Labour has declined to reveal whether it would prevent online casino licences from being issued to 11 gambling firms early next year, if it won the general election on 7 November. The Department of Internal Affairs does not expect to start issuing the licences until early 2027.
The Government passed legislation earlier this year that allows online casinos to legally promote and advertise their services in New Zealand for the first time, over objections from Labour, the Green Party and Te Pāti Māori. Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden, who is stepping down at the election, championed the gambling reforms as a way to create more oversight and control over high-risk gambling.
The licensing process has taken longer than originally expected. Earlier this month, the Department of Internal Affairs awarded 11 operators the right to apply for the total of 15 licences on offer, at a price of $15 million per licence, potentially raising $225m for the Crown, as detailed by The Post. The successful bidders included SkyCity and the TAB as well as overseas gaming companies, such as Guernsey-based Baytree Interactive which bid for three of the licences.
Licence decisions made by secretary
Internal Affairs’ general manager of regulatory services John Sneyd said the department did not expect to start issuing the licences until “early 2027”. He added: “We are unable to provide a more specific date at this stage as before any licence can be granted, successful auction participants must complete a detailed application and assessment process.” Sneyd also said: “Securing a right to apply through the auction does not guarantee that a licence will be granted.”
Under the Online Casino Gambling Act, licence decisions are “operational matters” made by the Secretary for Internal Affairs that do not require further approval, so a new government would need to actively step in to prevent licences being issued. Labour internal affairs spokesperson Lemauga Lydia Sosene was non-committal on whether that was something a Labour government might consider. She said: “Labour agrees with the intent of regulating gambling for New Zealanders but opposed the current Government’s bill because it opens our doors to offshore online casinos, without a strong plan for harm reduction.” She added: “If re-elected, we’ll take a closer look at where this work has landed.”
December cutoff and geo-blocking powers
From December, businesses are legally required to stop conducting online casino gambling in New Zealand if they have not applied for a licence. Internal Affairs will get a new power to attempt to prevent traffic to unlicensed operators by geo-blocking their websites. A regulation introduced during the passage of the legislation also prevents online casinos from letting people top up their accounts using a credit card.
Problem Gambling Foundation advocacy director Andree Froude said: “The licensing and regulation of online casinos provides some guard rails to an otherwise unregulated market which New Zealanders have been engaging with.” She agreed that if online casinos were viewed as being “trustworthy” as a result of regulation, that could draw more people into problem gambling. “In response to that, we want the Government to prohibit gambling advertising and strengthen consumer protection measures. With 15 online casinos able to advertise, we are going to see gambling advertising in this country like we never have before,” she said.