New Zealand won’t bar operators facing litigation from casino licenses

• Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden confirms offshore operators facing legal action remain eligible for New Zealand’s new online casino licenses.
• Bet365, Super Group and SkyCity Entertainment Group’s Malta-licensed online partner, Silvereye Entertainment, face High Court proceedings seeking funded class-action status over alleged unlawful targeting of New Zealand players.
• Up to 15 licenses will be auctioned, each valid for three years and renewable once for up to five more, with expressions of interest costing NZ$19,000.

New Zealand’s Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden told a parliamentary committee this week that offshore casino operators can compete for the country’s new gambling licenses.

The confirmation comes even as some of those operators face separate High Court proceedings over their past conduct. The remarks came during Governance and Administration Committee scrutiny hearings, ahead of a 15-license auction under the Online Casino Gambling Act 2026.

Lawsuit looms large

The clarification arrives as bet365, Super Group and SkyCity Entertainment Group face High Court proceedings. The case also names Silvereye Entertainment, SkyCity’s Malta-licensed online partner, and includes a bid to proceed as a funded class action over alleged unlawful targeting of New Zealand players.

Green Party MP Mike Davidson asked whether companies facing active litigation should be barred from the process. Van Velden declined to exclude anyone, pointing instead to market competition as the priority.

Brooke van Velden, Internal Affairs Minister, said:

“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.”

She added that the government’s broader goal is balance rather than exclusion.

“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.”

The minister has previously acknowledged the regulated market could end up dominated by the same offshore brands already serving Kiwi customers. She points to the scale of infrastructure required to run an online casino.

Licensing process details

Andy Foster, an NZ First MP, questioned whether offshore operators had historically broken the law. DIA Acting Deputy Secretary John Sneyd confirmed there was no prior framework to violate.

John Sneyd, Acting Deputy Secretary at the Department of Internal Affairs, said:

“That’s correct, yeah. It was unregulated.”

His comment backed Foster’s view that the absence of legislation meant no offense had technically occurred. Applicants must first clear a suitability assessment, including checks for links to organized crime, before progressing to a competitive auction.

An initial expression of interest will cost NZ$19,000. A local presence in New Zealand will be considered but will not be decisive, van Velden said.

Requiring operators to be physically based in the country would shrink the pool of bidders considerably. This would limit participation from large international brands such as Entain ANZ, which has separately flagged its own ambitions for the local market.

Funding and penalties

Each of the 15 licenses will run for three years. Operators may renew once for up to five more years, and no single operator may hold more than three.

Operators that fail to secure a license must exit the market by December 1. Continuing to operate without authorization afterward carries penalties of up to NZ$5 million.

The regime will be funded mainly through licensing fees and operator levies rather than direct government appropriations. The DIA says this structure should be sufficient to cover oversight costs.

Keeping the door open to operators already facing litigation shows how heavily New Zealand’s new regime leans on existing offshore infrastructure to get the market moving quickly.

Land-based incumbents such as SkyCity must weigh limited domestic resources against global rivals with deeper operational experience.