New Zealand is one step closer to legalising online casinos after a bill to regulate the vertical passed its first reading in Parliament.

The Minister of Internal Affairs, Brooke van Velden, confirmed that the bill, introduced to Parliament last month and designed to protect the country’s online casino players by introducing safeguards to the currently unregulated online gambling market, is now set to proceed to the Select Committee.

Up to 15 online casino licences would be available via an auction through the bill, with interested operators needed to meet strict criteria, including a harm prevention strategy and compliance history.

“Currently, New Zealanders can legally access thousands of offshore gambling websites. But the market is unregulated, so there are no player safety standards or oversight of harm minimisation,” noted van Velden. 

“My intention with this bill is to ensure that online gambling is safer for New Zealanders who wish to gamble online to do so. In addition, companies providing this service contribute to tax revenue and funding the services that treat gambling harm in New Zealand.”

New Zealand’s regulated online casino market will be monitored by the Department of Internal Affairs, with all costs recovered from fees on licensed gambling companies, as well as fines of up to $5m issued to companies that break the rules.

The ambition is to have a regulated online casino market in the country by 2026.  

Conditions that must be met for operators to hold an online casino licence include, but are not limited to, having a suitable age verification system to stop gambling from under-18s, contributing 1.24% of profits to the Problem Gambling Levy, as well as compliance with strict advertising restrictions.

Last month, the New Zealand Government outlined its strategy to prevent and minimise gambling harm in the country, which will involve investing more than $81m in various components of the services available to those affected, funded via the Problem Gambling Levy.

Meanwhile, detailed rules on advertising for the New Zealand online casino market are currently being developed.

“The most important part of this Bill is protecting New Zealanders who enjoy gambling online by introducing robust safety measures for licensed operators,” added van Velden. 

“The Bill will now proceed to the select committee, and I would encourage interested New Zealanders to have their say when public submissions open.”

Reece Calderbank, Global Sales Director at Delasport, recently evaluated New Zealand’s incoming iGaming regulatory framework’s potential for iGaming Expert, noting that it was “at the threshold of a pivotal transformation”.

Source