New Zealand to Legalise Online Casinos in 2026

The iGaming scene in New Zealand is set to undergo complete reform by mid 2026, as the country moves to legitimize online casinos. In June 2025, the draft for the new Online Casino Gaming Bill was introduced in the House of Representatives, updating the existing Gambling Act of 2003 to grant 15 iGaming licenses to operators in New Zealand. The law was passed by the Parliament, and is on track to be enacted. May 1 is the deadline for the Royal Assent, when the NZ Online Casino Gaming Bill will become official.

Following that, we can expect the auctioning for the 15 casino licenses and there will be no shortage of interested parties who will be eager to jump into the market that is worth around $2.89 billion annually. In addition to the license framework, New Zealand is eyeing a gambling tax duty hike, player protection laws, stricter advertising and marketing laws, and possibly community funding changes, too.

New Zealand Online Casino Gaming Bill

The Online Casino Gaming Bill was introduced into the New Zealand House of Representatives back in June of 2025, and is awaiting Royal Assent. This reform promises to shake up the New Zealand iGaming industry monumentously; it will change the laws that have been in place since 2003, and bring a much needed structure to the online casino market for Kiwis. The main change is the iGaming licensing framework, something that is virtually nonexistent in New Zealand. Right now, you can’t find any online casinos that have licenses in New Zealand.

There are no New Zealand approved online casinos. Instead, you have online casinos that are licensed abroad, many of which hold iGaming licenses in the following jurisdictions:

• Malta Gaming Authority
• Gibraltar Regulatory Authority
• Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission
• Curacao Gaming Commission

Among others. New Zealand does have landbased casino groups, such as SkyCity and Christchurch Casino, but their online casinos are based abroad (such as in Malta). Technically, they are not legal in New Zealand, but there are no laws that prohibit gamers from joining and playing real money casino games at these sites. The Online Casino Gaming Bill intends to change that.

It will create a licensing structure, meaning these online casino operators will have to apply for local licenses, and can then run with the full blessing of the law. The one caveat is that, in the new system, there will only be 15 licenses up for grabs. After the laws are introduced, it will be illegal for unlicensed operators to advertise and offer their games to Kiwi players.

What Happens Next

Royal Assent, which should be given by the May 1 2026 deadline, is the next step. After this, the bill will be moved into the implementation phase. The Department of Internal Affairs will handle this, and the New Zealand Government will have to publish secondary regulations, defining the new laws. Essentially, we know that there will be changes in the taxation, advertising, and consumer protection protocols, but these will have to be ironed out and written into law.

These regulations are expected to come in the middle of 2026, well in time for the potential online casino license applicants to read the terms and conditions. The formal licensing process will begin later in the year, and there will be a total of 15 licenses.

Licensing Framework

Having a maximum 15 licenses may be quite restrictive, but these licenses will only be valid for 3 years, after which there will be a renewal possibility for another 5 years. So, there is hope that after 3 years the board may review and potentially even extend the number of iGaming licenses offered. New Zealand has a pretty big appetite for gambling, with a market that is estimated to be around $2.89 billion annually.

For comparison, when Ontario opened its gambling market and introduced a licensing system, there were no caps, and within 1 year it onboarded 45 operators and 70 sites. Skip forward to 2025 September, when Absolute Bet gained an Ontario iGaming license, and that number steadily went up to 50 operators with 87 sites. Ontario does have a population of 16 million to New Zealand’s 5.3 million, so 15 iGaming licenses initially (hopefully just initially) may not be as restrictive as it sounds.

Applicants will have to undergo a multi stage process with suitability checks, proposed frameworks and competitive auctioning. Operators can apply for up to 3 licenses apiece, and for every license they hold, they can only run 1 casino site. That means, no skins, similar to the recent Italian crackdown on casino skin sites. They can run 1 site for every 1 license, and individual brands can obtain up to 3 licenses, meaning up to 3 sites.

Tax and Advertising Laws

The licensed New Zealand online casinos will be subject to a 12% gross gaming revenue tax, which will increase to 16% from January 1, 2027. They will also need to pay a problem gambling levy, to help support treatment and prevention services for gambling addiction.

Advertising laws are also set to change, with limits on exposure to minors, restrictions on aggressive promotional tactics, and fewer bonus driven ads. These are most likely going to take on a more conservative approach, to curb the gambling advertising and protect players.

Plus, the Bill is set to introduce mandatory age and ID verification, as well as a centralized self exclusion register – just like Ontario has now. New Zealand is also set to become the next country to ban credit card gambling, joining recent countries like Sweden that have implemented credit card bans.

Community Funding

One of the most heavily debated reforms is the one around community funding. This is essentially an addition levy that casinos pay to support local communities, and right now, there is none for online casinos. Landbased class 4 gambling venues have to support local sports clubs or charities, while the online casinos – internationally licensed right now – don’t pay a cent. The Bill may change that, introducing mechanisms to channel back some of the online gambling revenue to the local communities. But it is still in the works, and we will know more when the secondary regulations are published later in the year.

What Kiwi Gamers Can Expect

In the meantime, business will continue as usual, as the new Online Casino Gaming Bill implementation and regulation is still being put together. Little will change in the next 6 months, but once the regulations take effect, the gambling ads and the number of online sites catering to Kiwi gamers may tumble.

The smaller pool of online casinos probably won’t excite many Kiwi gamers, and by shutting out most of the competition, there will definitely be changes in the games offered and bonus quality. But on the plus side, players will get a more organized network of iGaming sites, with enhanced security and a new standard of responsible gambling tools. It will bring New Zealand in line with many of the other major gambling jurisdictions in the world, and help to create a safer environment for Kiwi players.