Last updated: December 13, 2024
Starting in 2026, New Zealand will regulate online casinos to ensure consumer protection and tax compliance. Licenses will be limited and auctioned, with stringent rules on advertising and gambling activities.
New Zealand is seen to be moving in the right direction with words coming from its Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden where the government has been said to have provided its endorsement over a comprehensive plan relative to the regulation of online casinos.
The measures that were proposed include measures to minimize harm, measures for tax collection, and consumer protection for the people of New Zealand.
Van Velden opines that the initiative is not intended to bring gambling closer to the New Zealand people. It is more concerned with ensuring that operators adhere to high consumer safety guidelines, avoid generating negative social impacts, and contribute their due contribution to the state’s tax earnings.
In this kind of legal regulation, the government will constrain the number of licenses that will be issued within a particular industry, which will be competitively bid for. These licenses will take a term of three years, and this shall be under the condition that operators abide by the set rules and regulations.
According to the new requirements, licensed operators in New Zealand will be allowed to provide only online casinos but no other types of activities concerning sports betting and lottery products. Regarding the services’ advertisements, the operators will be permitted to advertise while conforming to specific advertising codes and regulations.
However, sponsorship specifically targeting online casinos will continue to be illegal. Though the legalization of gambling in many countries is rather recent, some basic principles regarding the minimum legal age for online gambling are clear: 18 years.
Minister Brooke van Velden said that the Fintech regulation is currently being reviewed and should be effective by early 2026. The Select Committee stage is where the people are allowed to make contributions regarding the proposed regulations.
The implementation of this system is recommended, and when it is in place, it will be the duty of the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) to regulate and enforce the online casino market.
