New Zealand has had fragmented gambling laws for some time. They have failed to cover digital operations and casinos. However, with new legislation, this is set to change. We discuss it in the article below.
In July last year, New Zealand finally began to make moves to regulate its online gambling industry. This will make it illegal for unregulated operators to target customers in the country. It will also increase tax revenue, protect customers in New Zealand, and contribute towards gambling harm.
The Ongoing Process of New Zealand’s Gambling Laws
The Department of Internal Affairs will oversee the process and create the regulatory framework. Licenses will be given to operators through an auction process. This will be subject to the applicants fulfilling regulatory requirements. There has also been speculation that advertising for casino products and services will be allowed. However, it must be distinctly separated from other products. This will mean that sports betting and lottery products will not be allowed in combination with online casinos. The legal age for online casino gambling will be set at 18.
Brooke van Velden, the Minister of Internal Affairs, is in charge of the changes. She has noted that it is not intended to increase the number of people in the country gambling. Instead, it is more an aim to regulate, tax, and provide consumer protection to those who already do. The timescale sets this as a 2026 launch date, and consultation will be made with the public through a select committee.
New Zealand’s Current Situation
Currently, New Zealand’s gambling has been operating in a grey area. People can access offshore casinos, some of which are perfectly legitimate, others of which are less so. In this, the biggest consumer protection available to players has been online aggregators like bonus.net.nz. For some time, not only have these websites found casinos that offer the best bonuses or game selections, but they have also found the safest. This includes looking at how casinos operate and how secure their payment methods and operations are. In fact, many of the operators featured on their recommendation lists are ones lined up for licenses. By bringing in these regulations, the government hopes to improve consumer protection even further and have some control over it.
This change will be the first gambling amendment since the new government took over. The National Party took over from the Labour government last year. One of the most heated debates was the regulation of offshore casinos. The current government stated that around NZ$179m could be raised through the taxation of these casinos. This led to a battle of figures with the opposition, who disputed the figures they had provided.
Who May Be Interested in Applying for Licenses?
A total of 15 licenses will be available for operators to bid upon. There has already been a wave of interest in this, despite potential regulation being pegged as extremely high. This is expected to pass this year and will be introduced in April 2025. The early months of 2026 have been marked as when the checks and auctions for licenses will go ahead. This will allow casinos to open their digital door in April 2026.
On September 9th, a number of cabinet papers were filed regarding interested operators. Many of these were already present in the country and are looking to bid for licenses. Among the names are SkyCity, Spin City, Bet365, SpinBet, and Super Group, including a host of others.
Those who breach regulations or continue to operate and target customers will face fines. These could be around NZ$5 million for any breach of player protection rules. All of this includes the breach of advertising rules and will surely include anyone who does not have an age verification system in place.
There will also be changes to horse racing. This was taken over by TAB in August 2020. This is the latest in a long legacy of institutions regulating horse racing in the country, which included the Racing Industry Transition Agency and the New Zealand Racing Board. The new board is now working in partnership with Entain, who stepped in due to rising costs. It has been suggested that TAB should remain wholly separate from any casino endeavors. However, this final decision will rest with the Minister for Racing, who will say if the company can apply for a casino license.
It has also been stated that current land-based casinos in New Zealand should also be allowed to apply for online licenses. Many of them, such as Christchurch and SkyCity, already have online provisions that operate offshore. However, there are others that do not. There are currently six casinos operating in New Zealand, and not all of them have yet expressed a desire to apply for a license.
New Zealand’s gambling sector is undoubtedly going to change over the next two years. However, it will undoubtedly be better for consumers. With the ability to raise taxes, iGaming could be a valuable lifeline in lean economic times.
