Role of the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) in Casino Oversight
The Department of Internal Affairs is NZ’s main gambling regulator, and under the Gambling Act 2003, the DIA is responsible for licensing and policing all forms of land-based gambling in the country, which includes the six licensed casinos, Class 4 pokie venues in pubs and clubs, society lotteries, and the TAB.
From 2026, it’s also responsible for administering the new licenses for online casinos. On this page, we’re going to explore what the DIA actually does, how casino oversight works on a practical level, and where its powers stop – and the Gambling Commission’s come in.
What the DIA Does
The DIA’s casino work revolves primarily on four jobs:
- They’re responsible for vetting who gets a licence.
- They’re required to monitor operators once they’re up and running.
- They enforce the rules when something goes wrong.
- They keep the public informed.
Before any licence is issued, the DIA screens an operator’s owners quite comprehensively, and this also includes financial controllers and key personnel for integrity and financial reasons. Once a casino is licenced and live, the focus shifts to ongoing monitoring and assurance. Inspectors test the internal controls, for example:
- change management for gaming systems
- adherence to approved game rules
- whether the operator is carrying out their responsible gambling duties or not
How Oversight Actually Works
There are three main areas of oversight in New Zealand gambling regulation:
- Technical fairness. This covers RNG verification and certified rule sets.
- Systems and financial integrity, which covers segregation of duties, tamper-evident logging, cash handling, and anti-money laundering procedures.
- Harm minimisation, which requires operators to show that they are doing their best to protect vulnerable players from excessive gambling-related harm.
The DIA is allowed to enter any land-based gambling premises – at any time – and carry out spot checks, including on technology and infrastructure.
DIA versus the Gambling Commission
Now, contrary to popular belief these are actually two different bodies and that’s actually quite important. The DIA is the regulator and the enforcer, and they they issue most licenses, audit operators, and bring enforcement action where required. The Gambling Commission, on the other hand, is an independent statutory body with the powers of a commission of inquiry.
This means they hear and decide on casino licensing applications and renewals, approve or deny changes to casino license and venue agreements, and they also hear appeals against DIA decisions on gaming machines and other non-casino related gambling issues.
In short, the DIA assembles the facts and has the legal power to enforce the rules, while the Commission is the one who actually makes the casino licensing calls and reviews the DIA’s decisions where applicable.
The New Online Casino Regulation
In 2026, for the first time ever, online casinos in New Zealand will fall under direct local regulation, and this comes as a result of the Online Casino Gambling Act 2026. This bill was first introduced in mid-2025 and it was passed into law at the beginning of this year.
The bill creates a local licensing framework administered by the DIA. Up to 15 licences will be awarded through a competitive process. This already includes an expression-of-interest stage, which is to be followed by an auction in which licences go to the highest bidders. Each licence will cover a single brand, and it will run for up to three years. No operator will be allowed to hold more than three, which is designed to try to prevent a couple of large monopolies from taking over.
From the 1st of December 2026, operators that haven’t applied for a licence must stop accepting players from New Zealand, although it remains to be seen what the enforcement action will look like for this.
Gambling should only ever be viewed as a form of fun; entertainment, and never a way to make money, or for financial gain. If you find yourself chasing losses, unable to stop, or expecting to win, you may be exhibiting signs of problem gambling. If, at any point, you feel that you have a gambling problem, stop immediately, check out our Responsible Gambling page, and reach out to organisations and charities like New Zealand’s Problem Gambling Foundation. Help and support is available.
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