On 1 May 2026, the Online Casino Gambling Act 2026 (NZ) (Act) came into force. The Act establishes a new regulatory framework for online casino gambling in New Zealand.
The online gambling regulatory landscape in New Zealand had previously been in a state of flux. Online casinos based in New Zealand were prohibited; however, New Zealanders could gamble on offshore online casino websites. Operators of online casino services located offshore were not prohibited from providing their online casino services to customers located in New Zealand (subject to certain requirements). For that reason, online casino gambling services in New Zealand were unregulated with no oversight by a New Zealand gambling regulator.
Against this backdrop, the Act was introduced as a means to regulate online casino services in New Zealand for the first time and introduce measures to protect New Zealand customers.
While the Act generally sets out high-level requirements which will apply to licensed operators – such as compliance with the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (NZ) – regulations are to be published by June 2026 to provide further details about licensees’ obligations. It is expected that regulations will be introduced to address:
- Harm prevention and minimisation;
- Consumer protection;
- Advertising and marketing; and
- Fees, levies or charges.
Other key aspects of the Act are set out below.
Licences
Licences will be issued for a term of 3 years, with an option to renew for another 5 years. The renewal process will not be automatic – operators will need to apply for renewal and the application will be subject to review by the Secretary to ensure the licensee remains suitable to hold a licence.
The Act does not include information about the fees or levies that will be payable by a licensee – these are anticipated in regulations. However, Cabinet Papers outline that licensees will be required to pay GST, a 16% online gambling duty (4% of which will be ring-fenced for community returns), and a problem gambling levy.
Licensing Process
The Act provides for a three-stage licensing process.
Stage 1: Expression of Interest (EOI)
Stage 1 involves the Secretary for Internal Affairs (Secretary) issuing a general invitation through public notice, for operators to lodge an EOI for a licence – this is expected to take place in July 2026.
An EOI must include specific information including, among other things:
- the person’s full name, physical address and contact details;
- each key officer’s full name, position title, physical address and contact details;
- background information (including disclosure of breaches of relevant legislation) relating to the person and key officers; and
- information relating to contributions that the person intends to make in New Zealand for community purposes.
The Secretary must then determine which of the submitted EOIs should be accepted based on the criteria set out in the Act.
Step-by-step guidance on the EOI process is anticipated to be available once the EOI process opens. For now, the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) has published Information and Documentation Guidance relating to the EOI process, which can be accessed here.
Stage 2: Auction
Parties successful in Stage 1 will be invited to participate in a competitive process to determine who may apply for a licence and the amount payable for that licence.
The DIA has advised that the competitive process will consist of an ‘ascending clock auction’. This process works by gradually increasing the price to be paid for each licence in steps – at each step, all participants in the auction are offered the same price at the same time and are required to confirm that they will pay the price that is being offered for the licence (in order to stay in the auction) or withdraw. This process proceeds until the demand (ie, the number of participants remaining) matches the number of licences available.
Once the competitive process ends, the Secretary will notify the persons whether they may apply for a licence as well as the amount payable for the licence (Licence Applicants).
The DIA has advised that further guidance about auction participation will be made available ahead of the auction taking place.
Stage 3: Application
The final stage, Stage 3, involves the application for a licence. To apply for a licence, Licence Applicants must first pay the amount payable for the licence and then lodge an application within 20 working days of being notified that they may apply for a licence.
The Act outlines a list of prescribed information that must be included in the application, such as the Licence Applicant’s:
- advertising and marketing strategy;
- harm prevention and minimisation strategy; and
- business plan for conducting online casino gambling.
Following the review of the application, the Secretary will notify the relevant Licence Applicant in writing whether a licence will be issued.
Advertising
The Act permits licensees to publish, or arrange to publish, advertisements relating to online casino gambling only if the advertisement:
- is in accordance with a licence issued by the Secretary; and
- does not relate to online casino gambling that is similar to or likely to be in competition with a product of the New Zealand Lotteries Commission.
It is expected that regulations will be introduced by June 2026 to set out further restrictions which apply to advertisements.
Consequential amendments have also been made to the advertising prohibition provision in the Gambling Act 2003 (NZ) to remove the prohibition on advertising online casino gambling where the advertising is conducted in accordance with the Act.
Remedies/Penalties
The Act provides a list of provisions, contravention of which will amount to a ‘civil liability act’. These include:
- conducting online casino gambling in breach of the Act; and
- publishing or arranging to publish advertisements relating to online casino gambling in breach of the Act.
The Act provides a range of remedies available to the Secretary in the event of a civil liability act. These include:
- formal warnings;
- enforceable undertakings;
- take-down notices; and
- pecuniary penalties.
For an individual, the maximum pecuniary penalty for a civil liability act is NZ$300,000; for a corporation, the maximum pecuniary penalty is NZ$5 million.
Transitional Provisions
Different transitional provisions apply to online casino operators. Online casino operators:
- that were not providing online casino services legally to customers located in New Zealand prior to 1 May 2026 cannot provide online casino services during this transitional period;
- which operated in New Zealand legally prior to 1 May 2026 and which do not apply for a licence, are permitted to continue operating (without a licence) until 1 December 2026; and
- which were operating in New Zealand legally prior to 1 May 2026 and which apply for a licence prior to 1 December 2026 (following the successful completion of the three-stage licensing process outlined above), will be permitted to operate until the determination of their application or until 1 June 2027, whichever is earlier.
During the transitional period, operators cannot advertise their services.
Conclusion
It is notable how the policy approaches relating to online wagering and online casino gambling differ in New Zealand. While the New Zealand Government has opted for a monopoly in respect of online racing and wagering, it has opted for a competitive auction process to issue licences to different operators interested in conducting online casino gambling in New Zealand.
It is possible that the introduction of the Act and the other developments in New Zealand will be instructive for Australia in any potential attempts to update the existing regulatory frameworks for online casinos, which are currently prohibited under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (Cth). However, with political pressures to limit gambling in Australia, and the advertising and other gambling reforms intended to come into force in January 2027 (as announced by the Australian Government on 12 May 2026), it is unlikely that regulations permitting the operation of online casinos in Australia will be implemented in the foreseeable future.
Addisons will continue to monitor the New Zealand developments as they progress. The release of the regulations in mid-2026 will provide further key details relating to the framework of New Zealand’s new online casino regime.
For further information about the developments or if you would like to explore options to expand operations to New Zealand, please contact a member of the Addisons Gaming & Gambling team.