If you’re one of the thousands who enjoy having a once a year bet on the Melbourne Cup but want to avoid the queues at your local TAB we have put together an easy guide that’ll help you put your bets on in a matter of minutes and without having to leave the house!
Step 1: Choose an online bookmaker
Use the comparison below to review current options, but first confirm that the wagering provider is licensed to serve your location and read its current odds, fees and promotion terms.
FREE LIVE STREAMING!
The 2026 Melbourne Cup will be available free-to-air on the Nine Network and streamed on 9Now. TAB and Sky Racing also hold racing broadcast rights; bookmaker streaming availability and account requirements vary.
TIP: View the other ways to watch the 2026 Melbourne Cup
Step 2: Sign up
Sign up with your chosen licensed provider and complete its identity checks. You must be aged 18 or over to open a wagering account.
Step 3: Make a deposit
Use one of the debit-card or bank-payment methods accepted by your provider. Since 11 June 2024, Australian online and telephone wagering services cannot accept credit cards, credit-linked digital wallets or cryptocurrency for wagering deposits.
TIP: Let us help you find a winner! Checkout our Melbourne Cup 2025 Tips
Step 4: Place your bets
Here’s the fun part. Once you have made a deposit make your way to the Melbourne Cup page. You’ll find links to this on the Ladbrokes home page. You can bet on a number of Melbourne Cup markets but we’ll show you how to bet on the win, place, each-way and trifecta.
How to place a bet on a horse to win
Ladbrokes will offer you a number of different ways to be, we recommend using the Best Tote or Starting Price. This guarantees you the best odds out of the 3 totes or the Starting Price giving you the best value for your bet. Simply click on the Best Tote or Starting Price odds (highlighted in the image above) and a betslip will appear on the right. Then enter your bet amount and hit ‘Bet’. Once you’ve done that all you need to do is ‘Confirm’ the bet and your bet will be placed.
How to place a bet on a horse to place
Betting on a horse to place is very similar to the instructions above. Simply select the Best Tote or Starting Price odds instructed above and in the bet slip to the right change the left dropdown option from ‘Win’ to ‘Place’. This will give you the best place odds of all 3 totes or the official Starting Price. Click on the image to the right for an example.
How to place an Each-Way bet
An Each-Way bet allows you to bet on your chosen horse to either win the race or finish top 3. With a field the size of the Melbourne Cup it’s a great option as many of the horses are at great each way odds. Each-Way betting is simple and can be achieved by following the steps above and selecting the Best Tote or Starting Price odds and in the betslip to the right selecting Each Way in the dropdown box.
How to place a Trifecta
A Trifecta bet is where you’re looking to pick the 1st, 2nd and 3rd horse. It’s an ambitious option but the rewards are greater. We recommend a Boxed Trifecta, this allows you to pick a number of horses that can finish top 3 in any order. One the Melbourne Cup page on Ladbrokes.com.au select the ‘Trifecta’ tab. A number of check boxes will appear. To place a boxed trifecta simply tick the first box on each of the horses you think could place in the top 3. You can select more than 3 horses but the more horses you put in a trifecta the less percentage of winnings you will receive.
How to place a bet on the Melbourne Cup?
Betting online is the easiest way to bet on the Melbourne Cup. Bookmakers such as Ladbrokes make betting easier than ever before, simply create an account and you can place your bet in minutes.
Where can I bet on Melbourne Cup?
There are a bunch of great online bookmakers the offer great odds on the Melbourne Cup. These include Ladbrokes, Neds and swiftbet.
