Looking for information about gambling in New Zealand? You’ve come to the right place, because here we’ve got everything you need to know. From online casinos in New Zealand, to sports betting and lottery, who can play and what’s available, we go over all the finer details.
- Gambling in New Zealand is managed by the Department of Internal Affairs. As a result, two state-owned institutions–the Totalizator Agency Board (TAB) and New Zealand Lotteries Commission (Lotto NZ) operate the majority of legal gambling in the country.
- No laws exist to prevent New Zealand citizens engaging with off-shore sportsbooks or online casinos. More than 50 different foreign operators are accessible and regularly used by gamblers in New Zealand.
- This is the majority challenge when it comes to gambling in New Zealand. Current laws and regulations are ineffective, because they do not apply to off-shore operators. As a result, Kiwis are increasingly engaging in unregulated, unprotected gambling that returns no revenue to the nation.
New Zealand takes a public health approach to gambling
The New Zealand government is heavily involved in regulating gambling. This is primarily done through the Gambling Act 2003, and what’s known as a ‘public health approach to gambling’.
In essence, the government looks to control and restrict gambling, as a means of both minimising and preventing the harm it can cause to society. The way that it does this is by focusing on the population as a whole, creating gambling-related interventions based on socio-economic and mental health factors.
According to New Zealand’s Ministry of Social Development, a public health approach to gambling is one that:
“Accounts for, and addresses, the costs and benefits of gambling accruing to both individuals and communities. It aims to develop strategies that minimise the negative impacts of gambling while nurturing any possible benefits.”
Rather than focusing on specific individuals who struggle with gambling, New Zealand’s approach is more about promoting responsible, healthy behaviours for all. The idea is that healthy gambling will, “involve making informed choices and can enhance the wellbeing of gamblers and the community.”
Overall characteristics of the public health approach include interventions for gambling being:
- Widely available
- Holistic
- Based on socio-economic research
- Provided for through institutions based in the community
- Controlled by the community
The gambling that is permitted in New Zealand sees profits flow back from losing patrons into the community. A portion of this is spent on a range of different problem gambling interventions and support systems, designed to help those who struggle with gambling.
Popular forms of gambling in New Zealand
Gambling is common-place in New Zealand, with 80 percent of New Zealand adults engaging in some form of gambling or betting at least once per year.
The most common types of gambling found in New Zealand are:
- Sports betting.
This is only legal through the TAB. However, it is common for Kiwis to place a multi bet on their favourite sports matches ahead of the weekend. Culturally, betting is spoken about with little taboo in New Zealand society. Wagers will be spoken about at the workplace or shared on social media with little judgment. Most betting occurs on New Zealand sports, such as rugby and cricket.
- Horse and greyhound racing.
Betting regularly on racing in New Zealand is not widely accepted, and is often viewed as problem gambling. However, dressing up and going to the races once or twice a year is a regular part of many New Zealanders’ lives, and typically involves placing a bet as well. Most racing grounds will have TAB outlets on site for betting.
- Slot machines.
Commonly known as ‘pokies’ in New Zealand, these slot machines are frequently found in pubs and hotels. Going out for a few drinks and a spin on the pokies is normal Kiwi behaviour. Slot machines are often a gateway into other forms of gambling for New Zealanders, given how widely available they are in society. New Zealand’s six casinos also boast a wide range of slot machines.
- Lottery.
There are few different variations of lottery games, all run by Lotto NZ. Many Kiwis will purchase a ticket regularly. These competitions are advertised and broadcast live on television each week. When certain lotteries reach big jackpots, news of this will reach mainstream media and be spoken about freely.
- Scratch-to-win cards.
Affectionately known as ‘scratchies’, many New Zealanders will pick up a $1 or $ scratchy when they do their grocery shopping. These have been heavily gamified, and are often given as gifts to family members, or as a reward in the workplace. They are accessible almost everywhere, including smaller corner stores.
- Physical casinos.
New Zealand does not have many physical casinos. However, dressing up and going to play some roulette or Black Jack in person is a common occurrence for those close to a brick-and-mortar casino. The range of games available is limited, with physical casinos being more of a novelty, rather than a staple in the Kiwi gambling culture.
These are the only regulated and legal forms of gambling in New Zealand. As we touch on further down in this study, however, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to New Zealanders’ gambling.
Gambling on the rise in New Zealand
The total revenue for legal gambling in New Zealand was $2.76 billion in 2022/23.
This was split as follows across the different types of gambling in New Zealand:
- TAB – $376 million
- Lotto NZ – $710 million
- Gaming machines – $1.07 billion
- Casinos – $604 million
These figures were all up from 2021/22, with the exception of a $4 million decline at the TAB. Overall, gambling revenue was up $507 million in New Zealand from 2021/22 to 2022/23.
Here’s a look at revenues overall across the past six years in the New Zealand gambling industry:
| Institution | 2017/18 $m | 2018/19 $m | 2019/20 $m | 2020/21 $m | 2021/22 $m | 2022/23 $m |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TAB | $350 | $332 | $315 | $385 | $380 | $376 |
| Lotto NZ | $561 | $530 | $631 | $694 | $654 | $710 |
| Gaming machines | $895 | $924 | $802 | $987 | $833 | $1,070 |
| Casinos | $578 | $616 | $504 | $559 | $387 | $604 |
| TOTAL | $2,384 | $2,402 | $2,252 | $2,625 | $2,254 | $2,761 |
Age limit control for gambling
The age limit for gambling in New Zealand depends on the type of gambling.
- Lotteries such as Daily Keno, Powerball or Lotto have no age restriction. Anyone can buy a ticket and enter. However, participants under the age of 18 who win a prize over $1000 will need the help of a parent or guardian to claim their winnings.
- Sports betting through the TAB requires patrons to be at least 18 years old. This is required to set up a TAB account, and is part of New Zealand legislation. If patrons are unable to prove their age with a valid form of identification, they’ll not be allowed to place bets at the TAB
- Scratch-to-win games such as Instant Kiwi require purchasers to be at least 18 years of age.
- Physical casinos have the toughest age restriction, requiring anyone entering the premises to be at least 20 years of age. Again, this is New Zealand law, and requires a valid form of identification. Most New Zealand casinos will trespass anyone under age caught on the gaming floors.
The lack of age restrictions on lotteries in New Zealand is a controversial topic. A 2015 study by Bellringer showed that seven percent of nine-year-old Pasifika children living in New Zealand had purchased a Lotto ticket.
“At the moment, anyone who’s able to walk and talk could walk into a store and buy a Lotto ticket and be sold one,” the study found
“It just normalises gambling behaviour as being something that anyone can do and is fun and fine.”
The inconsistency around New Zealand’s age restrictions has also led to children being illegally exposed to underage gambling. The same study by Bellringer showed that 17 percent of Pasifika children had been gifted an Instant Kiwi card, which is illegal for under-18s.
Spokespeople for Lotto NZ have gone on record saying that they are unable to influence this confusion around age restrictions, stating it is the government’s responsibility.
“I can’t step outside the law. I can’t impose an age restriction,” said the Chief Executive of Lotto NZ, Chris Lyman. “I’m not a lawmaker.”
Marketing and advertising of gambling in New Zealand
It is illegal for any institution to advertise their gambling services in New Zealand, either online or in person, other than the state-owned institutions which have been given the rights.
This means that the only advertisements permitted are those run by either the TAB or Lotto NZ. According to the New Zealand Advertising Standard Code, these must be:
- Legal
- Decent
- Truthful
- Honest
- Respectful
Specific provisions relate to gambling and children. Gambling ads cannot target children with content that is overtly animated or related to children’s toys, cartoons, characters, music or scenes. Gambling cannot be advertised anywhere that more than 25 percent of the audience is expected to be children.
Other parameters that gambling advertisements must adhere to are:
- Ads cannot leverage social pressure to gamble
- There is to be no exaggeration of the connection between gambling and the excessive spending of winnings
- No links can be made between gambling and attractiveness, relationships or sexual success
- A false sense of urgency cannot be created by gambling advertisements
- Excessive gambling cannot be encouraged
- Unrealistic chances of winning or benefiting from gambling cannot be portrayed
- Gambling cannot be shown in a way that encourages using it to solve financial or personal problems
- The level of risk associated with gambling cannot be under represented
- Fear or superstition cannot be used to prey on vulnerable members of society
Off-shore sportsbooks or casinos are not allowed to market their services in New Zealand.
New Zealand casinos
There are six physical casinos in New Zealand. Four of these are operated by SkyCity, with two other independent establishments. These are:
- SkyCity Auckland (150 tables, 1,877 gaming machines)
- SkyCity Hamilton (23 tables, 339 gaming machines)
- Christchurch Casino (36 tables, 500 gaming machines)
- SkyCity Queenstown Beach St (12 tables, 86 gaming machines)
- SkyCity Queenstown Steamers Wharf (6 tables, 74 gaming machines)
- Grand Casino Dunedin (12 tables, 180 gaming machines)
The first physical casino was opened in New Zealand in 1994. This was the Christchurch Casino. Soon after, the SkyCity Group was established in 1996, opening its first casino in Auckland in 1998.
SkyCity Auckland is now by far the nation’s largest physical casino. It’s premises cover 295,000 square meters, and was refurbished as recently as 2006.
Wellington is the only major urban centre in New Zealand without a physical casino. However, the Gambling Act 2003 prohibits any further casinos being opened in New Zealand.
Online casinos in New Zealand
None of the casinos in New Zealand are allowed to offer an online service. As a result, there are no legal online casinos in New Zealand. This includes games such as virtual roulette or poker.
However, many look alike websites exist that attempt to pose under the brands of legal casinos in New Zealand. For example, the SkyCity brand has been used in advertisements, despite the SkyCity Group having nothing to do with these online casinos.
“We are concerned that Kiwis are being misled into thinking they are playing on our SkyCity online casino when they are not,” said Sky City Chief Executive Michael Ahearne.
Access to offshore operators undermines the system
Despite rigorous legislation to restrict and minimise gambling in New Zealand, the nation’s approach has one gaping hole in it.
No legislation exists to prevent New Zealand citizens from accessing offshore online gambling sites. This means that New Zealanders can place bets on sports and play online casino games on as many as 50 different overseas operators.
This is a problem for three main reasons:
- None of the revenue from these sites flows back in to New Zealand, so it can’t be used to help treat those who suffer from problem gambling
- New Zealanders gambling offshore are not protected by New Zealand laws. This means that games can be unfair, winnings can be withheld or terms can be deceptive, and there’s no course of action to take
- Harm minimisation techniques such as requiring a clock, a tracker of losses and identification verification are not enforced on all offshore sites, in the way that they are for New Zealand state-owned institutions
Legal casino operators in New Zealand have complained about the lack of regulation of these off-shore sites. SkyCity Chief Executive Michael Ahearne said:
“Regulating online gambling in New Zealand will help protect New Zealanders against some of these fraudulent activities.
“Regulators need to be given the power to deal with rogue operators who are out to scam New Zealanders.”
Offshore operators banned from advertising
No offshore operator is allowed to advertise their services in New Zealand, either physically or online. However, there are loopholes in this restriction which render it ineffective.
YouTube, for example, is an international website. As a result, they permit offshore gambling websites to advertise on their site to New Zealand audiences.
Social media is also very challenging to censor when it comes to overseas gambling advertising. Often, influencers will have paid partnerships with online casinos or sportsbooks, driving traffic from their New Zealand audiences to these sites.
For example, popular cricket player Brendan McCullum has recently become a brand ambassador for 22Bet, an online sportsbook.
The company is based in Cyprus, and regularly runs ads on YouTube targeting New Zealanders with messages from Brendan McCullum. Complaints were made, however no laws were broken as YouTube is not a New Zealand-based content provider, nor is 22Bet a New Zealand-based gambling operator.
Gambling statistics in New Zealand
A result of the heavy influence of overseas gambling providers in the New Zealand market is an increasing exposure to gambling for young Kiwis and those who struggle with problem gambling.
Problem gambling
- According to a study by the New Zealand government, 61,000 people struggle with gambling at a moderate or serious level of harm.
- The same study revealed that an additional 125,000 people were engaging with gambling in a manner that generated some level of harm.
- Minority populations in New Zealand such as Maori and Pasifika are disproportionately represented in these statistics.
Underage gambling
- A Youth19 study found that 34 percent of high school students (under the age of 18) had been involved in some form of gambling.
- Of these, 13 percent were actively trying to limit their gambling behaviour, viewing it as problematic.
- The most common form gambling for young New Zealanders was social betting, placing wagers on sports with family and friends. Second to this was purchasing scratch-to-win cards.
New Zealand’s Official Information Act shows that between 20 to 30 percent of retail outlets permitted to sell Instant Kiwi scratch cards didn’t view a valid identification before selling to mystery shoppers aged between 18-25.
Sources:
- https://www.dia.govt.nz/gambling-statistics-expenditure
- https://www.asa.co.nz/codes/codes/gambling-advertising-code/
- https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/complaint-made-over-brendon-mccullum-22bet-gambling-ad-that-would-be-illegal-on-nz-provider
- https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/lotto-government-under-pressure-to-change-law-as-9-year-olds-buy-tickets
- https://www.hpa.org.nz/sites/default/files/Gambling%20Overview-%20fnl-120608.pdf
- https://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/journals-and-magazines/social-policy-journal/spj21/21-gambling-in-new-zealand-pages178-201.html
- https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/133254403/skycity-issues-warning-over-scam-gambling-sites