New Zealand Gambling Laws: Online Casinos, Betting and Lotto

Two statutes decide where a bet is allowed in this country. The Gambling Act 2003 covers land-based gambling venues and most other forms of gambling, from pokies in a pub to a raffle run by a school. Online casinos now sit under the Online Casino Gambling Act 2026, which came into force on 1 May 2026, with the Online Casino Gambling Regulations 2026 following on 3 July 2026.

We read the Act, the Regulations and the DIA guidance pages, and everything on this page was checked on 27 October 2026. The honest one-line version of the current gambling law comes from the Department of Internal Affairs (Te Tari Taiwhenua): “It is legal for New Zealanders to gamble on these transitional market providers”. That phrase covers offshore gambling websites that were already taking New Zealand players on 1 May 2026. The same guidance adds that until the licensed market exists, online casino gambling “remains an unregulated activity and there are no guarantees of player safety”, and that “If you decide to use an unlicensed platform, you won’t have the same player protections.” Playing there is legal; the protections you would get from a licensed operator are absent.

The Short Answer on New Zealand Gambling Law in 2026

Offshore providers that were offering online casino gambling to New Zealanders on 1 May 2026 may keep doing so until 1 December 2026. No regulator is checking those sites on your behalf during that window. The Act binds them on advertising, and Parts 2 to 4 of the Regulations – harm minimisation, consumer protection, advertising rules – do not apply to them. That transitional period runs from 1 May to 30 November 2026.

From 1 December 2026 the picture changes. Providers that have not applied for a licence must stop offering online casino gambling in New Zealand. Providers that have applied may carry on under an exemption, without advertising, until DIA decides on the application. If the application is declined, they have to exit.

DIA expects to issue licences from early 2027. Licensed casinos will appear on a public register and will have to display a unique registration icon on their platforms.

The Gambling Act 2003, Four Classes and a Remote Gambling Ban

When players ask us what the gambling law allows on the ground, this is the statute that answers most of it. It received Royal assent on 18 September 2003, and it still sets the default: gambling in New Zealand is illegal unless authorised by or under the Act.

It sorts activity into four classes by money and risk. Class 1 covers prizes or turnover up to $500 and needs no licence. Class 2 covers prizes up to $5,000 and turnover up to $25,000, run by societies. Class 3 covers prizes over $5,000 and needs a licence. Class 4 gambling is gaming machines in pubs and clubs, high-risk and high-turnover, restricted to corporate societies raising money for authorised purposes such as community causes. Taken together, the four classes cover non-casino gambling.

Casinos and the Lotteries Commission sit outside those four classes, and land-based casino patrons must be 20 or over. Section 9(2)(b) prohibits “remote interactive gambling” unless it is authorised. Section 16 prohibits advertising overseas gambling. Penalties for taking part in unauthorised gambling reach $10,000 for an individual and $50,000 for an organisation.

What the Online Casino Gambling Act Covers

New Zealand gambling law split in two on 1 May 2026. Online casino gambling had been sitting awkwardly inside the remote gambling prohibition, and it now has a statutory framework to regulate online casino gambling directly. The Act lists its purposes as establishing a licensing regime, prohibiting the conduct and advertisement of unlicensed online casino gambling, preventing and minimising gambling harm, protecting consumers, and making sure money from online casino gambling benefits the community.

Online casino gambling under the Act means games driven by a random number generator, such as slot machines, casino table games including blackjack, poker and baccarat, and bets on computer-simulated sporting events. Poker is covered. Two carve-outs matter here: Lotto, Powerball and Strike stay with Lotto NZ, and TAB NZ keeps exclusive rights to sports and race betting.

Age sits at 18 for online play. An operator must take all reasonable steps to ensure players are at least 18, and gambling online on behalf of someone under 18 is an offence.

How the Licences Are Being Handed Out

DIA will license up to 15 operators. Each licence runs for up to three years and can be renewed for a further five. One licence covers one brand, and no holder may have more than three. The process has three stages: an expression of interest, an auction, then a licence application with a business plan and strategies for advertising, consumer protection, harm prevention and compliance. The expression of interest fee was $19,000 excluding GST.

The expression of interest closed on 14 August 2026. The auction ran from 29 September to 12 October 2026, with 32 bidders across 10 rounds at NZ$15 million per licence. The 11 entities that won the right to apply, as published by DIA:

Baytree Interactive Limited (3 rights)
Christchurch Online NZ Limited
One Casino Limited
Playvia Gaming (NZ) Limited (2 rights)
Rock Swift Group Limited (2 rights)
Rush Entertainment Limited
Skill On Net Limited
SkyCity NZ Online NO1 Limited
SkyCity NZ Online NO2 Limited
Stake New Zealand Limited
TAB New Zealand

Winning the auction does not guarantee a licence, and DIA publishes brands only when a licence is granted. Casino operators that get through will pay a 16% Online Gambling Duty, with 4% of it ringfenced for community funding, plus a 3.5% quarterly levy on online casino gambling profits and the problem gambling levy. Our auction results page keeps the list in one place.

Dates That Matter

1 May 2026 – the Online Casino Gambling Act 2026 comes into force and the transitional period starts.
3 July 2026 – the Online Casino Gambling Regulations 2026 come into force.
14 August 2026 – expression of interest closes.
29 September to 12 October 2026 – auction: 32 bidders, 10 rounds, NZ$15 million per licence.
1 December 2026 – providers that have not applied must stop offering online casino gambling here; applicants continue under an exemption without advertising until a decision is made.
Early 2027 – DIA expects to issue the first licences.
1 December 2027 – the Minister must make regulations establishing a national self-exclusion register.

We update these dates on this page as they move.

What Licensed Casinos Will Have to Do for You

The Regulations spell out what changes once you are playing on a licensed platform. These are the provisions we think you will notice most.

Limits on play time, deposits and spend, set daily, weekly or monthly. You get prompted at sign-up and once a month, and removing or raising a limit takes effect only after at least 24 hours.
A break-in-play of at least 5 minutes can be set after 60 minutes of continuous play.
Time-outs of 24 hours, one week and one to three months must be offered.
At least one pop-up alert after 60 minutes of continuous play, showing session time, losses and an exit option. The game pauses until you acknowledge it.
Self-exclusion for a period you choose, including indefinitely. You cannot shorten it once set, it takes effect within 24 hours, and returning afterwards means logging in, acknowledging help services and confirming, then waiting another 24 hours.
If an operator has reasonable grounds to believe you are a problem gambler it must explain why and give you help information. If the signs continue it must exclude you from all its platforms for up to two years, in writing, and return uncommitted funds within 24 hours.
Bonus caps: an inducement that needs no spend of your own money is capped at $100, and one that requires your money is capped at the lesser of $100 and 200% of the deposit or bet. Winnings from a bonus can be withdrawn without gambling them again, and you get at least 60 days to meet the terms.
No autoplay, no more than one online slot at a time, and network progressive jackpots only among NZ-licensed platforms. Human-only poker is the exception.
No credit contracts such as credit cards. One registered deposit method per platform, which cannot be changed within 24 hours of registering, though a different withdrawal method may be registered.
Amounts shown in NZ dollars, with game rules, odds and RTP displayed before the first play, and information in te reo Māori, NZ sign language, Samoan, Hindi, Tagalog or another common language on request.

There is more in the Regulations than this; the full text is on legislation.govt.nz.

Advertising, Affiliates and the Penalties

Advertising unlicensed online casino gambling is unlawful. DIA can issue takedown notices, and pecuniary penalties reach NZ$5 million. You can report unlawful advertising to [email protected], and the rules for that sit on the advertiser guidance page.

For licensed operators, regulations 39 to 45 are tight. Ads with sponsorship, personal endorsement or an affiliate arrangement are prohibited. Direct marketing needs your express consent. Ads must not refer to other gambling or sports betting. Section 16 of the Gambling Act 2003 separately prohibits advertising overseas gambling.

Sports Betting, Lotto and Pokies in Pubs

Since 28 June 2025, online racing and sports betting is prohibited unless it is run by TAB NZ, including its brand Betcha, and offshore casinos must not offer racing and sports betting to New Zealand players. The Racing Industry Act 2020 sits behind the racing side of the industry. Lotto NZ keeps Lotto, Powerball and Strike. Each form of gambling here ends up with its own rulebook, and the pokies are no exception: machines in pubs and clubs are Class 4 gambling, run by corporate societies under the Gambling (Harm Prevention and Minimisation) Regulations 2004, which were strengthened from 1 December 2023.

Poker is covered by the Online Casino Gambling Act as a casino table game; our guide is online poker legal in NZ sets out what that means at the table.

Who to Contact and How Complaints Work

DIA monitors compliance with the Gambling Act 2003 and is the regulator for online casino gambling. The Gambling Commission sets casino licence conditions and decides on casino licence renewals and suspensions. The Ministry of Health shares regulatory responsibilities under the Gambling Act, and casino Gambling Inspectors handle complaints about land-based casinos.

If you think a gambling operator has broken the gambling law, you can complain about a licensed casino to the casino or straight to DIA under section 68 of the Act. You do not have to complain to the casino first. If you would rather read the source material yourself, start with Online Gambling for players and Online Gambling for Providers on dia.govt.nz, or the classes of gambling page. The Act itself is on legislation.govt.nz, with the drafted secondary legislation alongside it.

If the issue is gambling harm, our responsible gambling page carries the support contacts we can verify, including gambling helpline details that were correct at the time we last checked.

Things Players Keep Asking Us

Is Online Gambling Legal in New Zealand?

Playing at a transitional market provider is legal until 1 December 2026, and DIA says so in plain words. What that does not carry is safety. Those providers are outside Parts 2 to 4 of the Regulations during the transitional period, so there are no guarantees of player safety. From 1 December 2026 only applicants working under an exemption, and later licensed casinos, may carry on.

What Happens to My Account on 1 December?

If your provider has applied for a licence, the account keeps running under an exemption while DIA decides, and advertising stops in that window. If the provider has not applied, it must stop offering online casino gambling here, and if its application is later declined it has to exit. For licensed operators the Regulations cover the money: you can close the account or withdraw uncommitted funds at any time, and a withdrawal request cannot be cancelled while it is pending.

How Can I Tell If an Online Casino Is Licensed?

Licensed casinos must show a unique registration icon on their platforms and in their advertising, and DIA keeps a public register of licensed online casinos. Before early 2027 there is no register to check against, which is worth remembering if a site suggests otherwise. Our safe online casinos page explains what we look for when we assess a platform.