10 September 2026
Kia ora,
Thank you all for your continued interest in the online casino gambling implementation programme and the process to grant licences in New Zealand.
Those who were successful at expression of interest and invited to participate in the auction have now been notified. To protect the fairness and integrity of the auction, we will not be sharing final numbers or information about who is participating.
The auction will begin on Tuesday 29 September 2026 and the outcome will be publicly notified.
It’s important to note that acceptance of an expression of interest does not guarantee that an online casino gambling operator will be invited to apply for a licence or that a licence will be granted.
Q&A update
We have provided answers to questions that have been submitted since the online form re-opened. These can be viewed further down in this email newsletter.
Now that all questions have been responded to, the Q&A form on our website has closed again. Throughout the duration of the auction, only those participating will be able to ask questions via GETS.
The Q&A form will re-open after the auction process is complete.
Questions and answers
Q. Regulation 40(b) prohibits personal endorsements. This is generally understood to prevent a marketing agency from writing and publishing positive reviews that endorse a particular operator. However, can a marketing agency publish comparative reviews of two or more operators without contravening this prohibition?
In particular, we would appreciate guidance on whether editorial content of the following nature would be permitted:
- Objective descriptions of licensed operators.
- Comparisons of factual characteristics, such as licensing status, payment methods, customer support, and responsible gambling tools.
- Neutral explanations of terms and conditions.
- Regulatory or consumer protection information.
- No calls to gamble.
- No bonus-focused marketing language.
- No operator endorsements.
Would content that is limited to the above features be considered permissible under Regulation 40(b)?
A. Whether content constitutes a prohibited personal endorsement under regulation 40(b) will depend on whether it is reasonably likely to cause a person viewing the content to believe that a real, fictional, or artificially generated person supports, approves of, recommends, or otherwise lends credibility to an operator or gambling platform.
Regulation 40(b) is intended to prevent endorsements by individuals, or content that creates the impression of an endorsement by an individual.
It is unclear in the question whether the proposed content would be presented in a manner that attributes it to or creates an impression that the content is attributable to a real, fictional or artificially generated individual. This would be a critical element in considering whether the content would contravene Regulation 40(b).
In the absence of a prohibited personal endorsement, other relevant considerations are affiliate arrangements, specified under Regulation 40(c), and whether the content is permissible under all the other advertising regulations.
Q. How are broadcasters and other publishers of advertisements for the online casino gambling operators expected to be involved in any complaints process for such ads, if the ASA is not responsible? Who at DIA do complainants get directed to?
A. Complaints about unlawful online casino gambling advertising will be managed by the Department of Internal Affairs, these should be sent to onlinegambling@dia.govt.nz.
We will be working with the ASA to ensure that any complaints they receive about unlawful online casino gambling advertising are passed along to our team to be investigated.
Q. If there are changes to Key Officers after EOI submission (for example, a new director is appointed to the entity), but before Interested Parties are invited to participate in the auction, what is the process for updating the DIA? Should the same OCG-F2 form be completed with the required documentation, and how should the information be submitted?
A. Unless requested by the Secretary, you are not required to provide any further information at this time.
Should you be successful at auction and subsequently apply for a licence, the new key officer will be required to complete a full OCG-F2 form, or an equivalent document in accordance with section 18(e) of the Online Casino Gambling Act.
Q. Will representatives from the Department of Internal Affairs be attending the SBC Lisbon at the end of September? Or the International Association of Gambling Regulation conference in Peru?
A. Representatives from the Department of Internal Affairs will be attending the International Association of Gambling Regulation conference in Peru this year.
The competitive process for awarding the online casino gambling licences will still be ongoing at this stage, therefore those attending will be required to follow strict probity established for the licensing process. We will be unable to discuss any aspect of the programme with others at the conference unless the information is already publicly available. Any interactions will be managed in accordance with the Department's probity requirements to ensure the integrity and fairness of the process.
Q. Will there be a transitional period to comply with the testing/certification requirements, given we are already in August and cannot as yet complete full analysis whilst awaiting further regulatory requirements. It is not unusual for upcoming markets to provide for a 6-month transitional period for their new licensees to comply.
A. The proposed testing requirements to be specified under section 80 of the Online Casino Gambling Act are expected to be published before the auction commences and will include information that answers this question.
Ngā mihi nui,
Trina Lowry
Programme Director - Online Gambling Implementation
