Prohibited Gambling dia govt.nz

As of 28 June 2025, online racing and sports betting is prohibited unless it is operated by New Zealand’s domestic provider TAB NZ. When the register does go Zoccer casino review live, the check will be quick. The DIA will publish the licensed operators and the brands they run, and a legitimate site will match that list exactly. A mismatch between the brand you are on and the licensed entity behind it is the clearest signal that something is wrong.

The licensing stages

The NZ cities people search for most when looking for a casino or pokie venue. Our sister site answers “nearest bookmakers to me” for licensed betting shops across Great Britain. Licensed operators will need to comply with regulations designed to ensure system integrity, player protection, and responsible gambling. Providers who have submitted a licence application will be granted an exemption to continue operating without advertising until the outcome of their application has been determined. Providers that have not applied for a licence must cease operating in New Zealand. Providers with an application under consideration may continue to operate without advertising until a decision is made.

The end of New Zealand’s offshore grey market

Open the venue’s current contact or visit page shortly before departure. Check the entrance you intend to use, the published opening information, any temporary notice and the accepted photo identification. If a particular table, restaurant or event is the reason for going, ask about that item directly. The Gambling Commission makes casino licensing decisions. The Department of Internal Affairs monitors compliance.

A hospitality business can contain gaming machines without being a licensed casino venue. A remote service can use a city name without operating a physical casino there. Creating a new marker simply because a search phrase exists would turn the map into a misleading destination guide.

The correction checklist explains the fields needed for a useful discrepancy record and the guide’s published editorial contact route. For an operational question that affects tonight’s visit, contact the venue directly instead of waiting for an editorial page to change. Identify the disputed field before deciding that an entire source is wrong. An operator may publish the trading name while a licence instrument uses a legal company name. A historical article may describe the correct older venue set.

What protections will a licensed site have to offer?

Because the price changes in steps, the final price clearly reflects what the remaining participants are willing to pay. This helps us to ensure the outcome is seen as fair, consistent and robust, and gives confidence that the price has been set through a transparent competitive process. At each step, all participants are offered the same price at the same time and choose whether to stay in the auction or withdraw. As the price rises, participants exit once the price is higher than what they are willing to pay. The auction continues until demand matches what is available.

How the regimes compare

Detailed regulations supporting the Act have now been released and are informing the staged implementation of the regime. Our engagement approach is built on transparency and fairness. This approach gives effect to the legislative framework through an implementation process that produces effective consumer protection, responsible gambling and regulatory compliance. 18+ You must be at least 18 to gamble online inNew Zealand (20+ for land-based casinos). A licensee must satisfy the DIA on consumer protection and harm minimisation, and will be answerable to a New Zealand regulator.

Is it legal to gamble online in New Zealand?

The major change begins from 1 December 2026, when only successful auction bidders with applications under consideration may continue temporarily. Only five venues in New Zealand hold a casino operator’s licence under the Gambling Act 2003. The casino operator’s licence is the only one that permits casino table games — blackjack, roulette, baccarat, poker — alongside pokies machines. Every other licensed gambling venue in the country is a pokies pub or club and falls under a different licence class (Class 4). The Department of Internal Affairs issues gambling venue licences under the Gambling Act 2003. The DIA is the primary regulator for all land-based gambling in New Zealand.

This page of our resource guide will provide you with information regarding legal casino gambling opportunities that are available to New Zealand citizens, both online and offline. This website is intended to serve as a dedicated resource guide for all things relevant to legal online gambling in New Zealand. We’ve created a section for each major gambling platform, including legal New Zealand online poker, bingo, and sports betting. There are currently no changes for online casino customers in New Zealand.

The full list is SkyCity Auckland, SkyCity Hamilton, SkyCity Queenstown, Christchurch Casino, and Grand Casino Dunedin. No new casino licence has been issued in New Zealand since 1996; six venue licences were granted in total, and Queenstown’s Wharf Casino surrendered its licence in March 2024, leaving five. Separate from licensing, New Zealand applies an offshore gambling duty to operators taking money from New Zealand residents.

What games can I play at legal online casinos in NZ?

• Pokie venues enforce the 18-year minimum age at the gaming room rather than the venue entrance.
• The auction has concluded, with 11 entities winning the right to apply for an online casino gambling licence.
• Providers who have submitted a licence application will be granted an exemption to continue operating without advertising until the outcome of their application has been determined.
• If the licence application is declined, the provider will be required to cease all online casino gambling operations in New Zealand and must exit the market.
• This guidance provides detailed information on the auction process, principles, and requirements for auction participation.

They may be checking a licence reference, writing about industry history or trying to understand why an old guide lists six casinos. For that task the decisive information is the entity, source and event date. A bonus card, star rating or photograph of a gaming floor cannot resolve the discrepancy.

A directory becomes easier to use when each candidate is tested against the same question instead of against a vague promise of being the “best”. This distinction explains why a travel search can show many more “casinos” than the active list. Check the category before using a result as a destination. From the end of the transition period, a site operating without a licence or temporary exemption will be breaking New Zealand law. Autoplay and multi-slot play speed up losses and blur how much is being staked, while celebratory effects on losing spins train players to misread outcomes. Stripping them out slows the game down and keeps the real result visible, which is the whole point of the reform.

• Machine and table counts are indicative from published operator statements.
• Gaming machines and table games are different products, and a listed table does not guarantee that it will be operating when you arrive.
• This approach gives effect to the legislative framework through an implementation process that produces effective consumer protection, responsible gambling and regulatory compliance.
• The NZ cities people search for most when looking for a casino or pokie venue.
• What was missing was any regulation of the operators taking that money.
• The detailed regulations supporting the Online Casino Gambling Act 2026 have now been released.
• It prohibits domestic online casino operations but allows NZ residents to access offshore gambling platforms.

While the successful auction operators are being announced, the brands that may ultimately operate under a licence are not being published at this stage. Operators may make changes throughout the application process, and approved brands will be published on a public register owned by the Department of Internal Affairs once their licence has been granted. At this stage, online casino gambling advertising is prohibited in New Zealand. Online casinos must not advertise online casino gambling services to New Zealand customers. These operators will be permitted to operate under an exemption while their applications undergo a rigorous assessment process.

Operators that were already serving the market before the Act took effect may continue until 1 December 2026. After that date, only operators that have earned the right to apply for a license and have an application under consideration may continue operating under a temporary exemption. If you’re looking for somewhere to play that isn’t one of the five casinos, see the licensed pokie venues directory or pick your region. The Gambling Act 2003 regulates those who conduct or promote gambling and creates no offence of participating in overseas online gambling. No New Zealander has been prosecuted for playing online.

Fifteen licensed operators is a smaller market than the dozens currently accessible. The trade is real oversight in place of self-regulation. It prohibits domestic online casino operations but allows NZ residents to access offshore gambling platforms. A compact note is more useful than several open search tabs.

Pokie venues are distinct from casinos, which are licensed under a separate casino operator’s licence regime (Part 3 of the Act). They run at much lower per-spin stake caps and are embedded in ordinary hospitality venues rather than standalone gambling buildings. These disadvantages of land-based casino properties are that they are trying to compete with the extensive range of games offered by licensed offshore casinos that accept NZ players. The online casinos listed in this guide add new games monthly, continuously updating and expanding their menu. For now, Kiwis can continue playing at offshore casinos that were already serving New Zealand before 1 May 2026. Players do not commit an offence, and gambling winnings for most recreational players, are generally not subject to income tax in NZ.

The operator side is now licensed under the Online Casino Gambling Act 2026, which came into force on 1 May 2026. These bonuses can be quite beneficial to players who would like to start out with more playing power than they can actually fund themselves. Each bonus has wagering requirements and terms and conditions. The casinos featured in this guide have all been evaluated to ensure that their bonus offers are legitimate and that their wagering requirements are fair and reasonable.