{"id":777028179,"date":"2025-06-23T10:51:47","date_gmt":"2025-06-23T13:51:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777028179"},"modified":"2026-04-21T21:39:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T00:39:28","slug":"new-zealand-regulator-encourages-online-casino-operators-to-register-interest-in-entering-the-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/new-zealand-regulator-encourages-online-casino-operators-to-register-interest-in-entering-the-market","title":{"rendered":"New Zealand invites expressions of interest from online casino operators"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) has asked operators to register on its website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p>New Zealand.- The <strong>New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs (DIA)<\/strong> has issued a call for <strong>online casino operators<\/strong> interested in an igaming licence to register on its website. The government plans to introduce a new system to <a href=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/new-zealand-online-casino-bill-to-be-presented-next-year\">regulate online casino gambling<\/a> in 2026. Licences will be issued through <strong>a competitive process<\/strong> with a range of regulatory requirements to be considered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Trina Lowry<\/strong>, online gambling implementation programme director, said: \u201cFor online casino operators interested in entering the New Zealand market, the most important thing you can do is register your interest at www.dia.govt.nz\/OGI. As we continue to design and implement the system, we want to ensure it is clear, efficient and supportive for potential operators. To help us achieve this, we want to engage with operators to understand what information would be most helpful as the process unfolds and understand their experience and needs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For now, online casino gambling in New Zealand is prohibited under the Gambling Act 2003 but government announced last July that it would introduce legislation to regulate online casino gambling last July in a bid to help protect consumers, minimise gambling harm and provide regulatory oversight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a video, Lowry and Vicki Scott, director gambling at the Department of Internal Affairs, shared details about the programme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Online Gambling Implementation Programme Intro Video\" width=\"625\" height=\"352\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KBUQhqigNtc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Matt Doocey, New Zealand\u2019s minister for mental health, recently announced a NZ$81m (US$49m) investment for <a href=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/nz-government-to-invest-us49m-in-gambling-harm-initiatives\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/nz-government-to-invest-us49m-in-gambling-harm-initiatives\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a new strategy aimed at tackling gambling harm<\/a>. This will be funded by a problem gambling levy paid by non-casino gaming machine operators, casinos, TAB NZ and Lotto NZ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Doocey said the strategy was developed through a two-stage consultation process and will be focused on delivering timely, effective support for people, families and communities. It will aim to increase access to treatment and support and improve prevention and early intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"see-also-container\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"see-also-label\">See also:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"related-article\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"related-article__thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/07\/New-Zealand-Pubs-pokies-turnover-statistics-plan-raise-critics-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"related-article__text\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"see-also-label-strong\">See also:<\/span> <a href='https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/new-zealand-issues-warning-on-online-gambling-promotion'>New Zealand issues warning on online gambling promotion<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) has asked operators to register on its website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":218,"featured_media":12577,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"The New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) has initiated a call for online casino operators to register interest for iGaming licenses, ahead of a planned regulatory framework introduction in 2026. This move signals the formalisation of a B2C online casino market, currently prohibited, aiming to enhance consumer protection and minimise gambling harm. Concurrently, the government announced an NZ$81m investment in a new strategy to tackle gambling harm, funded by a problem gambling levy on existing operators.","focusai_entities":"Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), Trina Lowry, Vicki Scott, Matt Doocey, TAB NZ, Lotto NZ","focusai_location":"New Zealand","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (1.0), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (1.0), operator_casino (1.0), affiliate_publisher (0.8), product_ux (0.7), tech_data (0.7), marketing_crm (0.9), payments_fraud_aml (0.9), investor_analyst (1.0), supplier_vendor (0.9), journalist_researcher (1.0)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Licensing Criteria Details","query":"What specific B2C licensing criteria, beyond general regulatory requirements, will New Zealand implement to ensure robust governance and responsible gambling frameworks for prospective online casino operators?"},{"label":"Problem Gambling Levy Impact","query":"How will the newly announced NZ$81m investment in gambling harm minimisation, funded by a problem gambling levy, impact the operational costs and financial models for both existing land-based and future online casino operators?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[16336,156],"tags":[23911,4138],"class_list":["post-777028179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australasia-news","category-regulation-news","tag-gambling-regulation","tag-online-gambling"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777028179","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\/218"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777028179"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777028179\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777028442,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777028179\/revisions\/777028442"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777028179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777028179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777028179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}