New Zealand is gradually moving towards allowing online casino gaming for its residents, with lawmakers currently drafting the legal framework. The government intends to issue up to 15 licenses in the three rounds of application.
According to the government, providing players with a manageable number of options would be a good starting point, and at the same time, it would be simpler for the regulators to monitor and enforce the rules.
At a conference held in Sydney, Paul James, Secretary for Internal Affairs and Chief Executive of the Department of Internal Affairs, disclosed some aspects of the new regulations.
The new regulations disallow gambling on credit. Therefore, not only credit cards have been banned, but so have buy-now-pay-later options. Besides this, players will not be allowed to use multiple slot machines simultaneously with the intention of preventing them from engaging in harmful gambling behaviors.
Operators will be required to adhere to very strict protocols for users who show signs of problem gambling. Mandatory age verification must be performed right at the account registration stage.
What will certainly be of great interest is the prohibition of affiliate marketing and influencer promotions. These form the primary methods of acquisition of iGaming players in most countries. The penalty for large companies that are found advertising unlicensed platforms will be increased from NZ$10,000 (US$5,906) to NZ$5 million (US$3 million).
The grey market in New Zealand is still quite large. Based on some figures, the money spent by residents on offshore gambling websites was around NZ$1.4 billion (US$830 million) in 2025.
