New Zealand Launches Online Casino Licensing Framework as Regulations Take Effect in July 2026

Author:

10.06.2026

New Zealand's online casino rules took effect on 3 July 2026. Up to 15 licences go to auction winners, and unlicensed sites must stop by 1 December.

Glowing outline map of New Zealand beside a shield with a tick and hexagon icons marked 15

What Took Effect on 3 July 2026

New Zealand's Online Casino Gambling Regulations 2026 came into force on 3 July 2026. They sit under the Online Casino Gambling Act 2026, which has been in force since 1 May 2026.

The government released the regulations on 4 June 2026. They cover harm prevention, consumer protection and record-keeping, advertising and marketing, and fees and levies.

Most of these duties apply only to operators that hold a licence, and the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) expects to issue the first licences in early 2027. In the meantime, offshore casinos that served New Zealanders before 1 May 2026 may keep operating under transitional rules, but they may not advertise.

The Act gives the DIA takedown notices and penalties of up to NZ$5 million for unlawful advertising. According to the DIA's guidance for advertisers, they apply to anyone who publishes an unlawful online casino advert or arranges one, not only to the casino.

Why New Zealand Is Licensing Online Casinos

New Zealanders already gamble at hundreds of overseas sites. A DIA market insights report put spending with them at NZ$1.36 billion in the year to September 2025, from about 360,000 customers.

Spending rose 10.5% over that year and has topped NZ$100 million a month since March 2024. The 15 biggest merchants took 82.5% of it.

The estimate scales up one bank's card transactions to the whole market. It counts deposits rather than bets, ignores winnings, and leaves out Lotto NZ and the TAB.

The DIA says licensing will help protect consumers, reduce gambling harm and prevent crime and dishonesty, and make offshore sites that serve New Zealanders follow local rules.

The Licensing Timeline

Licences go out in three stages, all run through the government's GETS tender website. The DIA's page for providers sets out the dates.

Date	Stage
17 July to 14 August 2026	Expressions of interest
By 10 September 2026	Successful applicants invited to the auction
29 September 2026	Auction begins
October 2026	Auction winners may apply for a licence
1 December 2026	Providers with no licence application must stop serving New Zealand
2027	Licensed market fully operational

There will be up to 15 licences, each valid for up to three years and renewable for a further five. Each licence covers a single brand, and no one can hold more than three.

The DIA has not said how many expressions of interest it received or who was invited to bid. It says it will publish the outcome once the auction ends, and had not done so when this article was updated on 8 October 2026.

How the Auction Works

The DIA chose an ascending clock auction. The price rises in steps, every bidder is offered the same price at the same time, and each decides whether to stay in or drop out.

The auction ends when the number of bidders still in matches the number of licences available. Winning gives only the right to apply: a winner pays the auction price and then files a full application.

What an Application Needs

Each application needs a business plan and four strategies: advertising and marketing, consumer protection, harm prevention and minimisation, and compliance. The Secretary for Internal Affairs must not grant a licence unless the applicant shows it is suitable to hold one.

On 24 September 2026 the DIA also released draft testing and monitoring requirements for casino technology, due to be final by 23 October 2026. Games and random number generators already certified in some comparable markets will not need retesting on day one.

Rules for Licensed Operators

Licensed casinos must let customers set daily, weekly or monthly limits on playing time, deposits and spending, and must prompt them to set one when they open an account. A customer can lower a limit at any time, but raising or removing one takes at least 24 hours.

Operators must also keep customer records for the whole business relationship and for 7 years after it ends.

Advertising Limits

The DIA's advertising guidance explains what licensed operators may not do:

Pay affiliates by sign-ups, deposits, play or losses; paying per view or per click is generally allowed
Use endorsements by a real, fictional or AI-generated person
Advertise during live broadcasts of events, from 30 minutes before until 30 minutes after
Advertise on public transport, including ride-share cars while on duty
Place adverts where more than 20% of the audience is likely to be under 18
Promote bonuses anywhere except on their own licensed site or in direct messages to customers

Operators answer for adverts that third parties place for them, so the rules reach agencies and publishers as well.

Duty, Levies and Community Funding

Licensed operators will pay several charges, listed in the DIA's legislative guidance:

Online gambling duty: 16% of online gambling profits
General licensing levy: 3.5% of online gambling profits
Problem gambling levy: 1.24% of player expenditure
GST: 15% of taxable supplies, where it applies
An anti-money laundering levy from July 2027, rate not yet set

The duty was meant to be 12%. On 28 October 2025, Cabinet agreed to raise it to 16% from 1 January 2027 and to ringfence an amount equal to 4% of gross gambling revenue for community returns.

Officials estimated those returns at NZ$10 million to NZ$20 million in the first 12 months. In August 2025, iGB reported that more than 50 sports bodies had warned the bill could strip over NZ$150 million from community sport funding.

Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden has said the government will review online casino gambling's effect on pokies revenue after two years.

What Changes for Players and Operators

For players, nothing changes before 1 December 2026. From that date, offshore casinos that have not applied for a licence must stop serving New Zealanders.

Casinos with an application under consideration may keep operating, without advertising, until the DIA decides. Those that are refused must leave the market.

The Act requires the DIA to keep a register of licensed operators, so players will be able to see which sites hold a New Zealand licence.

For operators, the cap and the one-brand rule mean groups running several brands may have to merge them. The DIA has said it will help auction winners move their customers, but urging customers to switch sites during the transition counts as advertising and is unlawful.

The cap of 15 is tighter than in the European markets opening up at the same time. Finland, which opens to private operators on 1 July 2027, sets no limit on the number of licences, and Austria's gambling bill, now before parliament, would not cap them either.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Online Casino Gambling Regulations 2026 came into force on 3 July 2026. Most of their duties apply only to licensed operators, and the DIA expects to issue the first licences in early 2027.

Up to 15. Each covers one brand and lasts up to three years, with a possible renewal for five more, and no one can hold more than three.

Casinos that have not applied for a licence must stop serving people in New Zealand. Those with an application under consideration may keep operating, without advertising, until the DIA decides.

No. Advertising online casino gambling without a licence is prohibited, with penalties of up to NZ$5 million. Licensed operators will be allowed to advertise within strict limits.

A 16% online gambling duty and a 3.5% licensing levy, both on online gambling profits, plus a 1.24% problem gambling levy and GST where it applies.

Author

Paolo Pellegrini|iGaming News Editor

Paolo Pellegrini is Casino Adventurer's news editor, based in Rome, where he was born and raised. He covers the stories shaping the online gambling industry, from new regulations and tax changes to market openings and major deals, and always explains what they mean for players. He's naturally curious and starts every morning with the news and a strong espresso. Outside work, he's a lifelong AS Roma fan and loves cooking for friends on Sundays.