The Online Casino Gambling Act 2026 (Act) came into force on 1 May 2026, introducing New Zealand's first licensing regime for online casino gambling. The Online Casino Gambling Regulations 2026 (Regulations), will come into force from 3 July 2026, adding the operational detail. Together, they represent the most significant change to New Zealand gambling law in over 20 years.

With the expression of interest (EOI) process expected to open in late July 2026, the window to prepare is short.

What is covered?

The Act establishes New Zealand's first regulated, licensed market for online casino gambling, with a dual mandate of harm minimisation and consumer protection, while bringing offshore operators within a formal regulatory regime and redirecting gambling revenue to community benefit. That market is deliberately narrowly defined: "online casino gambling" means gambling at a distance through a communication device, and covers three categories of product:

• random number generator games (slot machines, digital lotteries);
• casino table games (blackjack, poker, baccarat); and
• bets on computer-simulated sporting events.

Sports and race betting, class 3 lotteries, and Lotto remain outside the regime, preserving the existing frameworks under the Racing Industry Act 2020 and the Gambling Act 2003, and protecting the Lotteries Commission's position. 

A notable feature of the regime is its extraterritorial reach: any operator enabling a New Zealand-based person to participate in online casino gambling requires a licence, regardless of where the operator is incorporated or based. Noting the complexities of regulatory enforcement offshore, the Act nevertheless brings the many offshore platforms already serving New Zealand consumers squarely within the regulatory framework, not just new entrants.

The licensing process

Up to 15 licences are available via a three-stage process run by the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA):

• Stage one: Expression of Interest (expected late July 2026): Applicants pay a $19,000 (excl. GST) EOI fee and submit detailed information about themselves, their key officers, ownership structure, platform, branding, and available capital. Applicants (and their CEO, CFO, and COO) with a conviction for dishonesty in the past seven years are automatically disqualified. The EOI process is handled through the Government Electronic Tenders Service (GETS). Prospective applicants can register on GETS now ahead of the process opening in late July. 
• Stage two: Competitive process / auction (expected September 2026): Applicants with an accepted EOI participate in a multi-round ascending auction through GETS to determine who may apply for a licence and at what price.
• Stage three: Licence application (expected October 2026): Successful bidders pay the auction price and submit a full application, accompanied by a business plan and four key strategies: advertising and marketing; consumer protection; harm prevention and minimisation; and compliance. Suitability to hold a licence is also assessed by reference to whether the applicant has a presence in New Zealand and whether it makes contributions for community purposes in New Zealand.

Licences run for three years and may be renewed once for a further five. They are personal and non-transferable. 

Key commercial numbers

Some key figures applicants and operators should keep front of mind:

• Up to 15: total licences available across the market, with no requirement to issue the full 15. 
• 20%: the ownership/voting threshold above which a person is treated as having "significant influence" over a licence; no person may hold significant influence over more than 3 licences.
• 90 days: to get your platform live from licence grant (extendable by the Secretary).
• 270 days: minimum platform availability required per 12-month period.
• 3.5%: quarterly levy on online gambling profits payable to DIA.
• 16%: gambling duty rate on online gambling profits payable to Inland Revenue.
• $5 million: maximum civil penalty for a corporate breach (up to $300,000 for an individual).

Key operator obligations

The Act and Regulations impose a wide-ranging set of ongoing obligations on licence holders. The headline areas are:

• Age verification: All reasonable steps must be taken to verify gamblers are at least 18, with robust digital identity checks at account creation, not merely a tick-box declaration.
• Harm minimisation: Operators must provide configurable player limits (deposits, spend, session duration), breaks-in-play, time-outs, and pop-up alerts after 60 minutes of continuous play. Limit increases and removals are subject to a mandatory 24-hour cooling-off period. Multi-slot play and autoplay are prohibited.
• Consumer protection: Credit cards and credit-linked payment methods are banned. Customers may hold only one account per platform. Uncommitted funds must be held in a segregated account. Withdrawals cannot be reversed by the customer.
• Advertising: Sponsorships, personal endorsements, and affiliate arrangements are prohibited. Advertising during a live broadcast, or within 30 minutes before or after one, is not permitted. Inducement advertising is tightly restricted (discussed further below).
• Complaints: A publicly available complaints process must be established and maintained. All complaints must be investigated and responded to within 40 working days. Quarterly complaints data must be reported to DIA.
• Reporting: Quarterly compliance and financial reports are due to DIA, along with an annual report accompanied by audited financial statements. Serious incidents (system failures, data breaches, underage access) must be notified within five working days.

Notably, obligations do not automatically cease when a licence ends. Operators remain bound to pay out outstanding prizes, allow customer withdrawal of funds, and comply with record-keeping requirements after expiry, suspension, cancellation, or surrender of a licence.

Strict advertising

The advertising restrictions in the Regulations go beyond what most offshore operators will likely be accustomed to. In addition to the channel and timing restrictions noted above, operators cannot:

• use sponsorships (naming rights, event sponsorships, broadcast sponsorships, scholarship sponsorships);
• use real or fictional personal endorsers (no celebrity ambassadors);
• run affiliate marketing arrangements;
• portray gambling as an investment, a source of income, or a solution to financial problems;
• use player data to encourage higher stakes or faster-paced play; or
• direct advertisements at under-18s or where more than 20% of the likely audience is under 18.

Obligations summary

We have prepared a comprehensive Obligations Summary mapping key licence holder obligations under the Act and Regulations. For operators wanting to know what compliance looks like and/or wanting to build out their internal compliance frameworks, it provides a ready-made structure to work from. 

Two key observations stand out from our review:

• The compliance burden is substantial: Our review identifies over 80 distinct obligations across 12 categories. These range from platform availability and age verification through to quarterly financial reporting and mandatory staff training. Operators should not underestimate the systems investment required to be compliant from day one, particularly given the tight timeline to launch.
• The 24-hour cooling-off requirement is pervasive: The mandatory 24-hour delay applies before limit removals or increases take effect, before return-to-play after self-exclusion, and before re-engagement with excluded customers must be hard-coded into platform systems, it cannot be managed through policy alone. 

A copy of our Obligations Summary is available on request. To receive a copy, please email richard.wells@minterellison.co.nz.

Get in touch

If you are considering entering the New Zealand online casino gambling market or if you have questions, please get in touch with our team.