As the expression of interest window for New Zealand’s online casino licences closed at 11.59pm on 14 August 2026, one potential contender was given permission at the eleventh hour – TAB NZ.
The Department of Internal Affairs confirmed it had reassessed its interpretation of the legislation and now considers that there are, in fact, no not actually any statutory barriers that are legally in place that prevent TAB NZ from officially lodging an expression of interest. And, if at a later date, they become successful during the auction stage – applying for a license.
That completely reverses the regulator’s earlier stance, which was that TAB NZ could not apply for an online casino licence without Parliament amending the current Racing Industry Act 2020.
Explaining the shift, the DIA noted that TAB NZ is a statutory entity whose functions, under the Racing Industry Act, include “conducting betting, broadcasting, and gaming”, and that, in its view, “gaming has a broad meaning encompassing online casino gambling”
It’s quite significant that the DIA reversed its decision because of what TAB NZ already holds. Under the Racing Industry Amendment Act, which came into effect on 28 June 2025, Tab NZ is the only legal provider of online sports and racing betting to customers in New Zealand. Due to that, it entered into a 25-year partnership with Entain.
Once you start adding a casino licence on top of that betting monopoly, the competitive picture changes quite a lot. With its exclusive TAB brand, Entain has told analysts that it would be the only operator able to cross-sell between sports betting and online casinos. It has already stated that it intends to apply for three licences out of the maximum fifteen that will be awarded too.
That in itself has already drawn criticism from harm reduction critics. Problem Gambling Foundation advocacy director Andri Froude has argued that online casinos are “the most harmful form of gambling” and questioned the idea of TAB even being able to seek out a casino licence. He said that it helps to prop up the racing industry, also likening it to funding one industry just to offset the harm caused by another.
For now, the path is clear. Only operators with an accepted EOI are able to move forward to a competitive auction, which is scheduled for September. Successful bidders will be invited to apply for licences. The final licenses are expected to be awarded in early 2027.
Whether TAB NZ ultimately manages to secure one or not depends on many factors, but it’s definitely an update that has changed the potential trajectory of the iGaming landscape in New Zealand.
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