New Zealand Online Gambling Bill Update: iGaming Licensing Planned for 2027

New Zealand’s push to license online casino gambling has entered the stage where timing is shaped as much by community funding design as by parliamentary procedure. Government papers and committee work on the Online Casino Gambling Bill now point to a framework that looks more like a 2027 start, after an earlier mid-2026 target.

The bill would establish a licensing regime for online casino operators and impose consumer protection obligations, including advertising limits and mandatory age-verification tools. Under the model described in government papers, licensed operators would pay GST, an offshore gambling duty, and a problem gambling levy, with the duty set at 12% and Cabinet decisions indicating an increase to 16% from January 1, 2027, to fund community returns. A central change, shaped by consultation, is a 4% gross gambling revenue community return that takes effect on January 1, 2027, with officials estimating NZ$10 million to NZ$20 million in the first year. Ministers have framed the policy as a way to bring an offshore market under New Zealand law, rather than leave players and communities outside the rules.

• The Online Casino Gambling Bill has advanced, with the policy now tracking toward a 2027 operational start.
• The plan would create a licensed online casino market, with tighter compliance oversight plus stricter advertising and age verification rules.
• Community funding became a central issue, driving a proposed 4% gross gambling revenue community return starting January 1, 2027.
• Officials estimated the community return could raise about NZ$10 million to NZ$20 million in its first year, depending on market size.
• Next steps include final legislative stages and detailed regulations, with a post-launch review flagged to assess impacts.

 From Mid-2026 Ambition to a 2027 Timetable 

Early messaging around the bill carried a relatively tight schedule, with a go-live goal in 2026. As the proposal moved through the select committee process, that timetable loosened, with consultation, legal review, and regulatory design extending the runway.

The policy shift on community funding is one reason the calendar moved. Government material has tied the community return mechanism to January 1, 2027, a date that now functions as a marker for when the framework is expected to be fully in effect, not just passed on paper.

In practice, the timeline is staged. Certain prohibitions and preparatory steps can begin earlier, but the community funding guarantee and the duty uplift that supports it point to 2027 as the moment the package is meant to operate as designed.

 A licensed market with limits on operators and marketing 

The proposal is built around a licensed channel for online casino gambling that would replace today’s largely offshore, lightly constrained environment. Under the framework described in government papers, up to 15 operators could receive licenses to offer online casino services, with conditions that allow the regulator to sanction breaches and tighten rules over time.

The bill’s outline includes strict advertising controls, including a ban on targeting minors, alongside requirements for robust age verification tools. Officials have argued that this is aimed at shifting existing play into a space where standards can be enforced.

That existing play is visible in the way products are discovered. Search and social referrals already funnel New Zealanders to offshore casinos, and query patterns around phrases such as best rated online pokies sit alongside that behaviour, a reminder that consumer demand has been operating outside domestic rules.

Community Returns Become the Centre of Politics 

The most contested question has been whether online casino play would reduce spending on gaming machines in pubs and clubs, and therefore shrink the community return stream that supports sports clubs, cultural groups, charities, and activities such as Special Olympics participation.

The Governance and Administration Committee received over 5,000 submissions, and the minister’s office has said 3,966 submissions raised concerns about community returns. Cabinet’s response was to build a guaranteed return into the online framework, with papers describing a 4% gross gambling revenue community return commencing from January 1, 2027.

Officials have estimated that the 4% requirement could generate between NZ$10 million and NZ$20 million in the first year, depending on market size. The Lottery Grants Board has been identified as a likely distributor, linking the new stream to an existing mechanism rather than creating a new one.

In a December 2025 statement after the committee reported back, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden said: “Submissions clearly showed New Zealanders want community returns from online gambling activity to ensure communities continue to get the funding they need.”

 Harm minimisation stays in the foreground 

Alongside the community funding debate, officials have continued to frame the bill as a harm reduction and consumer protection measure. The argument, repeated in government statements, is that New Zealanders are already gambling on overseas websites, often with limited recourse when something goes wrong.

The framework includes GST obligations, an offshore gambling duty, and a problem gambling levy, alongside advertising controls and verification requirements. Reporting has also referenced a levy on profits directed to harm prevention and treatment, part of the attempt to fund the consequences of expanded access.

In a December 2025 statement following the committee report back, van Velden said: “The regulatory settings the Bill will put in place are intended to reduce gambling harm first and foremost.” Public submissions recorded anxieties beyond funding, including the normalisation of online gambling, increased exposure to marketing, easier access through digital platforms, and specific risks for younger users.

 Who Gets Licensed, and What a Cap Implies 

A cap on licenses is intended to control market size and concentrate regulatory oversight. It also sharpens attention on who would be allowed into the market, and how suitability assessments and auction mechanics would work in practice.

Industry discussion has repeatedly named both domestic casino groups and large international operators as potential applicants. At the same time, ministerial comments in 2025 suggested that the structure of sports betting and other gambling verticals would not automatically translate into eligibility for an online casino license, reinforcing the idea that the online casino market would be treated as its own category.

What Happens Next… 

The bill still requires further parliamentary steps before final passage. Even if the broad framework is agreed, the practical shape of the market will depend heavily on regulations expected to cover harm prevention, consumer protection, and record keeping, advertising and marketing, and cost recovery through fees and levies.

The government has also flagged a formal review after the sector begins operating, with public statements referring to a two-year check on impacts to pokie revenue and community returns. That review promise has become part of the bill’s political logic, a way to argue that the policy can be adjusted if the data shows unexpected harm.

The Online Casino Gambling Bill has advanced, but the debate has shifted from whether to regulate to how the country protects people and protects community funding at the same time. By centring a 4% community return that begins in 2027, lawmakers have also set the timetable that now defines the reform.