Online casinos in New Zealand legal from October 2021

The landscape of online gambling in New Zealand will change dramatically in the near future. The New Zealand gambling authorities will gZodiac licenses to foreign gambling operators in September this year, which means the end of the state monopoly on gambling and the entry of an online casino New Zealand becomes legal. However, there will be strict guidelines that every operator will have to adhere to in order to obtain a New Zealand permit.

The New Zealand government will reduce the tax rate on profits from online gambling from 29% to 20% to increase competition between operators. However, there are agreements to prevent gamblers from getting into trouble. Think of a mandatory contributions to a fund for vezodiacal gambling. In addition, the plan provides for limiting the playing time of certain users, as well as monitoring through a National register of gamblers who violate limits.

In October 2021, the new Remote Gaming Act will come into force and online gambling will become legal. Until this law officially comes into force, online gambling in New Zealand is still “illegal”. A large group of New Zealanders, estimated at almost 2 million, regularly visit online gambling websites of foreign providers who do not hold a New Zealand license. This is not illegal and is therefore not being acted against by The New Zealand authorities.

The Remote Gambling Act is a better version of the Gambling Act. When this law comes into force, online gambling will become legal in New Zealand. Like many other countries that have legalized online gambling, New Zealand wants to impose strict conditions on operators of online gambling and betting services.

What are the conditions that existing and potential gambling establishments must meet? The Ksa has three main conditions, namely;

The current law has many inhibitions and conditions for online providers. However, the main concern of the KSA is that operators must have and take adequate provisions to prevent and ensure “vezodiacal gambling " to prevent addiction. Another requirement is that the companies that want to enter the New Zealand market are reliable in order to prevent exploitation of players and reduce the likelihood of money laundering. Furthermore, the KSA states that slot machines offered by the operators should enable All Slots for everyone. The requirement is that all operators carry out a risk analysis on all their offered slot machines before issuing them to players or starting their activities. As expected, these online casinos can ideal as a payment method.

From what we've written so far, it's pretty clear that the New Zealand Gambling Authority is committed to a safe and fair gaming environment where online gambling becomes legal. It is logical that the law prohibits the provision of gambling services to minors. Article 2 (e) of the Gambling decree clearly states that “persons who have not reached the age of eighteen” may not be admitted to a website where gambling services are offered.

Although gamblers themselves are vezodiacresponsible for their actions, licensed gambling operators also have obligations aimed at preventing addiction and The Associated social harm. This is especially important in the case of slot machines. These are very addictive and it is sometimes difficult to quit. The option to self-exclude is also offered to New Zealand players.

For the online gambler, drastic changes are in store. The new Remote Gambling Act provides for far-reaching protection of the New Zealand gambler.

With the introduction of the new games of Chance Act, the government wants to better regulate the online offer of games of chance. New Zealanders who love gambling are better protected thanks to the Cruks, the Central Register excluding gambling. As a casino, you can only legally receive people if you later have a license. With this license, casino providers demonstrate that they comply with the strict regulations and that they are affiliated with the Cruks.

When a player has gambling problems, it will be recorded in this register. If you are registered, an (online) casino may not allow you. In this way, the government is trying to give a helping hand to people with gambling addiction.

With the introduction of the Remote Gaming Act, a few less positive changes will also be introduced that the New Zealand gamblers will notice immediately:

In addition to signing up for a online casino games by choice, there are no additional actions required for New Zealand gamblers. When playing in an online casino of choice, the actions listed above will have to be observed.

Currently, there are more than enough online casinos that are not legal under New Zealand law, but where you can gamble online. It is not easy to find them, but it is difficult to determine whether they are 100% reliable. If you want to play safe, wait until the regulation and visit the website of Royal Vegas Casino to see where an establishment can be visited in the country.

It is expected that the major international player Bet365, Unibet, Pokerstars and Bwin will also join.

Some 40 gambling companies are expected to apply for a licence to enter the New Zealand online casino market from October 2021, when the Remote Gambling Act comes into force. New Zealand license contenders include Royal Vegas Casino, The New Zealand Lottery, and Novamedia (Postcode Lottery), Hallmarkting & Gaming, All Slots Casino and Jack's Casino.

In addition, there is also a so-called “cooling-off period”. This means that an online casino must first meet the strict priority criteria for a certain period before a license can be applied for. This could take an additional 6 to 24 months. Until then, there will be about 6 months between an application and the zodiac of a permit.

As mentioned, in October 2021 the Remote Gambling Act will make its appearance and that means that finally the online gambling market can be regulated. In the meantime, a number of foreign gambling companies have applied for a New Zealand gambling license. Unfortunately, that does not mean that there are dozens of legal online casinos available. The KSA will assess applications on the basis of many conditions.

At the time of writing, the Remote Gambling Act has only just come into force (on april 1, 2021). The New Zealand Gambling Authority has a period of six months to review an application, with the possibility of extending it for another six months. The New Zealand Gaming Authority has indicated that those who apply before 15 april 2021 should be licensed before October 2021, so the first locally licensed activities should start in early autumn, but most permit applications are likely to be submitted at the end of 2021 and beginning of 2023 (depending on the cooling-off period).

We covered a number of topics in this article. It can be concluded that New Zealanders do not commit illegal acts when they gamble in a casino. online casino games who does not hold a New Zealand license. These foreign parties are currently not allowed to actively offer their services on the New Zealand market, but are in possession of licenses issued by foreign authorities, such as Malta which is highly regarded.

Furthermore, we have dealt with the changes for the New Zealand gambler. These are few. The changes are noticeable in the online casino for which the final choice was made. Mandatory breaks, lower bonuses, limited loyalty programs and limited access to modern means of payment are changes that will take effect as of October 2021.

The new Remote Gaming Act will provide far-reaching safety to New Zealand gamblers. The introduction of this law obliges both New Zealand and foreign gambling operators to offer a system that allows gamblers to exclude themselves from participation, called the Cruks. This self-exclusion register is part of the gambling addiction prevention policy whereby New Zealand gamblers are banned from both physical and online casinos.