platform for you to place bets on a variety of different events. There do, however, tend to be some differences between them. This isn’t universal, and just as each corporate betting site is different, so too is each small online bookmaker. Typically, though, you’ll notice a few tendencies in each of them.  
 
In this section, we’ll take a look at the pros and cons of these small online bookmakers in Australia as they relate to the bigger corporate bookies, bearing in mind that these aren’t necessarily universal, but rather examples of commonalities between many small betting companies, and many corporate bookies. 

✔️Small Betting Sites Pros 

• More personalised service: As you could probably guess, small online bookmakers will invariably have fewer customers than their bigger corporate counterparts. That means that, as one of those customers, you’re more likely to receive more personalised support than you would from a bigger bookie. Of course, that there are fewer customers with these sites is offset to a large degree by the fact that they also have fewer employees, but nonetheless, the customer support platform does tend to be something to which small betting companies put a lot of effort into it. 
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  Simple and responsive websites: This is certainly not something which is universal among small online bookmakers, but in my experience these bookies often do have very easy-to-use sites. At a guess, this would be because as a smaller betting site with less resources, they need to focus on excelling in specific areas – they can’t exactly afford to tick every box. These small online bookmakers are in the business of attracting new customers, and creating an easy-to-use website is a great way to do just that. 

❌Small Betting Sites Cons 

• Smaller range of markets: It’s rare that you’ll come across a small betting site that has as broad a range of markets as the big corporate bookies. How many markets they do have obviously varies across different sites, but they simply don’t have the resources to be able to create odds for as wide a variety of events as the bigger sites, and for those events that they do have they’ll typically have less markets too. 
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  Inferior odds: In a similar vein to the smaller range of markets that small betting agencies typically have, more often than not their odds won’t be as good as the biggest bookmakers either. This isn’t universally the case and some small online betting sites do pop up with pretty competitive odds, but on the whole, the best odds for a particular market will typically come from a big, corporate bookmaker, rather than a small betting site in Australia. 

It’s never particularly difficult to sign up to an online betting site. After all, they want your business, and the sign up process is one of the first glimpses you’ll get at the bookmaker. Given that virtually every online betting site has a process which only takes a minute or two to complete to create an account, any bookie whose sign up process takes longer than this will likely see a lot of potential customers heading elsewhere before they’ve even finished signing up. 
 
Small betting companies in Australia are no different. The process varies a little bit across different online betting sites, but not overly drastically. Basically universally, you’ll need to provide some personal information such as your name and date of birth, create account information such as a user information, and you’ll generally be asked if you want to set a deposit limit, too, which can be a good idea for many people. 

With such a broad range of different bookmakers in Australia, it can be hard to pick one to use at the best of sites. By narrowing it down to small betting sites, however, at least you’ve made a start on filtering down the list a little bit. 
 
If you’re looking for the best small betting sites in Australia, a good place to start is our list of all betting sites in Australia. You can knock a few of these off the list if you’re specifically looking for a small online bookmaker, but many of those that we at BettingTop10 have got down as among the best are examples of small betting agencies. 
 
Once you’ve got a handful of choices, it basically comes down to determining the strengths and weaknesses of each, and evaluating what it is that best suits your needs. In the next section we’ll take a look at some of the different features of small betting sites, and with these features helping to separate some small betting companies from the rest, this can be a helpful way to decide which of them you want to use. 

Let’s now take a look at some of the features that you might find with some small online betting sites in Australia. Note that many of these features will also be available with bigger bookies too, sometimes even more commonly. 

⏩Live Streaming 

Live streaming is a feature which is becoming increasingly common in the betting industry, and though small online betting sites aren’t probably the first place you should look if this is your priority, a growing number of them do have some live streaming available. Often, this will be limited to a pretty specific selection of events; horse racing is one which seems to be more readily available with small online bookmakers, while sometimes they may have some smaller sporting events on too. Typically, major sporting leagues like the NBA and NFL won’t be streamed on the websites of small betting companies, though occasionally you may come across it. 

⏩Live Betting 

Like live streaming, live betting is something which didn’t exist a few short years ago but is now relatively prominent in the betting industry. Essentially, this form of betting allows you to watch the beginning of an event, and then place a bet on the ever-changing odds while the event is in progress. For the most part, big bookmakers will offer live betting markets on some events, but with small online bookmakers it’s not as common.  
 
Still, plenty of them do offer it, though even among those who do it is a fairly broad spectrum in terms of how many different markets there are. If you’re looking specifically for a small betting site, the availability of live betting is one feature to keep an eye out for. 

⏩24/7 Live Chat 

My preferred way to get in touch with a betting site is via live chat, though unfortunately not all betting sites have this available as an option on their customer support platform. Among those who do, some offer it for a limited window during the day, others have it available most of the time, while others still have it available every hour of every day.  
 
To me, this is a really valuable feature; it means that you can quickly and easily get in touch with the relevant betting company at any point. As mentioned earlier in this review of small online betting sites, of the small online bookmakers will have a pretty comprehensive customer support platform, and 24/7 live chat is one of the major ways they can make it so comprehensive. 

The range of different payment options available is different at every bookmaker, but with small betting sites there tends to be a pretty consistent theme. In general, you won’t find the broadest selection of payment options with these small betting agencies. Instead, they’ll stick to the basics, but for many people that won’t be too much of a problem. 
 
When I say the basics, I’m referring to a handful of different payment methods which you’ll typically find with most small online bookmakers. The first of these is debit/credit card. This is very widely available; in fact I can’t think of a small betting agency off the top of my head that doesn’t offer it. It’s also very easy to use – you simply have to verify your card, and then you can use it to both deposit and withdraw. 
 
This is a method that you can bank (pardon the pun) on being available with nearly every small betting site. A few others that you may come across reasonably regularly are POLi, available for deposits only, PayPal, while bank transfer will generally be available for withdrawals as well. 
 
In general, this selection isn’t as broad as what you’ll find with the biggest corporate bookmakers. However, for many people, this won’t be an issue, as what you will find with small online betting sites will still be enough to cater for your needs. If, however, you’re a little more picky and want to use a less popular payment method, then it’s definitely worth taking a look at what payment option each small betting site offers before deciding which one you might use. 

Which small betting site in Australia is best for you will of course depend on exactly what it is that you’re after in a bookmaker, however there are certainly some which will be popular among a broader range of punters than others. In this section we’ll take a look at the top ten small betting sites in Australia, based on a wide variety of factors, to make it easier for you to narrow down the right site or sites for you. 

There are many different types of bets that you can utilise with small bookmakers in Australia. Of course, the markets that you’ll find across all small online betting sites will be different across each site; some will have a broad range more in line with bigger corporate bookies, while others are a little more limited, but each of the below bet type is something that you’ll find with some small betting sites. 

☑️ Moneyline 

This is the most simple bet type and one which you’ll find with all small betting site. It simply allows you to bet on a particular team in an event that you think will win, with the odds reflecting the likelihood of that team winning. 

☑️ Line Bet 

A line bet gives a handicap to the team favoured to win in a specific event, subsequently making the odds for one team even. For example, the favourite’s line might be -3.5, with the odds at even money for that market; this means if they win by four or more points, they win, while if they either lose or win by three points or less, they lose the line bet. 

Total Points 

Total points is a common bet type that you’ll find with virtually all small online betting sites. Online bookmakers set a line based around the total amount of points they think will be scored in a match, and you bet on either the over or under. This can also be bet on for individual team totals with some small betting sites. 

☑️ Quarter time/half time markets 

With some small betting sites, you can also bet on what will happen within a select portion of the game. For example, you might be able to place moneyline, line or total point bets for the score at quarter time or half time, or within the second half of the game. 

☑️ Player Props 

Player props can be a really fun way to bet, but not all small betting sites will have them. Generally, the range of player props available, if any, is a good gauge for the range of overall markets that a betting site will have. These can be a variety of things; from points in a basketball games to possessions in a football game. 

☑️ Win/Place markets 

These are the most common type of racing markets and what you’ll find on all small online bookmakers with a racing component to their site. As the name suggests, this allows you to bet on a runner winning, or placing in the top three. 

☑️ Exotics 

Exotics are alternative racing markets which are available with most small betting sites. These can be quinellas – betting on who will finish top two – trifectas – betting who finishes in the top three – and a handful of other things.