For example, SkyCity’s current regulatory table lists Queenstown’s venue licence expiry as 6 December 2040. Treating those two records as one would give the wrong active count. Enhanced AML/CFT (Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism) requirements have been introduced for NZ casinos and TAB NZ.
- Open the underlying source and compare the entity, event and period.
- Smaller cities with their own dedicated pages include Tauranga, Rotorua, Palmerston North, Napier, New Plymouth, Whangārei, Nelson, and Invercargill.
- Online casino was liberalised and licensed; sports betting was closed.
- Following completion of the auction process, we can confirm that 11 entities have been successful at winning the right to apply for the 15 licenses available.
- Your compliance history may be taken into account as part of the licensing process.
Implementation of the new regime will occur in stages. While the Act is in force, the full licensed online casino gambling regime is not expected to be fully operational until 2027. If a city is absent from the five-venue set, first check what kind of place the search result describes. A hospitality business can contain gaming machines without being a licensed casino venue. A remote service can use a city name without operating a physical casino there.
In 2023 the brand was relaunched as an independent affiliate and review platform. We no longer accept player registrations, process deposits, or offer gambling services. We publish editorial reviews of third-party operators. Pokies are available at all five licensed casinos and at every licensed pokie venue.
Where Are the Licensed Casinos Located?
For the full breakdown by venue, see the casino age limit in New Zealand. New Zealand law targets the provision of gambling, not participation in it. Penalties under the Online Casino Gambling Act 2026 apply to operators conducting online casino gambling without a licence or advertising in breach of the Act, not to the people who play. The Department of Internal Affairs issues gambling venue licences under the Gambling Act 2003.
The 5 Licensed Casinos in New Zealand
In doing so, they establish a robust and balanced framework to protect consumers, reduce gambling related harm, and ensure online casino gambling operates in a safe, fair and responsible way in New Zealand. During this transition period, regulatory systems, the licensing process, and operational requirements will be progressively introduced. Identify the disputed field before deciding that an entire source is wrong. An operator may publish the trading name while a licence instrument uses a legal company name. A historical article may describe the correct older venue set.
The result is a gradual, deliberate reduction in the number of pokie machines in the community. The Gambling Act 2003 regulates those who conduct or promote gambling and creates no offence of participating in overseas online gambling. No New Zealander has been prosecuted for playing online.
The auction attracted 32 bidders and concluded after 10 rounds, with the final auction price reaching $15 million (NZD) per licence. The auction determined who has won the right to apply for an online casino gambling licence. Only five venues in New Zealand hold a casino operator’s licence under the Gambling Act 2003.
Services › Casino and Non-Casino Gaming › Prohibited Gambling
An address may refer to an accommodation entrance rather than the gambling entrance. Those differences require a scope check, not an automatic choice of whichever page was updated most recently. A visitor already staying in Auckland may need one current venue record and a reliable return to the hotel.
The casino operator’s licence is the only one that permits casino table games — blackjack, roulette, baccarat, poker — alongside pokies machines. Every other licensed gambling venue in the country is a pokies pub or club and falls under a different licence class (Class 4). Using an unlicensed offshore casino is not an offence for individual players. For most recreational players, gambling winnings are generally not subject to New Zealand income tax. After the 1 December 2026 deadline, though, an unlicensed site is operating unlawfully and sits outside New Zealand’s new consumer protections, so the practical risk shifts onto you. For years, Kiwi players have used offshore casinos without the protection of a New Zealand licensing system.
Start with the physical venue, not a brand, a search-category label or a bonus. This index covers the five active land-based casinos. It does not count offshore websites, racecourses or every pub that has pokies. Separate from licensing, New Zealand applies an offshore gambling duty to operators taking money from New Zealand residents.
The major change begins from 1 December 2026, when only successful auction bidders with applications under consideration may continue temporarily. Most offshore online casinos require players to be at least 18 years old. NZ law sets 18 as the minimum for most forms of gambling (20 for land-based casinos). Never gamble underage — casinos require identity verification and will close accounts found to belong to minors. While operating an online casino from NZ is illegal, individual players are not prosecuted for gambling at offshore sites.
- Compliance has already been patchy under the interim offshore duty introduced in July 2024.
- The Act reaches operators based overseas, and the DIA can issue takedown notices and penalties of up to NZ$5 million for unlawful advertising.
- Opening information, table schedules, events and dress expectations can change.
- Core rules of the licence structure are set out below.
- From 1 May 2026 operators must not advertise online casino gambling services to New Zealand customers while unlicensed.
- Each licence runs three years and may be renewed once for a further five.
The Problem Gambling Foundation (pgf.nz) provides counselling, harm-reduction programmes, and advocacy. Safer Gambling Aotearoa coordinates multi-agency responses. The Ministry of Health funds host-responsibility training for venue operators and publishes problem-gambling prevalence research.
The Online Casino Gambling Act 2026
The DIA focuses its enforcement on operators, not players. The Racing Industry Amendment Act 2025 took effect on 28 June 2025 and gives TAB NZ a legal monopoly on all sports and racing betting, including online. It is now illegal for any operator other than TAB NZ to take or promote sports or racing bets from someone in New Zealand, and from 1 May 2026 offshore betting advertising is banned outright.
Find a Licensed Casino
The DIA is the primary regulator for all land-based gambling in New Zealand. Up to 15 online casinos will be successful at auction and gain the right to apply for an online casino licence. From 1 December 2026, only these operators will be able to provide online casino gambling to customers in New Zealand.
See all five active casinos
Class 4 is the pub-and-club gaming-machine licence, a much larger register, each tied to a specific pub or club. Separate classes exist for lotteries (Lotto NZ), society lotteries and prize competitions (Class 3), smaller non-commercial gambling (Class 1 and Class 2 raffles), and now online casino under the 2026 Act. Full regulatory detail, including complaint procedures, sits on the New Zealand gambling law page. For now, Kiwis can continue playing at offshore casinos that were already serving New Zealand before 1 May 2026. Players do not commit an offence, and gambling winnings for most recreational players, are generally not subject to income tax in NZ.
Age Requirements
At each step, all participants are offered the same price at the same time and choose whether to stay in the auction or withdraw. As the price rises, participants exit once the price is higher than what they are willing to Zoccer casino review pay. The auction continues until demand matches what is available. Providers should ensure they are complying with all current legal requirements while the new regime is implemented.