New Zealand · 18+

Written for readers in New Zealand

Until the spring of 2026 this site showed New Zealand readers the same pages as everyone else, and it no longer does, because of a statute: the Online Casino Gambling Act 2026, in force since the first of May 2026, allows online casino advertising that reaches New Zealand only from the holder of a New Zealand licence. No operator we list holds one, because none has been issued yet (which is why the page a New Zealand reader sees is this one and not the catalogue).

What the Act did, and when

The Online Casino Gambling Act 2026 came into force on the first of May 2026. Section 9 makes it unlawful to offer "online casino gambling" to people in New Zealand without a licence from the Department of Internal Affairs, and that applies to foreign operators exactly as it applies to domestic ones (poker sits inside the definition). The maximum number of licences is fifteen, awarded by "auction and assessment", and no one may control more than three (a market built to be small and countable).

Section 10 is the one that reaches this page. From the same date, advertising online casino gambling in a way that reaches New Zealand is lawful only for a "licence holder", and the liability falls on anyone who publishes the advertisement or causes it to be published (a formula wide enough to take in a page that does no more than list names). The Department names "affiliate marketing" expressly among the activities the section covers, and the penalties run to five million New Zealand dollars (three hundred thousand for an individual).

Why there is no list to give you

On other pages of this site, where a country licenses operators, we publish the official register (so you can check a name against it yourself). We cannot do that here, because the register does not exist yet: the licensing process is expected to close in early 2027, and until the first licences are issued there is no authorised operator in New Zealand for us to name, and the Act gives us nothing else to point at.

There is a "transitional arrangement" in the Act for operators already active, exempting them until the first of December 2026, or until their application is decided if they have made one, and in no case beyond the first of June 2027. That exemption is about "offering the service", not an exemption from section 10, and it is not ours to rely on (we are the publisher rather than the operator).

Two of the affiliate programmes we work with reached the same conclusion without being asked: one suspended New Zealand from the first of May 2026 with a notice dated the thirtieth of April, and another prohibits it outright (as close to a second opinion as this question gets).

What changes on 1 December 2026

Two things. The offence of "gambling on behalf of a minor" comes into force, and the exemption ends for operators that have not applied for a licence, while the advertising rules in detail are expected by the same date. From the first of January 2027 the "offshore gambling duty" rises from twelve to sixteen per cent (arithmetic, not publishing).

When licences are issued, this page will change: if an operator we work with holds one, this page becomes a page with operators on it, and if none does, it stays as it is and says so (which is a promise about method rather than about outcome).

Where to get help

The Gambling Helpline is free, at any hour, on 0800 654 655, with counselling by phone and text. The Department of Internal Affairs publishes "guidance" on online casino gambling and on what the new Act changed, including the page written for advertisers which we have read (reading it is a better use of ten minutes than reading us).

The editorial team at No Deposit Bonus · Last updated October 2026