Bookmaker licences and permits

Introduction

You need a permit or licence to become a bookmaker in the Northern Territory.  A licence allows you to take bets on racing or sporting events.

This section has information on how to apply for or renew a bookmaker licence or permit, licence fees and approved sporting and other events.


Apply for or renew a sports bookmaker licence

A sports bookmaker licence allows you to take bets on all kinds of sporting and other events over the phone and via the internet.

The term of a sports bookmaker licence is determined by the NT Racing Commission, and includes an annual licence fee.

Here is the list of declared sporting and other events which a sports bookmaker can take bets on.

Evaluation

Before you can operate as a sports bookmaker your wagering systems must be evaluated. For more information, contact Licensing NT.

Before you apply

Before you apply for a bookmaker licence, you must do all of the following:

  • undertake a police check on all directors, major shareholders and key personnel
  • fill in the deed of release and indemnity form, which you will find on the gaming and wagering licence forms page
  • provide all required supporting documentation including:
    • a $200,000 bank guarantee
    • your latest audited financial statements
    • a three-year business plan that outlines how granting you a licence will benefit the NT
  • follow all NT racing rules and regulations, including any conditions imposed by the NT Racing Commission.

How to apply

Read below to find out how to apply for individuals and corporations.

For individuals

To apply, follow these steps:

Step 1. Fill in a sports bookmaker licence form.

Sports bookmaker licence form DOCX (56.0 KB)
Sports bookmaker licence form PDF (142.3 KB)

Step 2. Fill in the deed of release and indemnity form.

Step 3. Check the application fee.

Step 4. Submit your application and fee to a Territory Business Centre.

For corporations

To apply, follow these steps:

Step 1. Fill in a corporation sports bookmaker licence form:

Corporation sports bookmaker licence form DOCX (51.9 KB)
Corporation sports bookmaker licence form PDF (127.0 KB)

Step 2. Check the application fee.

Step 3. Submit your application and fee to a Territory Business Centre.

How to renew a sports bookmaker licence

Read below to find out how to renew for individuals and corporations.

For individuals

To apply, follow these steps:

Step 1. Fill in a individual sports bookmaker licence renewal form.

Individual sports bookmaker licence renewal form DOCX (54.9 KB)
Individual sports bookmaker licence renewal form PDF (148.3 KB)

Step 2. Fill in the deed of release and indemnity form.

Step 3. Check the renewal fee.

Step 4. Submit your application and fee to a Territory Business Centre.

For corporations

To apply, follow these steps:

Step 1. Fill in corporation sports bookmaker licence renewal form.

Corporation sports bookmaker licence renewal form DOCX (54.4 KB)
Corporation sports bookmaker licence renewal form PDF (140.2 KB)

Step 2. Check the renewal fee.

Step 3. Submit your application and fee to a Territory Business Centre.


Apply for or renew a racing bookmaker permit

You must have a permit to work as a registered bookmaker at any Northern Territory (NT) racecourse.

A bookmaker permit allows you to take on-course bets in person. You can also take bets over the phone as long as you are on a registered race course.

You must not take bets via the internet.

You must have approval to operate as a bookmaker from the thoroughbred or greyhound club that controls the racecourse.

Apply for a racing bookmaker permit

Your bookmaker permit is valid for up to 12 months and expires on 30 June each year.

Before you apply

You must complete all of the following:

  • undergo a police check
  • provide supporting documentation including financial records
  • follow all NT racing rules and regulations, including any conditions from racing club stewards
  • provide a bank guarantee of $10,000.

How to apply

You must complete the following steps:

Step 1. Fill in a bookmaker permit form DOCX (65.1 KB).

Step 2. Check the application fee.

Step 3. Submit your application and fee to a Territory Business Centre.

How to renew a bookmaker permit

You must complete the following steps:

Step 1. Fill in a bookmaker permit renewal form DOCX (64.3 KB).

Step 2. Check the renewal fee.

Step 3. Submit your application and fee to a Territory Business Centre.


Apply for or renew a bookmaker's key person licence

You may need a licence to work as a bookmaker's key person in the Northern Territory (NT).

You do not need any special knowledge, experience or training to become a bookmaker's key person. However, experience in the betting, racing or greyhound industry can be beneficial.

Apply for a bookmaker's key person licence

Your bookmaker's key person licence is valid for up to 12 months and expires on 30 June each year.

Before you apply

You must do all of the following:

  • undergo police fingerprinting
  • provide all required supporting documentation
  • follow all NT racing rules and regulations, including any conditions imposed by the NT Racing Commission or racing club stewards.

How to apply

You must complete the following steps:

Step 1. Fill in a bookmaker's key person licence form DOCX (67.4 KB) and tick the box for new application.

Step 2. Check the application fee.

Step 3. Submit your application and fee at a Territory Business Centre.

Interstate key person licence holders

If you hold a bookmaker's key person licence from another Australian state of territory, you must fill in a bookmaker's key person licence under mutual recognition form before you apply for an NT key person licence.

Bookmaker's key person licence under mutual recognition form DOCX (68.0 KB)
Bookmaker's key person licence under mutual recognition form PDF (181.0 KB)

How to renew a bookmaker's key person licence

You must complete the following steps:

Step 1. Fill in a bookmaker's key person licence form and tick the box to indicate it is a renewal application.

Bookmaker's key person licence form DOCX (68.4 KB)
Bookmaker's key person licence form PDF (177.6 KB)

Step 2. Complete a police history check.

Step 3. Check the renewal fee.

Step 4. Submit your application and fee to a Territory Business Centre.


Declared event or contingency to be a sporting event

  1. The Northern Territory Racing Commission, pursuant to section 4(2) of the Racing and Betting Act 1983 hereby declares the events and contingencies set out in Schedule 1 to be a sporting event.
  2. Licensees must only open a betting market on a sporting event where the sporting event:
    1. is governed by a sport's governing body at the district, state or territory, national or international level (unless otherwise noted in Schedule 1)
    2. has a clear result which is publicly accessible
    3. can be resulted within five days of the conclusion of the sporting event
    4. can be independently verified and
    5. is not restricted to persons under the age of 18 years.
  3. Licensees must only open an eSport betting market where the eSports event:
    1. is governed by an organisation that is capable of fulfilling the role played by sports’ governing bodies in relation to traditional sports including:
      1. tournament organisers
      2. video game publishers or
      3. video game developers and
    2. is conducted according to clear, publicly available rules that:
      1. prohibit match-fixing and establish processes for sanctioning those who have engaged in, or attempted to engage in match-fixing and
      2. prohibit participants including event organisers, staff and competitors from betting on the outcome of the event.
  4. Licensees must only open a fantasy sport betting market* where the underlying event or contingency has been declared to be a sporting event by way of this declaration.

* A fantasy sport betting market comprises fantasy points (or some other form of measurement) being earned by reference, directly or indirectly, to a scoring scheme based on contingencies relevant to the event where the scoring system is published in advance of the commencement of the event.

Event or contingency Classes of event or contingency Governing body
Air sports
  • Air racing
  • Ballooning
  • Cliff diving
  • Gliding
  • Hang gliding
  • Parachuting
  • Paragliding
  •  
    Air sportsDrone racingWorld Air Sports Federation
    American football (Gridiron)
  • American football (Gridiron)
  • Arena football league
  • XFL football
  •  
    Archery
  • Field archery
  • Flight archery
  • Target archery
  •  
    Athletics
  • Biathlon
  • Cross country
  • Decathlon
  • Track and field events
  • Triathlon
  •  
    Australian rules football Australian rules football  
    Australian statistics
  • Consumer Price Index
  • Gross Domestic Product
  • Residential Property Price Index
  • Unemployment rate
  • Australian Bureau of Statistics.
    Backgammon Backgammon  
    Baseball
  • Baseball
  • Pesapallo
  • Softball
  •  
    Basketball Basketball  
    Bowling
  • Lawn Bowls
  • Ten Pin Bowling
  •  
    Boxing
  • Amateur boxing
  • Professional boxing
  •  
    Chess Chess  
    Commonwealth Games events Events conducted at the Commonwealth Games sanctioned by the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee. Commonwealth Games Organising Committee only.
    Cricket Cricket  
    Croquet Croquet  
    Crossfit Crossfit  
    Cycling Cycling  
    Cue sports
  • Billiards
  • Pool
  • Snooker
  •  
    Curling Curling  
    Darts Darts  
    Diving Diving  
    Entertainment awards Awards for film, television and entertainment industries in Australia and other countries. Organising committee for the award.
    Elections Political elections Government approved electoral system authorities.
    Esports
  • Call of Duty
  • Counter Strike
  • Defence of the Ancients 2 (DOTA 2)
  • F1 E-sports virtual Grand Prix series
  • FIFA
  • Halo
  • Hearthstone
  • Heroes of the Storm
  • Kings of Glory/Honour Kings
  • League of Legends
  • League of Legends - Wild Rift
  • Madden series/leagues
  • NBA 2k series/leagues
  • Overwatch
  • Player Unknown Battleground (PUBG)
  • Rainbow Six Siege
  • Rocket League
  • Sim Racing
  • Smite
  • Starcraft
  • Street Fighter series
  • Supercars All Star eSeries
  • Vainglory
  • Valorant
  • Warcraft 3
  • World of Tanks
  • Refer clause 3.
    Equestrian sports
  • Dressage
  • Eventing
  • Show jumping
  •  
    Fencing Fencing  
    Financial indices
  • Australian currency indices
  • International currency indices
  • Relevant regulatory authority.
    Fishing Fishing  
    Gaelic sports
  • Gaelic football
  • Gaelic hurling
  •  
    Golf Golf  
    Greyhound racing Greyhound racing  
    Gymnastics
  • Balance beam
  • Floor exercise
  • Horizontal bars
  • Parallel bars
  • Pommel horse
  • Rhythmic gymnastics
  • Rings
  • Uneven parallel bars
  • Vaulting
  •  
    Handball Handball  
    Harness racing Harness racing  
    Hockey
  • Bandy
  • Field hockey
  • Floorball
  • Ice hockey
  •  
    Horse sales Magic millions horse sales Magic Millions Auction House.
    Hurling Hurling  
    Interest rates Interest rates Reserve Bank of Australia.
    Iron man events
  • Iron Man (surf lifesaving)
  • Iron Man triathlon
  •  
    Kabaddi Kabaddi  
    Kayaking
  • Canoeing
  • Kayaking
  •  
    Lacrosse Lacrosse  
    Literary and art awards Literary and art awards Organising committee for the award.
    Martial arts
  • Judo
  • Karate
  • Mixed martial arts
  • Slap fighting
  • Sumo wrestling
  • Taekwondo
  • Ultimate fighting championship (ufc)
  • Wrestling



  • Nevada Athletics Commission
    Motor racing
  • Formula racing
  • Indycar series
  • Motorcycle speedway
  • Sports car racing
  • Stock car racing
  • Touring car racing
  • Off-road racing
  •  
    Netball Netball  
    Nobel prize
  • Peace prize
  • Prize in chemistry
  • Prize in economic sciences
  • Prize in literature
  • Prize in physics
  • Prize in physiology or medicine
  • Norwegian Nobel Committee.
    Novelty events Novelty events Northern Territory Racing Commission novelty guideline 2019
    Oil prices Oil prices As published by Bloomberg LP.
    Olympic Games events Events conducted at the Olympic Games sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee International Olympic Committee only.
    Poker
  • Asia Pacific Poker Tour
  • European poker
  • World Series of Poker
  • World Series of Poker Europe
  • Organising committee for the poker competition.
    Power boats Power boat racing  
    Racquet sports
  • Badminton
  • Squash
  • Tennis
  • Table tennis
  •  
    Rainfall Rainfall Australian Bureau of Meteorology.
    Rodeo Professional bull riding  
    Rowing Rowing  
    Rugby league Rugby league  
    Rugby union Rugby union  
    Sailing Sailing  
    Skating
  • Figure skating
  • Ice skating
  • Roller skating
  • Speed skating
  •  
    Skiing
  • Alpine skiing
  • Biathlon
  • Cross country skiing
  • Freestyle skiing
  • Nordic combined
  • Ski archery
  • Ski jumping
  • Speed skiing
  •  
    Sledding
  • Bobsleigh (bobsled)
  • Luge
  • Skeleton
  •  
    Snowboarding
  • Alpine snowboarding
  • Boardercross
  • Slalom
  • Slopestyle
  •  
    Soccer
  • Association football
  • Beach soccer
  • Football
  • Futsal
  • Soccer
  •  
    Solar car challenge sports World solar challenge World Solar Challenge Scientific Faculty.
    Stock market indices
  • ASX indices
  • International indices
  • Relevant regulatory authority.
    Surfing
  • Surfboard riding
  • Bodyboard riding
  • Kite boarding
  • Stand-up paddling
  • Wave ski riding
  •  
    Surf Life Saving Surf Life Saving  
    Swimming
  • Swimming
  • Synchronised swimming
  •  
    Thoroughbred racing Jockey competitions thoroughbred racing.  
    Trampoline Trampoline  
    Volleyball
  • Beach volleyball
  • Volleyball
  •  
    Water polo Water polo  
    WeatherWeatherAustralian Bureau of Meteorology
    Weightlifting Weightlifting

    Bookmaker licence fees - 2023/2024

    You must pay the required fees to apply for or renew a bookmaker licence or permit in the Northern Territory.

    All bookmaker licence fees are free from GST.

    Application and renewal fees

    ItemFee
    Bookmaker permit - application or renewal$155
    Bookmaker key employee licence - application or renewal$27
    Corporate or individual sports bookmakers licence20,000 revenue units or
    approximately $27,000

    Other fees

    ItemFee
    Police history name check$81
    Police history finger print check$226