Hundreds of punters have packed into a Darwin pub to play the much-loved betting game of two-up with their mates on Anzac Day

April 25, 2022

Hundreds of punters have packed into a Northern Territory pub to play two-up with their mates on Anzac Day.

The beloved betting game is a tradition as timeless as the Anzac legend, and the coins were flipping high and fast at the Darwin Hotel.

“Lots of people are winning money and lots of veterans are having fun,” Zoe Yewsang told AAP with a laugh on Monday.

Dozens of people lined the ring three deep to place a bet or just watch and enjoy the fun as they remembered the sacrifices Diggers had made for the country.

Health restrictions thwarted Anzac Day commemorations for the previous two years but 2022 has seen crowds gathering again and two-up return to pubs on the one day of the year it’s legal.

“Everyone is loving it. You find someone in the crowd and say ‘hey, heads or tails’ and you sort a bet out. It’s a really social atmosphere,” Joel Hobley said.

Retired Australian Defence Force sailor Sean Goff described the atmosphere as amazing, saying it was wonderful to see so many young people taking part in Anzac Day and the tradition of two-up.

“Listening to them getting so much enjoyment, yelling and carrying on and winning and betting with each other, it was just so cool to watch,” he said.

Retired sailor Kelly Skimmings sailor said the famed game was Australian as a meat pie and an important part of the social aspect of the Anzac Day commemoration.

“It’s unique, a tradition, a huge thing, it’s about mateship,” she said laughing with friends.

Two-up is an Australian gambling game where a spinner throws two coins or pennies into the air.

Players bet on whether the coins will land with both heads up, with both tails up, or with a head and a tail up.