Hon Brooke van Velden
Minister of Internal Affairs

Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden has today introduced the Online Casino Gambling Bill to the House of Representatives.

“The Online Casino Gambling Bill will introduce a regulatory system for online gambling in New Zealand, which will prioritise harm minimisation, consumer protection, and tax collection,” says Ms van Velden.

Cabinet has previously agreed to introduce new legislation to regulate the online casino gambling market, which is currently unregulated in New Zealand. Key features of the Bill include:

• Up to 15 licences for online casino gambling operators will be auctioned
• Companies applying for a licence will need to provide detailed information to the regulator, including on their business plans for New Zealand
• Licensed operators will be allowed to advertise, with restrictions
• Unlicensed operators will be prohibited and fines up to $5 million may be applicable for breaking the law

Detailed regulations about advertising and harm minimisation standards are currently being developed and will set out the specific requirements that operators must abide by.

“The Bill will proceed to select committee later this year and New Zealanders will have the ability to have their say through the select committee process.”

The introduction of the Bill meets action 21 on the Coalition Government’s Quarter Two Action Plan. The Bill is publicly available here: https://www.legislation.govt.nz/bill/government/2025/0178/latest/LMS1449135.html

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