The Department of Internal Affairs

Te Tari Taiwhenua | Department of Internal Affairs

Building a safe, prosperous and respected nation



 

Review of Online Gambling in New Zealand

Background

The Department is conducting a review into online gambling in New Zealand.

The current Gambling Act is from 2003. Back then internet technology was still developing. Law makers couldn’t have foreseen the way that gambling would develop online 17 years on.

Today, while it is illegal for online gambling to be provided domestically, except by authorised providers (Lotto NZ and the TAB), it is legal for New Zealanders to gamble on offshore websites. Offshore gambling websites may not be regulated at all and have no harm minimisation mechanisms in place to protect players.  In addition, unlike domestic gambling, offshore online gambling provides little to no return to New Zealand communities.

We need to update our laws for today’s digital world and future proof them as much as possible. Work is underway to develop a safe, regulated online gambling system for New Zealand that keeps people safe, allows only trusted providers to participate in the market, and contributes to the community.

Summary of submissions report from public consultation

The Minister of Internal Affairs recently announced the release of the summary of submissions report from public consultation on online gambling in New Zealand.

The summary of submissions report summarises the views of 2,997 individuals and organisations that submitted on the discussion document in August and September 2019. 

The next step is to work through the issues raised by submitters while the Department provides advice to the Minister of Internal Affairs on a new regulatory system for online gambling.

The full submissions are now available here: Online Gambling Review submissions

Public Consultation – August to September 2019

As part of the review of online gambling in New Zealand, the Minister of Internal Affairs released the discussion document Online Gambling in New Zealand in July 2019.

In August and September 2019, the Department consulted publicly on the discussion document and sought New Zealanders views on the future of online gambling.

The Department also held targeted community consultation meetings in August 2019 in Wellington, Porirua, Auckland, South Auckland and Christchurch with community groups and organisations involved in reducing gambling harm.

Consultation documents:

In other languages:

Submissions closed Monday 30 September 2019

 Return to Current Consultations