New Zealand’s 15 online casino licences: what changes for players [demo]

For years New Zealanders could play at online casinos based overseas while no online casino was allowed to be based at home. That gap is closing. Under the Online Casino Gambling Bill, introduced to Parliament in 2025, the market is capped at 15 licences, and sites without one are to be shut out of the country.

Fifteen licences, not an open market

The cap was set when the government announced the plan in July 2024: licences are to be allocated through a competitive process rather than to every applicant that meets the rules. A fixed number turns a licence into a scarce asset, which is why the large international groups are expected to compete hardest for them. For players, the practical effect is a short list of approved brands instead of hundreds of offshore sites.

Who regulates, and what they check

The Department of Internal Affairs is the regulator. Licensed operators take on duties that offshore sites never had towards New Zealand players: age and identity checks, harm-minimisation tools, and advertising limits. Breaches are handled by a regulator that can act locally — something no player has with an operator licensed on another continent.

The tax is already in place

One part of the change arrived first. Since 1 July 2023 offshore operators have paid an offshore gambling duty of 12% on what they make from New Zealand players. The duty does not make a site legal or safe; it only shows the government already counted the market before it set out to regulate it.

What players should do now

Until the first licences are issued, nothing changes on the sites themselves. After that, the test is simple: a site that is not on the regulator’s list of licensees should not be accepting New Zealand players. Our licence and company pages will add each licence as it is published, with its holder, its brands and the date it took effect.