New Zealand has introduced legislation banning all forms of offshore sports betting sites, meaning residents can wager only through one licensed operator.
As part of the Racing Industry Act 2020, offshore sportsbooks are no more in New Zealand in the biggest change to the country’s sports betting laws in over 20 years.
Online casinos such as bet365, Betfair and Stake are now prohibited for use in the country as Tab NZ gains the exclusive rights to offer online racing and sports betting services for Kiwis.
Why Has New Zealand Banned Offshore Gambling?
New Zealand’s governors want to increase financial returns to domestic racing and sporting bodies while reducing the risk of gambling-rated harm associated with offshore operators.
Residents of New Zealand bet hundreds of millions of dollars with offshore sports betting apps every year and those agencies provide very little or no return to the country’s racing industry.
The new law was created to stop offshore operators simply taking out without creating new jobs or benefitting the economy, making it illegal for those firms to take bets from inside the country.
More of that money will be retained by New Zealand with politicians hoping it will encourage growth in the country’s racing sector while protecting bettors from the uncertainty of the black market.
Offshore Ban Strengthens TAB Monopoly In New Zealand
TAB is not state-owned, but is a Crown-established statutory body that outsources its commercial betting and broadcasting services to UK gambling group Entain.
In a 25-year deal signed back in June 2023, TAB franchised all of its management rights to Entain which controls the app, retail outlets, online services and Trackside TV – the firm’s horse racing and sports broadcast network.
While TAB will enjoy increased market freedoms, it will be on a tighter leash as the firm will be subject to further regulatory controls and ministry supervision.
The Kiwi government can directly step in to introduce additional consumer protection measures as well as reviewing TAB’s effectiveness on matters like self-exclusion – and they can request information on specific players.
New Zealand’s gambling regulator will oversee enforcement and ensure that offshore sportsbooks exit the market with immediate effect.
Joe Lyons is a betting industry writer for GamblingIndustryNews with years of experience on reputable gambling websites. Joe specialises in long form content in the world of sports betting and gambling. Joe is recognised as an expert in sports fields such as horse racing, soccer, NFL and NBA.
