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New Zealand online casino operators face advertising limits before licensing rollout

The New Zealand parliament already passed the Online Gambling Bill, after completing its third and final reading. What is remaining is for the bill to proceed to Royal Assent and be passed into law in May 2026. In the midst of all that, casino operators need to come to terms with the advertising limits that are coming their way.

New Zealand is set to introduce licensing to its online casino sector. In the next few days, the previously unregulated market will be under strict domestic control. You see, the New Zealand government realised that more than NZ$750 million annually moves from New Zealand players to offshore online casinos. If tamed, this could be very beneficial to the government and generally the people of New Zealand. 

With the new gambling bill, the government will authorise up to 15 licenses for online casino operators. This means that operators who want to have free spins no deposit casinos in NZ will have to go through a competitive application process handled by the DIA. Once passed, the operators will receive an initial 3-year license with the opportunity for renewal, still under regulatory checks. The DIA set up a strict application deadline for 1 December 2026, after which all operators without a license will be thrown out of the market.

Marketing is on the radar

With New Zealand regulating online casino gambling for the first time, operators might be facing tough times ahead when it comes to marketing and advertising. This is because New Zealand has chosen a very restrictive framework, especially when it comes to affiliate marketing. Under the new regime, influencer endorsements and affiliate arrangements will all be prohibited.

However, it is good to note that gambling advertising laws in the country have always been tight. For instance, in late 2025, the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) issued a combined NZ$125,000 in fines to four social media influencers and an offshore operator for going against gambling advertising laws. The fines to the influencers came because of repeated promotions. In fact, one of the influencers, Millie Elder-Holmes, penalized in September 2025, had also been fined earlier in May for similar violations.

According to the DIA, repeat offenses could lead to account suspensions or restrictions on social media platforms. 

The Internal Affairs Director of Gambling, Vicki Scott, states that the DIA has observed a rise in irregular advertising in the last few years. By 2025, the cases were already at 75. According to Scott, offshore operators were paying the influencers more than they were being fined by the DIA. Vicki said that if people were willing to incur NZ$5000 for one post, then it means that they must be receiving more to remain sustainable. 

With the new regulations, advertisements will only be done by licensed operators. For unlicensed operators who are found in breach of the law, they could face huge fines. In fact, Scott stated that unlicensed operators breaching the law could meet fines of up to $5 million. 

So far, some influencers have already turned down massive gambling promo deals. For instance, content creator Paaka Davis stated that he refused a NZ$50,000 offer, while Jimi Jackson turned down a close to NZ$1 million offer. 

Holding off on Australian-style gambling ad curb

New Zealand decided that it will not adopt Australian-style restrictions on sports gambling advertisements for now. The DIA stated that they will first monitor Australia’s upcoming reforms before considering using them domestically. 

Australia placed bans on gambling advertisements, including:

For New Zealand, the advertising rules might mirror some of Australia’s elements, but not the whole of it. The proposed measures include:

However, the discussions on advertising regulations are not without pressure. More than 50 sports groups have come forward stating that possible changes in the regulations could have an impact on funding for community sports. These organisations argued that they would be stripped of more than $150 million from the community funding. This is making the issue politically touchy. Because of this, the government announced that it would include community funding guarantees for iGaming operators at 4% GGR. This could mean a potential return of between $10 million and $20 million within the first 10 months.

All in all, the government has decided to continue first with the regulations and then deal with the question of advertising later. All this is being done with the kiwi players in mind, with the government hoping that it will curb most of the issues that have been going on with offshore casinos. The goal is one: to ensure the safety of the Kiwi people.