{"id":777024911,"date":"2025-04-07T01:48:08","date_gmt":"2025-04-07T04:48:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777024911"},"modified":"2026-04-22T00:08:02","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T03:08:02","slug":"iwi-leaders-against-planned-licensing-system-for-online-casinos-in-new-zealand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/iwi-leaders-against-planned-licensing-system-for-online-casinos-in-new-zealand","title":{"rendered":"Iwi leaders oppose planned licensing system for online casinos in New Zealand"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Indigenous leaders complain that there have been no discussions with the communities most vulnerable to gambling-related harm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

New Zealand.- Iwi leaders expressed their\u00a0<\/strong>opposition to the bill that seeks to open the New Zealand online gambling market<\/a>\u00a0to up to 15 operators. According to Radio New Zealand (RNZ), the Online Safety Iwi Leaders Group<\/strong> claims there has been no consultation with the communities most likely to be affected by online gambling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

R\u0101hui Papa<\/strong>, chair of Pou Tangata, part of the National Iwi Chairs Forum, said the bill could increase gambling harm<\/strong> by allowing people to gamble easily from their homes. Papa also raised concerns that if the gambling operations are offshore, they won’t have to uphold the Treaty of Waitangi, contribute to community welfare, or provide financial support for problem gambling services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group has asked the government to pause plans for an auction and has called for experts and community leaders to be heard before the regime’s proposed start.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"R\u0101hui
R\u0101hui Papa, chair of Pou Tangata, a part of the National Iwi Chairs Forum.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

He stressed the need for more research on the harmful effects of gambling not just on M\u0101ori families, but all families in Aotearoa. He stressed that M\u0101ori and Pasifika communities are already affected by gambling, and young M\u0101ori are particularly at risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the proposed legislation, licensed operators will be subject to taxation, including a 12 per cent gambling duty and a problem gambling levy. However, they will not be required to allocate funds to community programmes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minister of Internal Affairs\u00a0Brooke van Velden<\/strong>\u00a0has said the bill would go through Parliament later this year and that the public would have a chance to express views. She said interested parties can share their opinions during the select committee process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The licensing system for online casinos in New Zealand is expected to be operational by early 2026. The minimum age for online gambling would be 18, and licensees would be able to offer casino games only, not sports betting or lottery products. Advertising by licensed gambling operators would be allowed, although there would be strict limits and no sponsorship. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

See also: <\/strong>New Zealand issues warning on online gambling promotion<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Indigenous leaders complain that there have been no discussions with the communities most vulnerable to gambling-related harm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176,"featured_media":17171,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"Iwi leaders in New Zealand are opposing a proposed bill to license up to 15 online casino operators, citing a critical lack of consultation with communities most vulnerable to gambling-related harm. They express concerns that the legislation could exacerbate social issues, particularly for M\u0101ori and Pasifika populations, and question offshore operators' accountability to the Treaty of Waitangi and their contribution to community welfare, despite proposed taxation and problem gambling levies. The group has called for a pause on the auction and further expert and community input before the regime's planned 2026 operational start.","focusai_entities":"R\u0101hui Papa, Pou Tangata, National Iwi Chairs Forum, Online Safety Iwi Leaders Group, Brooke van Velden, Radio New Zealand (RNZ)","focusai_location":"New Zealand, Aotearoa","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (0.9), operator_casino (0.9), affiliate_publisher (0.7), marketing_crm (0.7), investor_analyst (0.9), supplier_vendor (0.8), journalist_researcher (0.9)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Iwi Leaders' Proposed Amendments?","query":"What specific amendments are Iwi leaders proposing to the bill to address their concerns regarding gambling harm and Treaty of Waitangi obligations?"},{"label":"Levy Allocation & Impact?","query":"How will the proposed 12% gambling duty and problem gambling levy be allocated, and what mechanisms are in place to ensure effective support for vulnerable communities, particularly M\u0101ori and Pasifika?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[16336,24628,154],"tags":[4138],"class_list":["post-777024911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australasia-news","category-highlight-of-the-week","category-legislation-news","tag-online-gambling"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777024911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/176"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777024911"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777024911\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777024975,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777024911\/revisions\/777024975"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777024911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777024911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777024911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}