5 March 2026

Kia ora,

We’re pleased to share a major update in New Zealand’s journey towards regulating online casino gambling. The Online Casino Gambling Bill (the Bill) has now passed its Second Reading in Parliament, bringing New Zealand another step closer to establishing a safer, regulated online casino gambling environment. 

The Select Committee has endorsed the decision to grant up to 15 online casino gambling licences requiring a competitive process, that will be in the form of an auction as part of the three-stage licensing process. The Bill will now progress to the next legislative stages. 

Second Reading supports the Government’s decision to require the online casino gambling market to provide for community returns. Government has decided to increase the Offshore Gambling Duty (which will become the Online Gambling Duty when the Bill passes) from 12 percent to 16 percent with approximately 4 percent ring-fenced for community benefit.  

With the Second Reading complete, the Bill now moves into the next phases of the New Zealand parliamentary process. 

What happens next?

Committee of the Whole House
The New Zealand House of Representatives will now examine the Bill in detail, debating each clause and may consider further amendments. This step is standard for all New Zealand bills after Second Reading. 

Third Reading
Once clause by clause review is completed, the Bill returns to the New Zealand House of Representatives for its Third Reading which is the final debate.  The House of Representatives will vote on whether the Bill proceeds to become law. 

Royal Assent and enactment
If passed at Third reading, the Bill will receive Royal Assent.

Implementation timeline update

In the indicative implementation timeline that was published in late 2025, we told you that detailed regulations would be published mid-2026. Based on the current version of the Bill, we can confirm that regulations are expected to be available in early June 2026.  

Sector engagement will begin at this stage to ensure that interested providers and others who have obligations under the incoming Online Casino Gambling Act understand what they need to do to comply.  

Questions and Answers

Since re-opening the questions and answer form, there has been a number of questions submitted to the implementation team. We are working our way through these and answers will be made publicly available to ensure fairness and transparency.  

Please ensure that you regularly check this page for any updates.  

Ngā mihi nui,
Trina Lowry
Programme Director - Online Gambling Implementation