New Zealand’s Gambling Rules

Since the earliest days of recorded history, humans have found ways to play games and try and guess their outcomes. There have been ancient cards, counters, and rudimentary dice that suggest some of our oldest civilisations had the means to play games together and proposition bets have long been a popular choice for those looking to liven up a dull day.

When Il Ridotto, the first known gaming house, opened in Venice in 1638, the noblemen and women that flocked to the place couldn’t have known that this was just the beginning. Ever since, there have been gaming houses all over the world, spreading throughout Europe and into Africa and Asia, and traders taught the same games to travellers and merchants from all over the world.

As well as playing games at their gentlemen’s clubs, it soon became the ‘done thing’ to head to a casino to play with other like-minded gamers. As casinos became more popular, they spread to all areas of the globe. 

Modern Gambling

The laws surrounding gambling have been pretty volatile over the years, varying hugely depending on the social mores of the day. The role of religion in some societies has significantly limited the extent to which gambling has been legalised, whereas other countries have chopped and changed their laws based on ever-changing approaches to the whole subject.

The introduction of online gambling, where players don’t even need to be in the same country as the host website, has muddied the waters significantly when it comes to the law. Not only is it not easy to determine the jurisdiction that is covered by the various entities involved, but the mechanism to police the sites simply doesn’t exist as a global regulator.

Instead, countries can impose their own laws on the operators in their country and define the extent to which they are allowed to provide online games of chance and skill. Some countries have their own regulators that oversee online gambling sites, and licenses from the top authorities are hard to come by.

New Zealand gambling laws

In order to keep up with the ever-increasing pace of technology, New Zealand passed laws in 2003 that allow gambling and seek to regulate the industry from within the country. The New Zealand Lottery Commission has been allowed to sell lottery tickets online since 2008, so there is a precedent for accessing gambling online. 

The New Zealand Lottery Commission is the regulatory body that oversees online casinos, and there are restrictions on what other gaming sites can offer. Traditional casino games such as roulette and poker are the preserve of the official regulator and there are only two providers that are allowed to offer online gambling – Lotto NZ and TAB.

However, there are no laws preventing New Zealanders from accessing offshore gambling sites and using these. The main risk to using these sites is the lack of regulation, so players are urged to do their own due diligence when choosing a site to play on. There are many regulated and licensed casino sites available offering bonuses to Kiwi’s however. 

Public Consultation

New Zealand has recently been through a period of public consultation on its gambling laws which has provided citizens with the opportunity to have their say on the matter of gambling and its regulation. The government asked respondents to share their thoughts on how best to regulate the online gambling industry.

The survey covered providers based in New Zealand as well as those based elsewhere in the world. They collected data about people’s gambling habits, their feelings about the current gambling laws and their thoughts on what the future should hold for gamblers in New Zealand.

The government have recognised the difficulties of keeping up with the technology combined with the need to legislate to protect its citizens. The consultation was designed to put the decisions back in the hands of the people that use offshore services to learn what makes them more appealing than any of the state-authorised games.

The consultation sought to offer stakeholders, including independent bodies such as the International Betting Integrity Association the opportunity to shape the future of the gaming industry. The submissions were collated to identify the most effective ways to minimise risks when gaming online.

By taking a proactive approach and seeking input from those most likely to be affected, updates to New Zealand’s gambling laws effectively prioritise the needs of the players. While the current regulations are relatively strict compared to countries such as the UK, New Zealand, like most countries, is slowly relaxing its rules.

Despite the regulations, there are plenty of offshore sites that are hugely popular among New Zealanders, with many offering a wide choice of games that appeal to players all over the world. As long as online gaming is convenient and accessible, the lawmakers of New Zealand will have to factor it into their plans.