new zealand new online casino regulations

New Zealand authorities have finally unveiled future plans for introducing new regulations and licensing guidelines for the online casino market.

According to official government sources, the Online Casino Gambling Bill was introduced to the House of Representatives on June 30th, 2025. The bill is set to create a regulatory system for all online gambling in the country, focused on minimizing harm, protecting customers, and efficient tax collection.

What is New Zealand's Online Casino Gambling Bill?

The bill was introduced by Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden in order to fully regulate online casinos for Kiwis – a rapidly-growing market that was largely unregulated up to this point. While New Zealand already boasts a considerable population of online casino players with a solid offer of working casino sites, most of these operators have worked in a sort of legal grey area. The new regulations aim to solve this problem by issuing licences and monitoring the market going forward.

The Cabinet of Ministers, the decision-making body of New Zealand's executive branch, has already agreed to introduce new legislation. Now that legislation has to pass Parliament, a process which is already in motion.

Officials have already highlighted the key features of the proposed bill:

  • Up to 15 operating licenses will be auctioned to prospective licensees.
  • Gambling companies that wish to operate in New Zealand will have to provide detailed information to authorities, including their operating frameworks, security measures, responsible gaming policies, and business plans.
  • Only licensed casino operators will be allowed to offer gambling services to NZ citizens. These operators will be allowed to advertize in the country, but with strict limitations.
  • Unlicensed operators will be prohibited from running their own online casinos, with massive fines for non-adherence.

Currently, however, any details about licensing requirements and restrictions on operations and advertizing are kept under wraps. Presumably, not everything has been decided yet, so the movement is choosing to keep the information close.

Additionally, authorities stressed that the bill will also be scrutinized by a select committee, which will be created sometime this year. This will give New Zealand citizens a chance to have a more direct impact on how the regulations will be structured and implemented.

The Current State of NZ Gambling Laws

Currently, online gambling in New Zealand is covered by the Remote Interactive Gambling Act of 2003. This is the main piece of legislation affecting online gambling today, though initially it was aimed at both telephones and computers alike. The Act states that gambling through a communication device, such as computers and telephones, is prohibited across the country. To be clear, though, it’s prohibited to offer such services – not enjoy them.

However, that hasn't stopped offshore online casinos from accepting thousands of Kiwi players to their platforms. The prohibition strictly concerns remote interactive gambling in New Zealand and therefore does not prohibit gambling conducted overseas. It is not illegal for someone in New Zealand to participate in gambling over the Internet if that website is based overseas. Of course, this means that the country also cannot offer legal protection to anyone doing so. Instead, ensuring fairness comes down to the legal jurisdiction of the place where the casino is based.

This is a fact that even van Velden has addressed:

“Currently, New Zealanders can and do gamble on thousands of offshore gambling websites. By introducing a regulatory system, my intention is to channel customers towards up to 15 licensed operators.”

While this gives New Zealand casino players a lot of freedom to enjoy some of the world's biggest online casino brands, it also doesn't protect them as customers or participants of potentially harmful activities. From a financial perspective, it also means that the government is losing out on a lot of taxes.

What the New Bill Means for New Zealand Players

Broadly speaking, well-regulated markets are much better for players than unregulated ones. In fact, much of the new bill seems fully focused on protecting players from harmful practices and predatory marketing.

Operators will, for example, be forced to adhere to very strict advertising rules — and this includes a ban on ads targeting minors. Operators will also be required to implement rigorous age-verification checks, with non-compliance resulting in potential fines of up to NZ$5 million.

In short, players will be better protected in all aspects, ranging from problem gambling prevention to fairness and transparency. That said, it's also worth noting that, by international standards, New Zealand has one of the lowest rates of problem gambling in the world. At a rate of just 0.2% as of 2018, the grant-based system of addressing problem gambling has proven to be very successful.

On the flip side, this will also mean that Kiwis will have a much smaller selection of available online casinos. The current offshore grey market gives them access to hundreds of options, while the bill only proposes up to 15.

On the bright side, several global operators have already expressed interest in bidding for licenses, according to cabinet filings.  This includes 888, Betway and Bet365, which are some of the largest and most respected gambling brands in the world. A number of local organizations have also expressed interest, including SkyCity, Grand Casino Dunedin, and Christchurch Casino.