How Much Do Casino Dealers Make in Australia?
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So, you’re an Aussie who enjoys spending time having a flutter with friends over a game of baccarat or poker. Or you play for real money in online casinos.
If so, it’s time to consider a career as a casino dealer. Imagine working in a glamorous environment, whilst rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous.
But before diving head first into a new career, we suggest you do some research. This will help to find out exactly what the job offers. In many cases, reality and fantasy are not the same. With that in mind, let’s have a look at Australian casino dealer salaries.
What Does an Australian Casino Dealer Make?
Websites like Glassdoor and Payscale provide a running up-to-date salary database for all jobs in Australia. They show the average casino dealer pay in Australia is between A$24 - A$29 per hour. The total compensation package is around A$69,000 with extra bonuses and overtime. Yet it can go as high as A$81,000 per year for a seasoned casino dealer with at least eight years of experience. Keep in mind that casinos based in larger Australian cities like Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth, will pay more.
Taking a look at actual housing sales data along with property taxes, we can see this difference is thanks to the huge cost of living difference between major cities and small towns in the Australian outback.
Dealer Level | Entry Level Dealer | Average Dealer | Senior Dealer |
Per Year | A$42,246 | A$48,455 | A$81,000 |
Per Hour | A$22.29 | A$24.85 | A$38.94 |
Being an Aussie Casino Dealer Will Not Make You Rich
Most Australian casinos will pay for four weeks of dealer training. This will encompass all aspects of casino gaming, including both the rules and casino etiquette. Following this is a six-month probationary period where both you and the casino have a chance to see if you’re a good fit.
Once completed, you’ll see your starter paycheck begin to rise. With around three years of experience under your belt, expect to see an average annual salary of around A$42,300. In truth, this is nothing to get too excited about. Let’s put things in perspective. An unskilled shop assistant working at Woolworths gets A$23 per hour. Working in the same position at the Old Ferndale Bakery will net you A$28 per hour.
You Can’t Escape the Taxman
Australians enjoy a progressive tax system with both basic and marginal requirements. As your salary grows, you will pay progressively more on top of your basic tax rate. The salaries mentioned here are gross, meaning that the Australian taxman wants his cut.
The effective income tax rates for typical dealers earning A$45,000 is around 13.3%, with an added marginal rate of 34.5%. This translates into a tax bill of A$5,992. Therefore your take-home salary is A$3,251 a month, with your net pay being A$39,008 annually. As you’re going to be a contracted employee on the “pay-as-you-go system,” there’s nothing you can claim back in expenses to reduce this sum.
Housing and Cost of Living
Australia is presently experiencing a dramatic rise in both rental rates and property prices. An average middle-class salary of A$65,000 is already priced out of the market for a mortgage on a typical family home in most cities. With a 20% deposit and A$37,000 from the bank, you’re looking at apartments valued at around A$471,200.
In Sydney, the average asking price for a house or apartment is now a staggering A$1.02 million. Rents are also extremely expensive, with landlords asking for A$650 in Canberra, A$630 in Sydney, and A$530 in Brisbane. With the average cost of living in 2023 for a single Aussie being A$1,518, all these basic expenses mean that you’re going to have relatively little extra cash to save.
It’s Nothing More Than a Regular Service Job
As you can see, annual salaries for casino dealers in Australia are nothing special. In spite of how glamorous the job might look in a James Bond movie. The hard truth is that you’re working in the service industry. This category includes waiters, shop assistants, petrol pump attendants, and bartenders.
But it’s important to consider that the job has no formal educational barriers to entry. If you’re an Australian native, are over 21 years of age, have a high school diploma, and don’t have a criminal record, you have a good chance of securing casino employment. Furthermore, you need to be willing to put up with standing on your feet all day, along with rotating shift work.
US Dealers Earn Much More
In the USA, we can see that a poker dealer or roulette croupier in Atlantic City and Las Vegas receives a much larger wage. On average, a US dealer will enjoy an annual salary of around $77,000 US. This translates to a whopping A$110,000.
Furthermore, the US dealer can see up to over half a million dollars at the end of a good year. The main difference is that, though US salaries are low, they are able to build them by being able to accept tips. You’ll find casino etiquette in any US-based gambling establishment makes tipping almost mandatory. Unfortunately, this is something that’s illegal throughout the Antipodes. Though all Australian casino’s hospitality staff can accept tips, anyone with a Gold License (croupiers, dealers, gaming hosts) cannot.
Live Dealer Earnings
For those of you who enjoy live dealer games over the Internet, you might be wondering about the salary estimates of these employees. Even though they all speak perfect English, virtually every live dealer is based in Central or Eastern Europe.
For example, the majority of Evolution’s live dealer games are produced in a massive studio in Yerevan, Armenia. To put things in perspective, the average service job in Yarevan pays around A$4,000 per year!
Takeaway
Being a casino dealer requires no special qualifications, with training being only a couple of months. So don’t expect a spectacular salary. After all, it’s a service job, but without the benefits from generous tipping.
