New Zealand’s Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) has set 29 September as the start date for the auction of licences for the country’s regulated commercial online casino market.
The expression of interest stage has now closed. Applicants whose submissions were accepted have been notified and invited to participate in the next stage, although acceptance does not ensure that an applicant will be invited to submit a licence application or ultimately receive a licence.
Auction details remain confidential
The DIA said the auction’s outcome will be made public, but it will not disclose the final numbers or the identities of participating bidders. The department said the decision was intended to preserve fairness and protect the integrity of the process.
Trina Lowry, Programme Director of Online Gambling Implementation for the DIA, said in an email: “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.”
The auction will determine access to a market with a maximum of 15 online casino licences. Operators including Entain and Tabcorp are reportedly interested in bidding for at least one of those licences.
Each platform or brand will require its own licence. No individual operator will be permitted to have significant influence over more than three licences. Licences can be issued for an initial period of up to three years, followed by a single renewal of up to five years.
Channelisation a key test
The licensing process is intended to create a regulated alternative to the offshore online casino operators that have been accessible to New Zealand consumers outside the domestic regulatory framework.
In June, True Legal Director Jarrod True outlined the market’s structure and identified the migration of player activity from the black market as a central challenge for the new regime.
“Ultimately, the long-term success of New Zealand’s online casino framework will depend not only on the strength of its regulatory design but on its ability to successfully migrate player activity from the black market into the licensed ecosystem,” True said.
He added that the new system would introduce a licensing framework and stronger enforcement tools, but that its effectiveness would depend on whether consumers chose licensed operators rather than unlicensed alternatives.
The September auction marks the next formal step towards establishing New Zealand’s regulated online casino market, with the successful bidders to be identified only after the process has concluded.
