New Zealand's gambling situation is changing after years of offshore operators serving the market without any real oversight. The Online Casino Gambling Bill got introduced to Parliament back on June 30, 2025, which marks a pretty big shift from how things worked before where online casino gambling just sort of existed in this weird gray area.
Why This Is Happening Now
New Zealanders gamble online already, a lot actually. Government figures estimate $700-800 million annually. Most of that money goes to offshore sites that operate without New Zealand licenses or taxes or basically any consumer protections. The government figured regulating what's already happening makes more sense than pretending it doesn't exist.
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden said the goal isn't getting people to gamble more but channeling players toward licensed operators instead of unregulated offshore sites. The Gambling Act from 2003 didn't really handle online casinos effectively because operators running entirely offshore fell outside what it covered.
How the Licensing System Works
Fifteen licenses will be available through competitive auction. That's not many licenses for an entire country's online casino market honestly. The government limited supply deliberately, probably to maintain control and drive up auction prices. One operator can hold up to three licenses maximum, each license tied to a specific platform or brand.
Three stages to the licensing process to find the trusted online casinos in New Zealand. First comes expressions of interest around March or April 2026. Operators submit background info including ownership structure, compliance history, tech platforms, available capital. Applications that might harm New Zealand's international reputation get excluded at this stage, though what that actually means isn't clearly defined in the bill.
Stage two is the auction, scheduled for roughly June 2026. Parties that made it past expressions of interest compete for the right to apply for licenses. The auction determines which companies proceed and what they'll pay. Stage three requires full license applications with detailed strategies for advertising, consumer protection, harm minimization, compliance stuff.
What Gets Offered and What Doesn't
Licensed operators can offer slot machines, table games like blackjack and baccarat, virtual sports or racing betting where outcomes are computer-simulated and chance-based. Regular sports betting is excluded because TAB NZ got exclusive rights through separate legislation that kicked in June 28, 2025.
The bill permits network progressive slot jackpots but only across platforms holding New Zealand licenses. Worldwide progressive jackpots connecting New Zealand players with international pools aren't allowed. There's no maximum prize limit for slots and jackpots, which differs from some places that cap winnings.
Licensed operators can't offer products substantially similar to protected New Zealand lotteries. The twice-weekly national lottery draws including Lotto, Powerball and Strike stay exclusively with Lotto NZ. This protects existing state gambling monopolies from competition in certain segments, which makes sense from the government's perspective but limits what licensed operators can actually do.
Advertising Gets Heavily Restricted
Licensed operators can advertise but regulations are still getting finalized with strict limits expected. Draft regulations propose prohibiting paid endorsements by social media influencers, celebrities, athletes. Advertising can't target people under 18, outdoor advertisements will be banned within 300 meters of places where minors regularly hang out like schools or sports fields or skate parks.
Time restrictions will prohibit advertising between 6am and 9:30pm. Broadcast advertisements are limited to specific windows when fewer minors are watching supposedly. The specifics are still being worked out but the general direction points toward way tighter controls than many other gambling markets allow.
Consumer Protection Stuff
Access to licensed platforms gets restricted to individuals 18 and over. Operators must implement identity and age verification systems, though the bill doesn't specify exact technical requirements yet. Regulations covering harm prevention, consumer protection, record-keeping requirements, fees for cost recovery are getting drafted for cabinet approval.
The government emphasized consumer protection and harm minimization throughout the framework. Problem Gambling Foundation submitted concerns that the bill might enable a commercially driven model prioritizing market entry over public health. The select committee expressed concerns the regime could enable more gambling harm rather than less, which is a legitimate worry.
These concerns led to some adjustments. The offshore gambling duty increased from 12 percent to 16 percent of gross gambling revenue starting January 1, 2027. That extra 4 percent gets ringfenced for community returns, estimated at $10-20 million in the first year depending on total market size.
Timeline and When Things Actually Happen
The select committee consultation ran September through November 2025. The bill is expected to be enacted in January 2026 based on current timelines, though government timelines slip sometimes. Expressions of interest follow in March or April 2026, license auction in June 2026. New online casino licenses would be issued between August and December 2026.
From July 1, 2026, only licensed operators can legally offer online casino gambling to people in New Zealand. This prohibition applies extraterritorially, meaning it targets both operators based in New Zealand and those operating from overseas. Unlicensed operators offering services to New Zealand residents after that date face fines up to $5 million, which sounds significant but enforcement against offshore operators is always tricky.
Detailed regulations for license holders are expected to be finalized by mid-2026. Programme Director Trina Lowry said the government plans giving operators time with finalized regulations before running the licensing process, so companies know exactly what they're bidding for. Makes sense, nobody wants to bid blind then find out the requirements are impossible.
Conclusion
Significant details need clarification before the market launches. What exactly constitutes harm to New Zealand's international reputation when evaluating applications hasn't been precisely defined. How the age verification systems will work technically, what specific advertising content gets prohibited versus allowed, how harm minimization measures will be enforced all await final regulations.
Whether 15 licenses is the right number for the market size is debatable honestly. Too few licenses might create an oligopoly with limited competition on odds and player experience. Too many could fragment the market and make individual operators less viable economically. The government settled on 15 but didn't publicly explain the reasoning behind that specific number, so it would be interesting to know how they arrived at it.
