Offshore operators facing class action cleared to bid for new online casino licences
Wednesday, 17 June 2026
Operators accused in a High Court class action of running unlawful offshore casinos targeting New Zealanders will not be barred from applying for the country’s first online gambling licences, the Government has confirmed.
Speaking to Parliament’s Governance and Administration Committee, as part of Scrutiny Week hearings, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden said existing offshore operators serving Kiwi customers would be free to enter the licensing process established under the newly passed Online Casino Gambling Act 2026.
Asked whether online operators currently in the market would be excluded from the upcoming auction process, van Velden replied: “That is not my understanding.”
“There shouldn't be anything prohibiting somebody putting forward an expression of interest. It is simply a question of whether or not they meet the thresholds for the licence itself.”
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The comments come as some of the world's largest online gambling companies face a major High Court class action brought by former gamblers.
The lawsuit alleges these companies operated unlawful offshore networks specifically designed to exploit and target New Zealanders.
The defendants include global betting giant bet365, New York Stock Exchange-listed Super Group, and SkyCity Entertainment Group’s overseas online casino partner.
When challenged by Green MP Mike Davidson on whether companies facing active legal action over their historical conduct should be permitted to apply, van Velden declined to rule any operator out, citing a desire for market competition.
And she admitted that the upcoming regulated market may end up consisting entirely of those same pre-existing offshore players.
‘We do actually want to have a competitive market, and it's not for me, as a minister, to say that any one particular person will be precluded,“ she said.
“It's possible that the only people that we have coming forward are people who have acted in this space, and there won't be any new players.”
Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) acting deputy decretaryJohn Sneyd told MPs that the licensing framework features a strict cap of just 15 available licences nationwide, allocated via a multi-stage process.
Applicants must first pass a “suitability” assessment, including scrutiny over any links to organized crime, before advancing to a competitive auction.
During an exchange regarding whether these offshore operators had historically been acting illegally, NZ First MP Andy Foster questioned whether the companies could not have breached any specific prohibition because New Zealand lacked an online casino framework.
“My understanding is that in fact they can't be operating illegally because there's no law saying you couldn't operate,” Foster said.
Sneyd agreed with the characterisation, stating: “That's correct, yeah. It was unregulated.”
Van Velden noted the barrier to entry for the ‘expression of interest’ phase requires an initial fee of $19,000.
Officials also confirmed that while an operator's local connection would be considered during the process, it would not be a decisive factor.
“There is no requirement to have a long-standing connection,” van Velden said, adding that forcing operators to be physically based in-country would “significantly reduce the market”.
Global giants who already possess the expansive infrastructure required to meet complex harm-minimisation and age-verification criteria are heavily favoured to sweep the pool.
Unlicensed operators who fail to secure a slot must exit the New Zealand market by December 1, after which any unlicensed operation faces corporate penalties of up to $5 million.
Asked about a drop in appropriations from more than $6 million to about $2 million, Van Velden said regulation would largely be funded through levies on licensed operators and through the licensing process itself. Officials said they were confident funding would be sufficient.