Like many countries in the world, New Zealand restricts the playing of gambling games with a series of laws and sanctions. That does not mean, however, that people who have thought carefully about the issue and decided that they would like to gamble cannot do so in New Zealand, as long as they follow certain rules.
The Gambling Act 2003 puts a blanket ban on gambling New Zealand, though it does also give express permission for New Zealanders to gamble in four specific ways within the law. It additionally allows for New Zealanders to gamble in licensed casinos and on lotteries.
The Gambling Act 2003 allows for four classes of gambling to take place legally in New Zealand. The first Class is gambling where the biggest prize you can win is worth 500 NZ dollars or less, and all the money that is wagered goes into the pot of winnings. This means, for instance, that no-one can act as the “house” and take a cut of people’s wagers. Obviously, this also limits the amount you can win, though many might think that $500 remains a large amount.
While Class 1 gambling applies to individuals who gather together to gamble, the remaining classes can be organised by “societies”, which the Act defines as “an association of persons established and conducted entirely for purposes other than commercial purposes” – so, essentially, the organisers of the gambling game can’t be seeking to make a profit for themselves, though they may donate proceeds to charity, as elaborated in a paper published on the Charities Law website.
In fact, the remaining classes refer to the kinds of gambling that non-profit and commercial organisations can operate, so they may be of less interest to individual bettors. While Class 1 and Class 2 (non-profit) can be conducted without a specific licence, Class 3 (commercial) and Class 4 gambling require the organisers to hold a licence. If you’d like to check whether a land-based casino is operating within the law, the New Zealand commission hosts a list of licensed casinos in New Zealand.
A separate section of the Gambling Act deals with what is termed “remote interactive gambling”. This is gambling where people use some kind of communication device, most obviously a computer or a mobile phone, to gamble on a game which is taking place some distance away from them, rather than gambling on the game in person.
Does this prohibit online gambling in New Zealand, then? The answer is no, so long as the site hosting the game is either a licensed one based in New Zealand or one based in another country where hosting such games is legal.
From a legal perspective, this gambling takes place overseas and therefore does not fall under the purview of New Zealand law. For the avoidance of doubt, betpal hosts a list of sites and special offers for getting free spins NZ that are legally accessible to New Zealanders, as they are provided by sites based in countries like the UK where remote interactive gambling is legal in itself.
There are a few different things to consider when it comes to gambling law in New Zealand, but we hope our in-depth guide has made things much clearer for you.
