New Zealand is moving toward regulating online casino gambling for the first time, with a new bill proposing a tightly controlled market capped at just 15 operators and strict rules banning affiliate marketing and influencer endorsements.
The framework was outlined by Paul James, Secretary for Internal Affairs and Chief Executive of the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), during a presentation on the country’s upcoming regulatory changes at this week’s Regulating The Game conference in Sydney, Australia.
According to James, New Zealand’s online casino sector has largely operated in a legal grey area until now. While it has long been illegal to run an online casino from within New Zealand, residents have faced no restrictions on accessing offshore platforms. The result has been a substantial outflow of gambling spending. Government estimates suggest Kiwis spent around NZD1.3 billion ($790 million) on online casino gambling last year, with most of that activity occurring on overseas websites that fall outside the country’s regulatory and harm-prevention frameworks.
The government’s Online Casino Gambling Bill, introduced to Parliament in June last year and expected to pass later this year, aims to bring that activity into a regulated environment. Officials say the new framework will follow the core principles of New Zealand’s Gambling Act 2003: maintaining the integrity of gambling operations, reducing gambling-related harm and ensuring benefits to the wider community.
Responsibility for overseeing the sector will remain divided among several agencies. The Department of Internal Affairs will serve as the main regulator responsible for licensing, enforcement, investigations and education. The Gambling Commission will continue its role as an independent authority overseeing terrestrial casino licensing and appeals against regulatory decisions, while the Ministry of Health and Health New Zealand will manage the country’s problem gambling strategy and treatment services.
New Zealand currently operates six land-based casinos alongside roughly 14,000 gaming machines located across around 1,000 venues such as pubs and clubs. That sector generates approximately NZD1 billion ($585.54 million) in annual proceeds, with about NZD345 million ($202 million) returned to community projects through grants. However, the rapid expansion of offshore online gambling has created what regulators see as a major gap in the existing framework. Online casino gambling activity grew by roughly 10 percent last year alone.
Timelines and specifics
To address this, the proposed law will create a deliberately limited market with a maximum of 15 online casino licenses. Officials believe the cap strikes a balance between allowing consumer choice while ensuring the regulator can effectively oversee the industry and manage gambling harm. The licenses will be distributed through a three-stage process beginning with an expression of interest from prospective operators. This will be followed by a competitive auction, currently expected to take place in September, which will determine which applicants secure the right to pursue one of the limited license slots.
Winning the auction, however, will not guarantee final approval. Successful bidders must still pass a comprehensive suitability assessment before being granted a full operating license. Regulators say this approach ensures that both financial value and operator integrity are considered in determining who ultimately enters the market. One of the most significant policy shifts under the new regime concerns advertising and marketing.
Only licensed operators will be allowed to advertise to New Zealand consumers once the law takes effect. At the same time, penalties for illegal advertising will increase dramatically. The current maximum fine of NZD10,000 ($6,000) will rise to NZD5 million ($3 million) for corporate offenders. The bill will also prohibit affiliate marketing arrangements and paid endorsements by influencers, two promotional channels that have become common in many online gambling markets globally.
The government is also introducing several consumer protection requirements. Online casinos will not be permitted to offer gambling on credit, meaning credit cards and buy-now-pay-later services will be banned as payment methods. Players will be restricted to playing a single online slot game at a time, and operators will have a formal duty of care requiring them to intervene if they detect signs of harmful gambling behavior. Strict age verification systems will also be mandatory for licensed platforms.
Enforcement of the new rules will rely partly on cooperation with digital platforms and payment providers. The legislation will allow authorities to issue takedown notices to social media companies and internet service providers where illegal advertising or unlicensed gambling services are being promoted. Officials say these tools should make it significantly harder for offshore operators to target New Zealand players without authorization.
While pursuing enforcement against foreign companies directly may remain challenging, regulators believe restricting access to payment systems and advertising channels will reduce the reach of unlicensed operators. The regulatory rollout will occur in stages.
Stronger enforcement powers and higher advertising penalties are scheduled to take effect from May 1st next year. The full regulatory regime will commence on December 1st, 2026. From that point onward, only licensed operators, or those that have secured a license slot and are completing final approval, will be allowed to legally operate in the country.
By June 2027, all transitional arrangements will end and only fully licensed online casino operators will be permitted to serve New Zealand players. For New Zealand, the move represents one of the most significant changes to its gambling regulatory framework in more than two decades as the government attempts to bring a rapidly growing offshore market under domestic oversight.
