The government of New Zealand has made it clear that the offshore online gambling providers who face legal action due to their previous operations in the country will have no problem applying for a license within the new regulated online gambling market.
This clarification ensures that those companies that are offering their services to New Zealand players will have no problems applying for a license despite being involved in legal disputes.
Speaking before Parliament’s Governance and Administration Committee, internal affairs minister Brooke van Velden said existing offshore operators targeting New Zealand customers would be allowed to take part in the licensing process under the Online Casino Gambling Act 2026. Her comments followed questions about whether firms involved in active legal action should be excluded from the new system.
Van Velden said the government wanted to maintain a competitive market and would not rule out applicants solely because they were facing lawsuits. The clarification came as High Court proceedings examined whether offshore companies acted unlawfully by accepting New Zealand-based customers before the new regulatory regime was introduced. The government’s position makes clear that past legal exposure will not, on its own, prevent a company from entering the new market. Instead, those operators will still be able to move forward if they meet the requirements set out under the legislation.
Regulatory Licensing Steps and Local Presence Rules
As per the new system, only up to 15 online casino licenses will be awarded through a step-by-step process. Firstly, the applicants must pass the suitability test and then proceed to the auction stage. Those assessments will include checks for possible links to organized crime. The Online Casino Gambling Act, which was approved by Parliament earlier this year, establishes New Zealand’s first regulated online casino market.
Licensed operators will be subject to consumer protection, harm minimisation, and taxation requirements once the system begins operating. Operators that remain unlicensed but continue serving the market after December 1 face fines of up to NZ$5 million, or US$2.9 million. The law is designed to bring offshore activity into a regulated structure while setting clear rules for those who want to operate legally in the country.
Government officials also said that having an existing presence or connection to New Zealand will not be a deciding factor in the licensing process. According to van Velden, imposing stronger local presence requirements could sharply reduce competition and limit the participation of major international operators.
That position suggests the licensing process is intended to remain open to offshore firms rather than prioritizing those with a deeper local footprint. The government’s approach places more weight on meeting the formal suitability and auction criteria than on whether a company is already established in the country.
The new framework represents a significant change in how online casino gambling is regulated in New Zealand. While offshore casino operators, who have been serving customers from New Zealand for a long time, can apply for permission to operate, they would do so through an arrangement that involves licensing restrictions and regulatory requirements.
