New Zealand's iGaming bill could get delayed, lacks detail

• Industry News
• 24. 07. 2025.
• Milos Antic

Despite passing the first vote in Parliament on July 15th, concerns that New Zealand’s new Online Casino Gambling Bill was a little rushed threaten its proposed July 2026 launch date.

The Bill, introduced in April, aims to regulate the NZ gambling market by issuing licences for up to 15 legal operators for online pokies and other casino games.

A tight deadline

July 2026 was always going to be an optimistic deadline, since it doesn’t leave enough time for consultation and industry feedback. “There are a lot of gaps still to be filled,” as per Jamie Nettleton, partner at law firm Addisons. He and his colleague, Samuel Gauci, agree that the proposed date leaves precious little time to iron out the irregularities and effectively launch the market. “It (the Bill) is lacking in detail concerning the legislation. There are a lot of broad brush statements, in terms of how the licensing should work,” Nettleton points out.

Then there are the operators themselves, who aren’t given enough time for budgeting if the July 2026 launch date is to be respected. The vetting process is planned to start in February, with up to 15 licenses issued via auction. Between February and July, very few operators will be able to do their math to determine whether to apply or not. Not 15, that’s for sure.

First reading passed

Nevertheless, the Bill is progressing through legislative hallways, spurred on by winning the first MPs’ vote 83 to 39 and moving to the Governance and Administration Committee for a second reading. The Bill would then be referred to the Committee of the Whole House and proceed to a third reading, before being signed into law.

The proposed legislation outlines key regulatory measures, including a 12% offshore gambling duty, application of goods and services tax (GST), mandatory age and identity verification tools, and tightly restricted advertising—particularly to protect minors.