New Zealand Online Casino Gambling Bill Passes After Escaping Parliamentary Limbo
Posted on: April 23, 2026, 09:19h.
Last updated on: April 23, 2026, 10:03h.
- Lawmakers in New Zealand have signed off on iGaming
- The Online Casino Gambling Bill will be formally legalized with the Royal assent’s blessing
- iGaming is currently operational in New Zealand, but is untaxed and unregulated
Nearly a year after it was first proposed, the New Zealand Online Casino Gambling Bill has finally been passed by the country’s unicameral Parliament.
Online casinos are already widely accessible in New Zealand. The country’s most prominent land-based gaming operator, SkyCity, runs the most-played iGaming platform in SkyCity Online Casino.
New Zealand’s move to authorize iGaming is an effort to regulate and tax the online gaming market.
The Bill supports the coalition agreement by closing the gambling tax loophole and requiring licensed online casino operators to pay tax, just like any other business operating in New Zealand,” said New Zealand Internal Affairs Minister Brook van Velden in a statement.
Velden filed the Online Casino Gambling Bill in July 2025 at the request of the Cabinet of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.
Regulated iGaming Won’t Start in 2026
With the New Zealand Parliament passing the Online Casino Gambling Bill on its third and final reading, the iGaming statute moves to the Royal assent where it will formally become law.
The legislation will then require the Department of Internal Affairs to draft regulations governing iGaming, including how the competitive bidding process will work and the tax rate on gross revenue.
Governing conditions for advertising, harm minimization and prevention, and other consumer protections will additionally be needed.
Van Velden has revealed that up to 15 iGaming licenses in New Zealand will be authorized. Offshore operators that continue to allow their platforms to be accessed after the regulated market begins will face legal repercussions, including penalties of up to $5 million for serious or persistent breaches.
The Department of Internal Affairs will regulate the sector using strengthened enforcement tools, including take-down notices, formal warnings, enforceable undertakings, and penalties. These tools will ensure that New Zealand law applies to all online casino gambling available in New Zealand, regardless of where operators are located, closing off avenues for avoidance and strengthening the regulator’s ability to monitor and enforce compliance,” the minister said.
However, it’s expected that the Internal Affairs Department won’t begin fielding applications for the iGaming concessions until early 2027.
New Zealand Online Casinos
The many casinos that function online in New Zealand today do so via licensing from foreign jurisdictions.
For example, SkyCity Online Casino operates through an iGaming license in Malta. The legal entity behind the online casino brand, SkyCity Malta Limited, is governed by the Malta Gaming Authority.
New Zealand-based SkyCity Entertainment Group, which owns and operates SkyCity Auckland, SkyCity Hamilton, and SkyCity Queenstown, is the parent company to SkyCity Malta Ltd.
Because New Zealand, before the Online Casino Gambling Bill, never authorized iGaming, Premier Rewards points on the SkyCity Online Casino have not been interchangeable with the land-based casinos’ SHOW by SkyCity rewards program.
No comments yet