New Zealand's Parliament completed a milestone action on April 24—the Online Casino Gambling Bill was passed with 83 votes in favor and 39 against in its third and final reading. This legislation, vigorously promoted by Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden, has finally cleared parliamentary hurdles after months of deliberation and now awaits the Governor General's signature for royal assent, expected to officially take effect in May. As industry insiders say, New Zealand has firmly stepped into the era of regulated online gambling.
15 license auctions, application window opens in July
The core framework of the bill revolves around a maximum of 15 online casino licenses, distributed through a competitive auction process. The Ministry of Internal Affairs is responsible for managing the entire licensing system, and according to the revised timetable released in March, the license application will officially start in July, with a deadline set for December 1. Each license has an initial validity period of three years, with the possibility of renewal for another five years. Entain has already expressed its intention to compete for three of the licenses, with its CEO Stella David pointing out during the FY2025 earnings call that, with its TAB brand's exclusive position in New Zealand's sports betting, Entain is the only operator capable of cross-selling sports betting and online casinos. SkyCity also expressed interest in competing for a license, hoping to leverage its local brand advantage to secure a market position as a "trusted local leader."
Plugging tax loopholes, first batch of community funds expected to be in the tens of millions of New Zealand dollars
Van Velden explicitly stated in a government declaration that one of the core goals of the bill is to plug the long-exploited gambling tax loopholes by offshore operators, requiring licensed online casinos to pay taxes just like any other business operating in New Zealand. The government has already stated that it plans to allocate 4% of the gross gambling revenue of licensed operators to local sports clubs, community organizations, and grassroots projects. Based on estimates for the new system starting on January 1, 2027, the first year's community funds are expected to be between 10 million and 20 million New Zealand dollars, although some stakeholders hint at possible further delays.
Extraterritorial enforcement rights and fines up to 5 million New Zealand dollars
The bill grants the Ministry of Internal Affairs a robust set of enforcement tools, including takedown notices, formal warnings, enforceable undertakings, and fines of up to 5 million New Zealand dollars for serious or repeated violations. These rules apply not only to entities within New Zealand but also establish extraterritorial jurisdiction—regardless of where the operator's servers are located, as long as their online casino services reach New Zealand users, they must comply with New Zealand law. Operators who fail to submit their license applications by the December 1 deadline will face the legal obligation to immediately cease providing services to New Zealand users.
PASA website continues to track the regulatory legislation dynamics of the emerging gambling market in the Asia-Pacific, noting that the timetable for this legislation in New Zealand is quite tight. From the opening of applications in July to the deadline in December, and then to the beginning of licensing operations in early 2027, there is not much time left for the formulation of regulatory details and public consultation. Legal advisors have previously expressed concerns that the accelerated timetable may limit the thorough discussion of subsequent regulations. The opposition believes that legalization will exacerbate gambling addiction and harm, but the bill still received bipartisan support in Parliament.
New Zealand's online gambling market is about to move from a legally gray area to a regulated era of licensed operations. The competition for 15 licenses, the application deadline on December 1, and the million-level New Zealand dollar fines are jointly outlining one of the most forceful online casino regulatory frameworks in the Southern Hemisphere.
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