Online gambling in New Zealand: regulation, licence and market guide

Is online gambling legal in New Zealand?

Until 2026 New Zealand had no domestic online casino licence: the Gambling Act 2003 barred local operators, let residents play on overseas sites and taxed those sites through GST and a 12% offshore gambling duty. The Online Casino Gambling Act 2026 replaces that with a licensed market run by the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA): up to 15 licences, one brand each, three years renewable for a further five, no operator with significant influence over more than three, awarded through an expression-of-interest stage (closed 14 August 2026), an auction in September 2026 and full applications from October 2026. From 1 December 2026 any operator that has not applied must stop serving New Zealand; the regime is expected to be fully operational in 2027. Sports and race betting, including online, were reserved to TAB NZ by the Racing Industry Amendment Act 2025.

Regulated: Private operators can hold a local licence for online casino and/or betting.

Who regulates gambling in New Zealand?

• Department of Internal Affairs (Te Tari Taiwhenua) (DIA) — Gambling regulator; runs the online casino licensing process, supervises licensees and enforces against unlicensed operators and advertising
• Gambling Commission (GC) — Independent body that hears appeals and decides land-based casino licensing matters under the Gambling Act 2003
• Inland Revenue (Te Tari Taake) (IRD) — Collects GST, gambling duties and the problem gambling levy from gambling operators

New Zealand gambling licence: how it works

The DIA awards online casino gambling licences in three stages run through the Government Electronic Tenders Service. Stage one, expressions of interest (17 July to 14 August 2026, NZ$19,000 fee excluding GST), screened potential operators. Stage two, planned for September 2026, is an ascending-clock auction in which accepted applicants bid for the right to apply; up to 15 rights are available and not all need be awarded. Stage three, from October 2026, is the full application with the auction price, an application fee, a business plan and detailed strategies for advertising, consumer protection, harm minimization and compliance; the Secretary must be satisfied of suitability and considers New Zealand presence and community contributions. Each licence covers one brand for up to three years, renewable for a further five, and no person may have significant influence over more than three.

What an applicant needs

• Accepted expression of interest and a winning bid in the DIA auction for the right to apply
• Payment of the auction amount plus the application fee set by regulation
• Business plan and strategies for advertising, consumer protection, harm minimization and compliance
• Suitability of the applicant, owners and key persons, with New Zealand presence and community contributions considered
• Compliance with the Online Casino Gambling Regulations 2026 and the AML/CFT Act 2009

Gambling taxes in New Zealand

• Operators: GST at 15% on gambling revenue, offshore/online gambling duty of 12% of gross gambling revenue rising to 16% from 1 January 2027 (4 points ring-fenced for community returns), a quarterly levy of 3.5% of online gambling profits under the 2026 regulations, and the problem gambling levy set every three years by Order in Council (Cabinet papers, DIA and Inland Revenue, 2025 to 2026).
• Players: None; gambling winnings are not taxed for recreational players.
• Also: TAB NZ and Lotto NZ pay their own statutory duties and the problem gambling levy (0.74% of betting profits for the racing agency and 0.69% for the lottery from 1 July 2025). Unlicensed operators face civil penalties of up to NZ$5 million for a corporation and NZ$300,000 for an individual.

Advertising, player protection, KYC and payments

Advertising

Since 1 May 2026 advertising online casino gambling to New Zealand customers is prohibited for anyone without a licence, and the DIA can issue takedown notices to platforms. Licensed operators may advertise only within the Online Casino Gambling Regulations 2026, which set content, placement and audience rules and restrict inducements.

Responsible gaming

Licensees must identify signs of problem gambling and act on them, escalating to exclusion from all their platforms where concerns persist, provide self-exclusion and limit-setting tools and report to the DIA. Four points of duty are ring-fenced for community returns, and the problem gambling levy funds treatment services.

Identity and age verification

Customers must be 18 or over and verified under AML/CFT customer due diligence before play; licensees keep transaction records and report suspicious activity.

Payments

Debit and credit cards, bank transfers, mobile wallets and prepaid vouchers are used today; the 2026 regulations set consumer-protection and record-keeping rules for deposits and withdrawals. Cryptocurrency is not an authorized method under the regulations as published.

Notable restrictions

• No more than 15 online casino licences; one brand per licence; no operator with significant influence over more than three
• Unlicensed operators must cease serving New Zealand from 1 December 2026 unless an application is pending
• Online sports and race betting reserved to TAB NZ; offshore bookmakers may not take bets from people in New Zealand
• Advertising by unlicensed online casinos prohibited since 1 May 2026
• New land-based casino licences remain barred by the Gambling Act 2003 moratorium

New Zealand iGaming market: size, players and payments

A 2024 regulatory impact statement estimated the online casino market at NZ$300 million to NZ$800 million a year; operators paying GST reported about NZ$342.5 million, with 36 offshore operators registered and 15 accounting for more than 90% (DIA and Inland Revenue, 2025).

Online casino play is well established among adults because it was never illegal for residents; the DIA's market insight reports (card data, October 2023 to September 2025) show spend concentrated on a few large brands.

Play is predominantly mobile, in line with the card-based deposit data in the DIA's market insight reports.

The auction will decide the licensed field; TAB NZ (with Entain as strategic partner since 2023) is the sole online sportsbook, Lotto NZ runs the lottery and SkyCity operates most land-based casinos.

Timeline: how New Zealand got here

1. 2003-09Gambling Act 2003 prohibits domestic remote interactive gambling except by TAB NZ and Lotto NZ but does not criminalize residents' offshore play
2. 2016-10GST extended to remote services, including offshore online gambling supplied to New Zealanders
3. 2019-07Offshore gambling duty of 12% of GGR introduced on offshore operators
4. 2023-06TAB NZ enters a 25-year strategic partnership with Entain
5. 2025-06Racing Industry Amendment Act 2025 makes TAB NZ the sole online sports and race betting provider; Online Casino Gambling Bill introduced
6. 2026-04Online Casino Gambling Bill passes its third reading on 23 April
7. 2026-05Online Casino Gambling Act 2026 in force from 1 May; unlicensed advertising banned
8. 2026-08Expression-of-interest stage closes on 14 August; regulations published
9. 2026-12Operators that have not applied must cease serving New Zealand from 1 December
10. 2027-01Online gambling duty rises from 12% to 16% of GGR; licensed regime expected to be fully operational during 2027

Outlook

The September 2026 auction and October applications will determine the first licensees, with grants expected around the turn of 2027 and a launch obligation soon after. The duty rises to 16% on 1 January 2027 and the DIA will publish further compliance guidance. Enforcement against operators that stay without applying begins on 1 December 2026, using prohibition orders, takedown notices and penalties of up to NZ$5 million.

Launching in New Zealand with GameBridge

Turnkey (your licence, our platform). New Zealand licences are auctioned to and held by the operator, so the licensee runs its brand on GameBridge technology under its own DIA licence; GameBridge does not hold a New Zealand licence and cannot guarantee an auction outcome or approval.

A New Zealand brand on GameBridge is configured as a single-brand casino with an NZD wallet, English site language and geo-controls that admit verified New Zealand residents aged 18 or over while excluding sports betting markets, which are reserved to TAB NZ. Harm-minimization settings map to the Online Casino Gambling Regulations 2026: deposit, loss and session limits, self-exclusion across the licensee's platforms, behavioral flags that escalate to exclusion, and reporting exports for the DIA. The bonus and affiliate engines are locked to the advertising and inducement rules, payments run through the operator's acquiring for cards, bank transfer and wallets, and a certification package for GameBridge Studios and Originals versions is supplied where the DIA requires game testing.

• Single-brand casino configuration matching the one-brand-per-licence rule
• NZD wallet with GST, duty and levy reporting by period
• Age and identity verification before play with AML/CFT record-keeping
• Deposit, loss and session limits, self-exclusion and risk flags with DIA reporting exports
• Bonus and affiliate engines configured to the 2026 advertising and inducement regulations
• Sportsbook disabled so no betting competes with TAB NZ

Slots and live casino lead New Zealand lobbies; the aggregated catalog brings the studios New Zealanders already play through {providersAvailable} game providers, and GameBridge Studios can build exclusive titles once the licensee's content approvals are in place.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and review

Reviewed against the sources below on 11 September 2026. Regulation changes; confirm the current position with local counsel before launch.

• Information for online casino providers: licensing and compliance — Department of Internal Affairs, accessed 2026-09-11
• Racing Industry Amendment Act 2025 — New Zealand Legislation, accessed 2026-09-11
• New Zealand iGaming bill passes final parliament reading — iGB, accessed 2026-09-11
• New Zealand Online Casino Gambling Bill briefing — ICLG, accessed 2026-09-11
• New Zealand – Regulation of Online Casinos — Addisons, accessed 2026-09-11
• New Zealand sets final rules for regulated online casino market — NEXT.io, accessed 2026-09-11
• New Zealand Government establishes legislative net for racing and sports betting industry — Entain plc, accessed 2026-09-11
• Problem gambling levy rates from 1 July 2025 — Inland Revenue, accessed 2026-09-11

Regulatory summaries are provided for orientation only and are not legal advice. Licensing requirements change; we validate them with you during scoping.