The three regulatory facts to keep separate
Licence discussions become confusing when different questions are collapsed into one label such as “licensed” or “legal”. For Clubhouse in Australia, three separate facts answer three separate questions.
| Question | Current source-led answer | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Who operates the brand? | Novatrix SRL, registered in Costa Rica, is the operator disclosed in the current Clubhouse terms. | This identifies the company currently named by the brand. |
| What gaming licence is disclosed? | The current terms state Tobique Gaming Commission licence no. 0000002. The TGC holder register lists Novatrix S.R.L as B2C through 13 March 2027. | This is an offshore regulatory relationship, not an Australian licence. |
| What is the Australian position? | No Clubhouse or Novatrix entry is found in ACMA’s current register, while ACMA says online casinos are banned services when offered to people in Australia. | Australian local licensing and the IGA service prohibition must be assessed separately from the Tobique licence. |
The practical point is not to use one fact as a substitute for another. A Tobique licence does not become an Australian licence because the site has an Australian locale. Equally, ACMA’s rules do not erase the existence of the Tobique licence; they govern what services may be offered to people in Australia.
What ACMA says about online casinos in Australia
The Australian Communications and Media Authority is the federal regulator that enforces the Interactive Gambling Act 2001. Its current guidance says the Act makes it illegal for gambling providers to offer specified online services to people in Australia, and it explicitly lists online casinos among the banned services. ACMA also says banned services must not be advertised in Australia.
This is why a simple statement such as “Clubhouse is licensed” is incomplete for an Australian reader. The useful question is licensed where and for what regulatory purpose. The Clubhouse terms disclose a Tobique licence, while ACMA’s Australian framework treats online casino services offered to people in Australia as prohibited interactive gambling services.
This page does not turn that provider-side service rule into a blanket claim that an Australian player commits an offence merely by accessing an offshore casino. The cited ACMA guidance is framed around companies offering or advertising services. For the federal rules themselves, the authoritative starting point is ACMA’s Interactive Gambling Act guidance and the Federal Register text of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001.
Clubhouse Casino’s 2024 ACMA warning and blocking history
ACMA’s April to June 2024 interactive-gambling report records a formal warning to Dama N.V. for providing prohibited interactive gambling services that included Clubhouse Casino. The same report lists Clubhouse alternate domains among websites referred for blocking. ACMA also published a May 2024 blocking update naming Clubhouse Casino among services found to be operating in breach of the Interactive Gambling Act.
The historical operator named in that 2024 enforcement record was Dama N.V. The current Clubhouse terms now identify Novatrix SRL as the operator. Keeping the dates and entities separate avoids implying that the current operator name was the entity named in the 2024 formal warning.
Blocking is a technical enforcement measure rather than proof that every possible Clubhouse domain is inaccessible at every moment. ACMA can request that Australian internet service providers block sites that provide prohibited interactive gambling services or unlicensed regulated wagering services. Domains can be added over time, and technical access can therefore change. This guide does not provide VPN, DNS, mirror-domain or other instructions for bypassing Australian ISP blocks.
For the current enforcement framework and blocked-site explanation, see ACMA’s blocked gambling websites guidance. For the 2024 Clubhouse record, see ACMA’s April to June 2024 action report.
What the Australian licence register does and does not show
ACMA maintains a register of licensed interactive gambling providers for services that can legally operate in the relevant regulated wagering category in Australia. A same-session check of the current register found no entry for Clubhouse Casino and no entry for Novatrix SRL. That supports the precise statement that no Australian local licence is verified for this brand/operator.
It is important not to overstate that result. The register is not a catalogue of offshore casino licences, and the absence of an entry is not the source for the Tobique licence. The Tobique licence is verified through the operator’s terms and the Tobique Gaming Commission holder register. The Australian register answers a different question: whether the brand or operator appears among Australian-licensed interactive wagering providers.
Readers who want to check the current Australian register directly can use ACMA’s licensed-provider register. Because register entries can change, this page records the result as checked on 17 September 2026 rather than treating it as permanent.
What BetStop covers
BetStop is Australia’s National Self-Exclusion Register for Australian licensed online and phone wagering services. ACMA says a person who registers is excluded from all Australian licensed wagering providers covered by the scheme. That is a broad protection within the licensed wagering market, but its scope should not be misdescribed as a direct control over every offshore online casino.
For Clubhouse, the safe distinction is straightforward: BetStop should not be presented as a tool that automatically closes or disables an offshore Clubhouse Casino account. A reader who uses BetStop can rely on it for the Australian licensed online and phone wagering providers within the register’s scope. Operator-specific controls at Clubhouse are separate.
ACMA’s current BetStop information is available on its National Self-Exclusion Register page.
Clubhouse’s own responsible-gambling controls
The current Clubhouse responsible-gaming policy provides account-level tools including deposit, loss and wager limits. Each can be set for a day, a week or a month. The same policy provides cooling-off periods of 1 week, 1 month, 3 months or 6 months, plus self-exclusion for 6 months, 9 months, 1 year or indefinitely.
These are operator controls. They should not be confused with Australian statutory coverage or with BetStop. The policy also notes a limitation relevant to cryptocurrency: because of the technical nature of crypto transactions, deposit restrictions may not always stop every cryptocurrency deposit. That makes the distinction between an account tool and a broader regulatory protection especially important.
If identity checks are involved before a balance can be paid, the separate KYC policy explains the current document and review framework. For the cashout side, including approval and payout rules, use the withdrawal policy.
Australian advertising rules add another layer
ACMA’s framework also prohibits advertising for prohibited interactive gambling services. This is separate from the question of whether a website can be loaded and separate again from the question of which offshore licence an operator holds. A service can therefore have an offshore licence while still falling within an Australian category that providers are prohibited from offering or advertising to people in Australia.
That separation matters when reading promotions. The existence of bonus offers on the operator’s own site is a brand-content fact; it is not evidence of Australian licensing or local regulatory approval. Similarly, AUD support in the payments context does not create Australian licence status.
2026 gambling reforms: what is in force now and what starts in 2027
The Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 26 August 2026. Its commencement table matters because the Act is partly future-dated. Sections 1 to 4 commenced on Royal Assent, Schedule 5 commenced on 27 August 2026, and all other schedules commence on 1 January 2027.
As of 17 September 2026, it would therefore be inaccurate to write as though the substantive 1 January 2027 schedules are already operating. The reform package includes changes dealing with wagering advertising, illegal-service disruption, online lottery products, inducements and related BetStop measures, but the commencement date controls when those provisions take effect.
The authoritative commencement table is in the Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Act 2026. Date-labeling these changes avoids blending current law with measures that have been enacted but have not yet commenced.
Tax context for Australian recreational gamblers
The Australian Taxation Office generally treats betting and gambling winnings as non-assessable, and gambling losses as non-deductible, where the activity is recreational rather than a business. The ATO also makes clear that the outcome can differ when a person’s activities amount to carrying on a business of betting or gambling. The classification depends on the facts and circumstances.
That is why this guide does not use the shortcut “gambling winnings are always tax-free”. A casual player and a person operating in a systematic, business-like way are not necessarily treated the same. For unusual or substantial circumstances, the sensible source is current ATO guidance or professional tax advice rather than a casino review.
How to assess trust without collapsing everything into one score
A useful trust assessment separates verifiable layers instead of converting them into a single badge. Start with the current operator and the licence actually disclosed. Then check the licence holder register. Next check the Australian regulatory position and enforcement history. Finally, distinguish regulatory protections from operator-level tools such as KYC, personal limits and self-exclusion.
- Operator: current terms name Novatrix SRL.
- Offshore licence: current terms state Tobique licence no. 0000002; the TGC register lists Novatrix as B2C through 13 March 2027.
- Australian local licence: no Clubhouse or Novatrix entry is verified in ACMA’s current register.
- Australian service rule: ACMA lists online casinos among banned services when offered to people in Australia.
- Enforcement history: ACMA recorded Clubhouse Casino in 2024 warning and blocking activity.
- Player tools: the operator publishes deposit, loss and wager limits plus cooling-off and self-exclusion options.
For product-level context, see the Australian game restrictions. Those game-provider restrictions are separate from the licence analysis on this page and should not be treated as proof of general account access or licensing.
Frequently asked questions
What licence does The Clubhouse Casino currently disclose?
The current official terms state that Novatrix SRL operates under Tobique Gaming Commission licence no. 0000002. The TGC holder register lists Novatrix S.R.L as a B2C holder through 13 March 2027.
Is Clubhouse Casino licensed in Australia?
No Australian local licence is verified for Clubhouse Casino or Novatrix SRL in ACMA’s current register. The disclosed gaming licence is from the Tobique Gaming Commission.
What does ACMA say about online casinos?
ACMA states that online casino services are among the banned services that gambling providers must not offer to people in Australia under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001.
Has ACMA taken action involving Clubhouse Casino?
Yes. ACMA’s April to June 2024 report records a formal warning to Dama N.V. for prohibited interactive gambling services including Clubhouse Casino and lists Clubhouse alternate domains among blocked websites.
Does BetStop automatically self-exclude a Clubhouse account?
BetStop covers Australian licensed online and phone wagering services. It should not be presented as direct account-closure coverage for an offshore prohibited online casino. Clubhouse’s own responsible-gaming tools are separate.
Are gambling winnings always tax-free in Australia?
No blanket statement is appropriate. ATO guidance generally treats recreational gambling winnings as non-assessable, but different treatment can apply if the activity amounts to carrying on a gambling business.
Practical view for Australian readers
The source-led picture is layered. Clubhouse currently names Novatrix SRL as operator and discloses Tobique Gaming Commission licence no. 0000002; the TGC register lists Novatrix as a B2C holder through 13 March 2027. No Australian local licence is verified in ACMA’s register. Separately, ACMA says online casino services are prohibited when providers offer them to people in Australia, and Clubhouse appears in ACMA’s 2024 enforcement and blocking history.
Those facts are more useful than a one-word label because they show where the licence sits, what the Australian rule targets, why technical access can change, and which protections are Australian schemes versus operator tools. Return to the Clubhouse Australia review for the wider site context.