While SkyCity works through its Adelaide settlement, the operator is also, at the same time, fighting a separate legal battle that sits much closer to home.
There are, currently, three proceedings underway in the High Court at Auckland, against three different operators: bet365, Super Group, and SkyCity – with SkyCity trying to get a potential class action lawsuit thrown out of court before it’s heard – over questions about the claimants’ ability to pay costs!
The potential class action claims are made under the Gambling Act, the Financial Markets Conduct Act, the Contract and Commercial Law Act, and the Fair Trading Act, and SkyCity’s claim includes an application for leave to proceed as a funded class action covering New Zealand player losses between February 2020 and February 2026.
The window is reported to cover losses of at least NZ$64.5 million in online revenue – so it’s a high-stakes case with real financial consequences.
bet365 has challenged the jurisdiction of the New Zealand courts, with Justice Ian Gault noting that bet365 and associated parties object to the proceedings being heard domestically. That’s somewhat interesting given that bet365 have already announced that they’ve submitted a Notice of Intent to apply for a domestic NZ license later this year.
For now, however, the claims are being undertaken by legislation that includes the Gambling Act, Financial Markets Conduct Act, Contract and Commercial Law Act and Fair Trading Act.
Now, the legal challenge all comes due to legislative changes that passed in June 2025 that prohibit offshore gambling operators from accepting bets within New Zealand – and this is a case that’s been very closely watched across the industry.
Most ironic? All three operators currently tied up in legal proceedings in New Zealand – bet365, Super Group, and SkyCity – are also all going to be applying for New Zealand’s new online casino licenses when the auction opens – so, in a way, all three operators may face defending historical liability claims at the same time as pursuing regulated market access in the same jurisdiction!
New Zealand’s gambling world is currently going through one of the biggest shakeups for… well, decades – and the person who’s behind all of the new changes is ACT Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden. Her Online Casino Gambling Bill is designed to bring online casino gambling under New Zealand law for the first […]
A pretty major regulatory decision was made this week when a Swedish court struck down a fine against one of the world’s most recognisable and popular online casino brands: LeoVegas. The Administrative Court in Linköping overturned an SEK8 million fine that the Swedish Gambling Authority (SGA) had imposed on Roar Vegas, the parent company that […]
New Zealand’s biggest lottery game is shortly going to start to look pretty different. That’s because, from the 13th of September, Lotto NZ will add 4 new Power Balls to the draw machine while also introducing a new Power Ball Division 8. A change, it says, “will deliver more winners and bigger prizes.” Now, in […]
