New Zealand: gambling regulation and licensing

New Zealand is replacing an unregulated offshore online casino market with a capped licensing regime. The Online Casino Gambling Act 2026 received Royal assent on 28 April 2026 and came into force on 1 May 2026, with the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) as regulator. No more than 15 licences may exist and no person may control more than three. Each covers one brand for three years, renewable once for five. The right to apply was sold by ascending clock auction from 29 September to 12 October 2026: 32 bidders took part and 11 entities won the 15 rights at NZ$15 million each. Winners must still pass a suitability assessment, and DIA expects the licensed regime to be fully in place in 2027. Offshore sites already serving New Zealanders may continue until 1 December 2026, or until a pending application is decided, but may not advertise. Online poker falls within the casino regime. Betting is not part of the reform: since 28 June 2025 only TAB NZ may offer racing and sports betting to people in New Zealand, and the Act protects Lotto NZ’s main lottery games. The fiscal load is layered. Online gambling duty is 12% of amounts received from New Zealand residents less prizes, rising to 16% on 1 January 2027, when part of it starts flowing to community groups through the Lottery Grants Board. Licensees also pay a 3.5% DIA levy, a 1.24% problem gambling levy and 15% GST. Conduct rules are among the strictest of any new market: no credit, no autoplay, one slot game at a time, bonuses capped at NZ$100, and no sponsorship, endorsements or affiliate marketing. A DIA-commissioned card-data study estimated that New Zealanders deposited about NZ$1.36 billion with offshore gambling sites in the year to September 2025.

Regulator

Department of Internal Affairs (DIA)

Regulator type

Government ministry

Headline tax

12% GGR

Licence required

Yes

Minimum age

18+

Tax base

Online gambling duty is charged on online gambling profits: money received from New Zealand residents less prizes paid and payable to them, per quarterly return period, with losses carried forward (Gaming Duties Act 1971, s 12T). The 3.5% DIA levy uses the same base. The problem gambling levy for online casino operators is charged on turnover less prizes paid and payable.

Capital

Wellington

Currency

NZD

Official languages

English, Maori

Built from the record on this page, last verified 21 Oct 2026. The Licensing and Taxation sections carry the full detail and sources.

Licence required

Yes

Application window

Capped

Local establishment required

Not yet verified

Local server required

Not yet verified

Licence cap

15

Active licences

0 (as of 14 Oct 2026)

Typical time to licence

Expressions of interest ran from 17 July to 14 August 2026 and the auction from 29 September to 12 October 2026. Winners then pay the auction price and file a full application, with applications opening in October 2026; DIA expects the licensed regime to be fully in place in 2027.

Certification requirements

Technology must meet the Minimum Standards 2026. The Secretary may require verification before use, written confirmation from a named body that technology complies, and ongoing monitoring and testing by a specified body (s 80(8) to (11)). Security controls follow ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A and payment providers must comply with PCI DSS v4.0.1.

Barriers to entry

Capped at 15 licences, and no person may have significant influence (20% of votes or securities) over more than three. Applicants need the minimum capital set in the public notice and no dishonesty conviction in the last seven years for the company or its chief executive, finance or operating officers; DIA must refuse anyone likely to harm New Zealand’s international reputation. The right to apply was bought at auction, at NZ$15 million per licence in October 2026, applicants must give an address for service in New Zealand, and presence in New Zealand and community contributions count towards suitability. Once licensed, the platform must be live within 90 days and available at least 270 days a year.

Headline GGR tax

12% GGR

Effective date

1 Jul 2024

VAT treatment

Offshore operators supplying online gambling to New Zealand residents are suppliers of remote services and must register for GST once supplies exceed NZ$60,000 in 12 months. The standard GST rate is 15%.

Tax base

Online gambling duty is charged on online gambling profits: money received from New Zealand residents less prizes paid and payable to them, per quarterly return period, with losses carried forward (Gaming Duties Act 1971, s 12T). The 3.5% DIA levy uses the same base. The problem gambling levy for online casino operators is charged on turnover less prizes paid and payable.

Minimum age

18+

National self-exclusion

Not yet verified

KYC timing

Before account activation

AML regime

Online casino operators are reporting entities under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 from 1 May 2026 (Schedule 2 of the Online Casino Gambling Act 2026) and must file a compliance strategy covering it with their application.

AML supervisor

Department of Internal Affairs

Deposit limits

Customers must be able to set daily, weekly or monthly deposit, spend and play-time limits, be prompted at sign-up and monthly, and wait at least 24 hours before a limit is raised or removed (reg 5; Minimum Standard 5).

Session limits

Breaks in play of at least 5 minutes after 60 minutes, time-outs of 24 hours, 1 week and 1 to 3 months, and a pop-up alert at least every 60 minutes showing session time and losses that pauses the game until acknowledged (reg 6). Idle accounts log out after at most 30 minutes (Minimum Standard 11).

Affordability checks

Operators must identify problem gamblers from information the Secretary specifies, give them a statement and help information, and, if signs continue, exclude them from all their platforms for up to two years, returning uncommitted funds within 24 hours (regs 9 to 11).

Data localisation

The platform must be available only to people in New Zealand, with geolocation and VPN mitigation (Minimum Standard 12). Infrastructure may not be hosted in a jurisdiction where that would prejudice New Zealand’s international reputation (Minimum Standard 19). Records must be kept for 7 years (s 43; reg 31).

KYC requirements

Before activating an account the operator must obtain full name and date of birth, check whether the customer is excluded or has held an account before, and verify identity and that the customer is at least 18 (regs 15 to 17). Every login must be verified as the account holder, and one account per customer per platform.

Stake limits

Not yet verified

Mandatory player messaging

Harm minimisation messages as specified by the Secretary (reg 7); odds, return to player, game rules and whether the opponent is human shown before first play (reg 22); a registration icon and audio mark on the platform (s 41).

Reporting obligations

Quarterly reports to DIA on player use, compliance records and online gambling profits; an annual report with audited financial statements by 28 January; serious incidents within 5 working days; quarterly complaint numbers (regs 33 to 35; s 46).

Game content restrictions

No autoplay and no more than one online slot game at a time; no features that encourage excessive, continuous or impulsive gambling; network progressive jackpots only among New Zealand licensees, except peer-to-peer poker (reg 14). A minimum of 2.5 seconds from the start of one game round to the start of the next, no adaptive or compensated games, a cryptographically secure RNG, and a running net position display (Minimum Standards 10, 13 and 14). Losses may not be presented as wins (reg 19).

Advertising permitted

Yes

Watershed

No clock-based watershed. Broadcast advertising is banned during live broadcasts and for 30 minutes before and after them on that platform (reg 39(2)(a)).

Affiliate rules

Advertisements involving an affiliate arrangement, meaning a referral paid on a later outcome such as account opening, are prohibited (reg 40(c)). Payment solely for displaying a link, such as search advertising, is not an affiliate arrangement (reg 3).

Sponsorship rules

Sponsorship is a prohibited form of advertisement, including an operator or platform name, slogan or trade mark in the name, logo or website of an event, on participants’ equipment or clothing, or in the name of a building or scholarship (reg 40(a)). Communications made while broadcasting a physical sporting event held outside New Zealand are outside the statutory definition of advertisement (s 5).

Celebrity and influencer rules

Personal endorsements of an operator or platform are prohibited, whether given by a real, fictional or artificial person (reg 40(b)). DIA says influencers and content creators who publish unlawful online casino advertising face take-down notices and penalties.

Social media rules

Online and social media advertising is a permitted method subject to the content, targeting and age rules; direct messages need express consent (regs 39 and 42). Targeting on the basis of social media data at people under 18, or at 18 to 25 year olds without age checks, is prohibited (reg 44).

Bonus advertising rules

Sign-up inducements may be advertised only on the operator’s own platform. Offers to existing customers may also go by direct communication if the customer opted in and chose the frequency and content, and not while an account is closing or about to go dormant. Offers may not be described as free if a stake is needed, and must meet the NZ$100 cap in reg 13 (regs 42 and 43).

Mandatory warnings

Harm minimisation messages where the Secretary specifies them, in the language of the advertisement (reg 45), plus the registration icon on visual and the audio mark on audio advertisements (s 41). Advertisements must be identifiable as advertising for online casino gambling (reg 41).

Penalties for breach

Civil pecuniary penalties of up to NZ$5 million for a company and NZ$300,000 for an individual (s 62); take-down notices to unlicensed operators and publishers, to be complied with within 2 days (ss 56 and 57). Publishing other overseas gambling advertising is an offence with a fine of up to NZ$10,000 (Gambling Act 2003, s 16).

Credit card ban

Yes

Crypto stance

Not yet verified

Withdrawal timeframe rules

Withdrawals must be completed without undue delay once legal requirements are met, to the registered deposit method or another method the customer chooses, and cannot be cancelled by the customer once requested; winnings from inducements must be withdrawable without further play (regs 13 and 21).

Currency restrictions

Monetary values must be shown in New Zealand dollars (reg 22(2)). Each customer may register only one deposit method per platform and cannot change it within 24 hours; customer funds are held in a separate bank account (regs 20 and 21).

ISP blocking

Not yet verified

DNS blocking

Not yet verified

Payment blocking

Not yet verified

App store takedowns

Not yet verified

Administrative penalties

Formal warnings (published), enforceable undertakings, take-down notices, licence conditions, suspension and cancellation; civil pecuniary penalties ordered by the High Court of up to NZ$5 million for a company, NZ$300,000 for an individual and NZ$10,000 for information failures (ss 51 to 62).

Criminal penalties

Gambling online on behalf of a person under 18 in New Zealand, from 1 December 2026, and publishing an overseas gambling advertisement: fines of up to NZ$10,000 each (Online Casino Gambling Act 2026, s 66; Gambling Act 2003, s 16).

Operator liability

The prohibitions on unlicensed conduct and advertising apply to persons outside New Zealand (s 4). DIA can order an unlicensed operator or publisher to stop its platform or advertisement reaching New Zealand and enforce the order in the High Court (ss 56 to 60). DIA monitors compliance with the TAB NZ betting monopoly (Racing Industry Act 2020, s 92A).

1. 1 Jul 2024

   Offshore gambling duty of 12% of online gambling profits starts

2. 28 Jun 2025

   Racing and sports betting offered to people in New Zealand reserved to TAB NZ

3. 30 Jun 2025

   Online Casino Gambling Bill introduced

4. 28 Apr 2026

   Online Casino Gambling Act 2026 receives Royal assent

5. 1 May 2026

   Act in force: unlicensed advertising prohibited with new enforcement powers; problem gambling levy extended to online casino operators

6. 19 May 2026

   DIA publishes market insights estimating NZ$1.36 billion of card deposits with offshore gambling sites in the year to September 2025, up 10.5%

7. 3 Jul 2026

   Online Casino Gambling Regulations 2026 in force

8. 8 Jul 2026

   Online Casino Gambling (Minimum Standards) 2026 in force

9. 14 Aug 2026

   Expression of interest stage closes

10. 29 Sept 2026

    Ascending clock auction for the right to apply for up to 15 licences opens

11. 12 Oct 2026

    Auction closes after 10 rounds with 32 bidders: 11 entities win the right to apply for the 15 licences at NZ$15 million each (result published by DIA on 13 October)

12. 1 Dec 2026

    Operators without a licence application must leave the New Zealand market

13. 1 Jan 2027

    Online gambling duty rises to 16%

14. 1 Jun 2027

    Latest date the transitional exemption for pending applicants can run

The auction closed on 12 October 2026 at NZ$15 million a licence, leaving 11 entities with the 15 rights to apply. DIA says applications open in October 2026, and each winner must pass a suitability assessment before a licence is granted. From 1 December 2026 every operator without an application must leave the market, and the offence of gambling on behalf of a minor takes effect. The duty rises to 16% on 1 January 2027 and DIA expects the licensed regime to be fully in place during 2027, after which advertising by licensees becomes lawful and approved brands appear on a public register. Regulations for a national self-exclusion register are due by 1 December 2027, and the government has said it will review the effect on pokies funding for community groups after two years.

Is online casino legal in New Zealand?

The Online Casino Gambling Act 2026 has been in force since 1 May 2026, but no licences have been issued yet. Eleven entities won the right to apply for the 15 licences at auction in October 2026, and DIA expects the licensed regime to be fully in place in 2027. Offshore sites already serving New Zealanders may continue until 1 December 2026, or until a pending application is decided, but may not advertise.

How are the licences allocated?

In three stages: expressions of interest, which closed on 14 August 2026; an ascending clock auction for the right to apply, which ran from 29 September to 12 October 2026 and cleared at NZ$15 million a licence; and a full application assessed for suitability. No one may have significant influence over more than three of the 15 licences.

Who won the auction?

Baytree Interactive Limited won three rights to apply, Playvia Gaming (NZ) Limited and Rock Swift Group Limited two each, and Christchurch Online NZ Limited, One Casino Limited, Rush Entertainment Limited, Skill On Net Limited, SkyCity NZ Online NO1 Limited, SkyCity NZ Online NO2 Limited, Stake New Zealand Limited and TAB New Zealand one each. None holds a licence yet. DIA has not published the brands, which will appear on a public register once licences are granted.

What does a licensed online casino pay?

Online gambling duty of 12% of amounts received from New Zealand residents less prizes, rising to 16% on 1 January 2027, a 3.5% DIA levy on the same profits, a 1.24% problem gambling levy and 15% GST, plus the auction price of NZ$15 million a licence and a NZ$19,000 expression of interest fee.

Can offshore operators offer sports betting to New Zealanders?

No. Since 28 June 2025 only TAB NZ may offer racing and sports betting to people in New Zealand, under section 74AAA of the Racing Industry Act 2020.

Can licensed operators use affiliates, sponsorship or bonuses?

Affiliate arrangements, sponsorship and personal endorsements are prohibited forms of advertisement. Inducements are capped at NZ$100 and sign-up offers may be advertised only on the operator’s own platform.

What happens if an unlicensed site advertises to New Zealanders?

DIA can issue a take-down notice requiring compliance within 2 days and seek civil pecuniary penalties of up to NZ$5 million for a company in the High Court.

How much does a gambling licence cost in New Zealand?

For the Online casino gambling licence, the application fee is NZ$19,000 (as of 3 Jul 2026). Last verified 21 Oct 2026.

Who regulates gambling in New Zealand?

The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) regulates gambling in New Zealand. Other authorities with a role include Inland Revenue and Gambling Commission.

How long does it take to get a gambling licence in New Zealand?

Expressions of interest ran from 17 July to 14 August 2026 and the auction from 29 September to 12 October 2026. Winners then pay the auction price and file a full application, with applications opening in October 2026; DIA expects the licensed regime to be fully in place in 2027. Last verified 21 Oct 2026.

• Australia
• Netherlands
• Ontario (Canada)
• Finland

M&A

21 Oct 2026

SkyCity Opens Its Books to Bidders for the Whole Group After Capping Its Online Bet at Two Licences

SkyCity Entertainment Group will give interested parties due diligence information on the entire business, though its chair told shareholders that no new or improved proposal has arrived since the two it rejected. The same morning its chief executive said it bid for two online casino licences rather than three to stay within its return targets.

Corporate

16 Oct 2026

SkyCity Agrees NZ$221m Sale of Auckland's Grand Hotel to Cut Debt

SkyCity Entertainment Group has signed a binding agreement to sell The Grand Hotel in Auckland for NZ$221 million, about $124 million, to two companies from a privately owned property group. With the office sale already settled, it says it has now raised more from asset sales than it promised shareholders, but the deal still needs Overseas Investment Office consent.

Regulatory

13 Oct 2026

New Zealand's Online Casino Auction Clears at NZ$15m a Licence as 11 Firms Win the Right to Apply

The Department of Internal Affairs has named the 11 entities that won New Zealand's 15 rights to apply for an online casino licence, at a single price of NZ$15 million each. SkyCity, Stake, TAB New Zealand and companies linked to Super Group and Entain are on the list, but none of them holds a licence yet.

Regulatory

1 Oct 2026

New Zealand Starts Its Auction for 15 Online Casino Licences as DIA Drafts the Testing Rules

The Department of Internal Affairs opened bidding on 29 September for the right to apply for one of up to 15 online casino licences, with a reserve price it will never disclose and no idea, it says, of what the auction will raise. Alongside it, a draft testing regime spells out what the winners will have to prove about their games and platforms.

Regulatory

14 Sept 2026

New Zealand Finds NZ$28m of Pokie Grant Money Spent on the Trusts Themselves

The Department of Internal Affairs says three-quarters of the country's 32 pokie trusts were non-compliant, a third engaged in deliberate "creative accounting", and NZ$11.5m has so far been committed back to communities. One trust lost its licence for six days.

Regulatory

6 Sept 2026

New Zealand's Online Casino Standards Ban Adaptive Games and Demand Secure RNGs

The Department of Internal Affairs' minimum standards for the licensed online casino market, in force since 8 July, require cryptographically secure random-number generation, continuous monitoring, and a ban on games that adapt their outcomes to a player's results. As the department works towards a licensing auction, the rules put the mathematics behind online pokies on the record.

Corporate

1 Sept 2026

SkyCity Completes NZ$74.5m Auckland Sale Under Its Asset Monetisation Plan

The settlement lands on 1 September and takes SkyCity a third of the way through a NZ$200m divestment programme designed to bring down debt after a bruising two years.

Corporate

24 Apr 2026

New Zealand Passes Online Casino Bill, Opening Race for 15 Licences

After years of regulatory grey area, New Zealand has passed legislation that will bring offshore online casino operators to heel and create one of the Asia-Pacific region's most anticipated new regulated markets.

Regulatory

24 Dec 2025

New Zealand Bans Credit Card Deposits in Upcoming Online Casino Market

The New Zealand government has confirmed a ban on credit card deposits for its forthcoming regulated online casino market, a major concession aimed at securing parliamentary support for the Online Casino Bill.

All 16 articles on New Zealand →

Source tiers. Tier 1: the law, official gazette, licence register or regulator itself. Tier 2: other official sources such as ministries, parliaments, courts and statistics agencies. Only tier 1 and tier 2 sources can support a fact on their own.

1. Online Casino Gambling Act 2026 (2026 No 14), as enacted

   New Zealand Legislation (Parliamentary Counsel Office)

   Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 28 Apr 2026
2. Online Casino Gambling Regulations 2026 (SL 2026/169)

   New Zealand Legislation (Parliamentary Counsel Office)

   Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 4 Jun 2026
3. Online Casino Gambling (Minimum Standards) 2026

   Department of Internal Affairs (Te Tari Taiwhenua)

   Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 8 Jul 2026
4. Gambling Act 2003 (version as at 6 June 2026), including ss 4, 9, 10, 15 and 16

   New Zealand Legislation (Parliamentary Counsel Office)

   Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 18 Sept 2003
5. Racing Industry Act 2020 (version as at 1 August 2026), including s 74AAA and subpart 3 of Part 4

   New Zealand Legislation (Parliamentary Counsel Office)

   Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
6. Gaming Duties Act 1971 (version as at 1 May 2026), Part 2C online gambling duty, ss 12S to 12X

   New Zealand Legislation (Parliamentary Counsel Office)

   Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
7. Gambling (Problem Gambling Levy) Regulations 2025 (SL 2025/123), version as at 1 May 2026

   New Zealand Legislation (Parliamentary Counsel Office)

   Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
8. Online Casino Gambling: overview

   Department of Internal Affairs (Te Tari Taiwhenua)

   Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
9. Information for online casino providers: licensing and compliance (updated 13 October 2026, with the auction result)

   Department of Internal Affairs (Te Tari Taiwhenua)

   Tier 1Accessed 14 Oct 2026Published 13 Oct 2026
10. Information for online casino customers

    Department of Internal Affairs (Te Tari Taiwhenua)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
11. Information for advertisers

    Department of Internal Affairs (Te Tari Taiwhenua)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
12. Online Casino Gambling: Auction guidance

    Department of Internal Affairs (Te Tari Taiwhenua)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
13. 2025 New Zealand Market Insights Report: Historical Market Analysis (prepared for DIA by Dot Loves Data, card data October 2023 to September 2025)

    Department of Internal Affairs (Te Tari Taiwhenua)

    Tier 2Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 19 May 2026
14. Gambling expenditure statistics: annual figures, all gambling activity

    Department of Internal Affairs (Te Tari Taiwhenua)

    Tier 2Accessed 23 Sept 2026
15. Online gambling duty (last updated 12 September 2026)

    Inland Revenue (Te Tari Taake)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 12 Sept 2026
16. Problem gambling levy

    Inland Revenue (Te Tari Taake)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
17. Charging GST

    Inland Revenue (Te Tari Taake)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
18. Supplying remote services into New Zealand

    Inland Revenue (Te Tari Taake)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
19. SkyCity penalised $4.16 million for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism breaches

    Department of Internal Affairs (Te Tari Taiwhenua)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 26 Sept 2024
20. DIA reaches major milestones in pokies sector compliance

    Department of Internal Affairs (Te Tari Taiwhenua)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 11 Sept 2026
21. Christchurch man sentenced for New Zealand’s largest ever illegal lottery

    Department of Internal Affairs (Te Tari Taiwhenua)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 24 Jun 2026
22. Community funding guaranteed as Online Gambling Bill moves forward

    New Zealand Government (Beehive.govt.nz)

    Tier 2Accessed 23 Sept 2026
23. Entain and TAB NZ partnership: investor call transcript (8 June 2023)

    Entain plc

    Tier 2Accessed 21 Oct 2026Published 8 Jun 2023