Consolidated Statements of Operations - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2017
Revenues:
Total revenues	$ 847,229	$ 812,156	$ 747,951
Net revenues	494,448	481,551	435,507
Operating expenses:
Operations	350,578	334,841	304,956
Administrative	63,665	53,639	53,492
Depreciation and amortization	28,797	25,484	23,661
Loss on sale or disposal of assets and other	4,399	463	359
Total operating expenses	447,439	414,427	382,468
Operating income	47,009	67,124	53,039
Interest expense	32,637	27,834	27,803
Interest income	(11,086)	(17,041)	(12,103)
Equity in net loss (income) of unconsolidated affiliates	135	(5,529)	(4,916)
Impairment of investments	19,725	11,712	0
Other expense (income)	1,424	(5,391)	(423)
Income from continuing operations before income taxes	4,174	55,539	42,678
Income tax expense	2,406	18,389	11,093
Income from continuing operations, net of tax	1,768	37,150	31,585
Loss from discontinued operations, net of tax	(457)	(856)	(1,825)
Net income	1,311	36,294	29,760
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest	(1,230)	(988)	(1,650)
Net income attributable to EZCORP, Inc.	$ 2,541	$ 37,282	$ 31,410
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Basic earnings (loss) per share attributable to EZCORP, Inc. — continuing operations (usd per share)	$ 0.05	$ 0.70	$ 0.61
Diluted earnings (loss) per share attributable to EZCORP, Inc. — continuing operations (usd per share)	$ 0.05	$ 0.66	$ 0.61
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Weighted-average basic shares outstanding	55,341	54,456	54,260
Weighted-average diluted shares outstanding	55,984	57,896	54,368
Merchandise sales
Revenues:
Total revenues	$ 453,375	$ 438,372	$ 414,838
Cost of goods sold	297,508	276,618	266,525
Jewelry scrapping sales
Revenues:
Total revenues	60,445	60,752	51,189
Cost of goods sold	52,935	52,290	43,931
Pawn service charges
Revenues:
Total revenues	327,366	304,577	273,077
Other revenues
Revenues:
Total revenues	6,043	8,455	8,847
Cost of goods sold	$ 2,338	$ 1,697	$ 1,988