Whether you call New Zealand home or are spending your vacation there, you may have noticed that online gaming houses have surged in popularity in recent years. However, there’s one problem: most of this gaming takes place on offshore platforms operating outside of the country’s legal framework.
As you can probably imagine, this has raised more than a few eyebrows and caught the attention of government officials who are looking for ways to regulate these platforms more effectively.
While it’s legal for New Zealanders to use these platforms, the fact that they are located offshore has raised questions about consumer protection, loss of public revenue, and how to ensure consistent standards across the industry.
In response to these concerns, the government has proposed a new licensing system designed to bring offshore platforms into a regulated framework. The rollout of these reforms is expected to begin in 2026 and would allow approved operators to offer online casino-style games under clearly defined rules.
In this article, we take a look at why regulation matters and what it could mean for New Zealand.
Creating rules for a growing industry
When people hear the word regulation, alarm bells often go off in their heads. It’s important to note that regulation doesn’t mean prohibition. Instead, the New Zealand government is working to protect players’ interests by setting clear rules for how online gaming houses can operate.
What’s happened in New Zealand is that the popularity of online casinos has outpaced the country’s current laws, which only allow a small number of local operators to offer these games online.
Even so, New Zealanders can legally visit online casinos where they can do everything from spinning the reels on digital slots or sitting down at a virtual poker table. Aggregator websites like oddschecker list the online casino bonuses available at different online gaming houses in New Zealand, giving players a chance to find the offer that works best for them. These signup bonuses often include free spins, deposit bonuses, and deposit matches.
With these platforms helping players make informed choices, it’s important that the government does its part to ensure that the gaming houses behind these offers can operate within a regulated system in New Zealand, so that there’s transparency, consistency, and trust across the board.
Protecting players in the digital age
As we all know, technology like smartphones, tablets, and laptops have made it easier than ever to access online gaming platforms. All it takes is a few taps, and you can be watching the ball land on a virtual roulette wheel or deciding whether to hit or stand in a game of blackjack. While this may seem like a good thing and in many ways it is, without regulation, there’s no guarantee that these platforms are operating with clear standards or oversight. That’s what the New Zealand government has set out to change through new legislation.
As part of the proposed framework, licensed operators will be required to implement a set of tools that support informed and responsible participation, including deposit limits, time tracking and self-exclusion options for anyone who’d like to take a break from using the platform.
Operators will also have to provide users with clear, accessible information and maintain multilingual support channels to help users resolve any issues as they come up. Licensed platforms will be subject to regular audits, and if they don’t meet the standards, they could face significant penalties.
Bringing offshore revenue back home
Another benefit of regulation that might come as a surprise to some is that it can do more than protect consumers; it’ll also help the country recover revenue.
As the system exists today, when a New Zealander visits an offshore gaming house, their money leaves the local economy. These companies don’t have to pay any taxes in New Zealand and make no contributions to local services or community initiatives.
As casinos moved online, New Zealand has lost out on potential funding for public services. The new framework aims to change that by introducing a licensing fee, along with a tax on the money these companies make in New Zealand. That tax would be 12% of their net revenue, plus GST, which is a 15% sales tax added on top.