New Zealand Invites Operators to Show Interest in New iGaming Market

Operators have been invited to register their interest in bidding for an iGaming licensing certificate to offer B2C services in New Zealand.

The New Zealand government’s announcement to bring regulated online casino gambling entertainment to the country by 2026 is full steam ahead.

Operators can now register their interest in applying for an NZ casino gambling licensing certificate with the Department of Home Affairs.

It could be a little crowded in there if the response rate is high. As per our original NZ licensing news report quoting MP Hon Brooke Van Velden, Deputy Leader of the ACT Party, “There will be a limited number of licences available allocated by auction”.

One possibility for the Department of Home Affairs asking operators to register their interest is to gain some kind of understanding of how much interest there is. The other is likely to see which operators are applying.

If there is interest from the likes of 888, Rootz, Caesars, BetMGM, Betway and Skill on Net, then the New Zealand authorities will have an idea of how to implement regulatory standards.

With large operators like those mentioned, the country can set reasonably high standards because each of these companies has compliance systems in place to meet even the strictest licensing laws.

Source: Slotegrator recently published a news report covering licensing authority news across Curacao, New Zealand, and Japan – New Zealand opens its market.

How Many iGaming Licensing Certificates Will Be Available in New Zealand?

For now, the magic number is 15, but it has not been confirmed. With pressure from online sportsbooks already operating under the country’s domestic sports betting licensing, that number may or may not be reduced.

TAB and SkyCity requested that only five NZ licensing certificates be put up for auction. However, the immediate response was a flat ‘no’ due to free trade laws, according to a report published by Radio New Zealand (RNZ).

The Casinoplusbonus gambling news team reported on this story back in April 2025 – TAB New Zealand Has Requested iGaming Licensing Reduction.

The Development of the New iGaming Licensing System

The development of New Zealand’s online casino licensing system is being led by the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) Policy team. They’re the ones responsible for designing the legislative backbone that will eventually regulate how online gambling operates in the country.

Drafting the Bill

Right now, the core focus is on drafting the Online Gambling Bill, essentially the rulebook for what operators can and can’t do. To get this right, the team is running consultation rounds with industry figures, public health professionals, and community voices. Once that stage is done, the Bill will head to a Select Committee where the public can submit feedback before it’s turned into law. Key objectives include consumer safety, integrity in operations, and effective harm minimisation.

International Regulatory Studies and Collaboration

On the operational side, the Online Gambling Implementation (OGI) team is already laying the groundwork by studying how international regulators run their systems. Once the legislation passes, the OGI team will take over with the practical aspects: building the licensing system, setting up compliance tools, opening applications, and launching public education campaigns.

A Clear Goal

It’s clear the goal here is to roll out something robust. Not just a rubber stamp operation, but a system that holds licensed operators accountable, informs the public, and ensures the NZ market grows responsibly.

For more information on the current process planned by the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) Policy team and the invitation to register for licensing, the official source for this section is Online Gambling Regulatory Implementation, published by the Department of Internal Affairs in New Zealand.

Casinoplusbonus Opinion

I am sure the entire iGaming community shares our sentiments right now. We only know that New Zealand is going through the processes required to bring a fair and stable domestic licensing framework as an option for NZ citizens.

Aside from the information provided in this news report, which is just about everything you need to know if you include the links to resources, the iGaming licensing process is still very much in its infancy.

What About Regulating Software Providers in NZ?

I would say the next question we have is how New Zealand will regulate the B2B software providers who will eventually supply new NZ online casinos under the new regulatory framework. We saw in the Ontario market that it took over two years for what we would consider a good number of software providers to become available to operators in order to compete with competition coming from non-Ontario (overseas) online casinos.

With that being said, it is obvious that software providers have to provide iGaming platforms serving NZ citizens via domestic licensing, so this is definitely something that is going to be addressed.

What are your thoughts? We always appreciate hearing other people’s opinions. If you have information we haven’t reported, please feel free to leave a comment.