Wellington clears 11 for New Zealand online casino licence race
New Zealand’s Department of Internal Affairs has named the 11 entities cleared to apply for the country’s first online casino licences, after an auction that drew 32 bidders over 10 rounds. The department announced the results on October 13, 2026.
Each right to apply cost NZ$15 million, and the winners now hold the right to submit a full licence application, not a licence itself. Up to 15 licences are available under the Online Casino Gambling Act 2026, each covering one brand for an initial three-year term with a possible five-year renewal.
Super Group’s Betway took the maximum three rights through its Baytree Interactive Ltd subsidiary. Entain secured two rights through Playvia Gaming Ltd, and SkyCity Entertainment Group also holds two, via SkyCity NZ Online NO1 Limited and SkyCity NZ Online NO2 Limited. Stake New Zealand Limited secured one right. The remaining winners are Rock Swift Group Ltd, TAB New Zealand, Skill On Net Ltd, One Casino Ltd, Christchurch Online NZ Ltd and Rush Entertainment Ltd.
The department said the 11 applicants must now submit business plans, marketing strategies and consumer-protection mechanisms for a full assessment before any licence decision. The Internal Affairs Minister, Brooke van Velden, said the law closes the gambling tax loophole and requires licensed online casino operators to pay tax like any other business in New Zealand.
The auction closes a grey market. From December 1, 2026, operators that have not submitted a licence application must stop serving New Zealand customers, and applicants under review face temporary advertising restrictions while their assessments run. The new licences are expected to come into force on July 1, 2027.
The NZ$15 million per-right price sits above the roughly €5.2 million licensing fee in Brazil’s regulated market, a comparison drawn when the regime was being set, and the field still outstripped it: 32 bidders competed for 11 application rights.
Sports betting is not part of this process. It remains under Entain’s exclusive control through TAB New Zealand, though the length of that partnership is reported differently, at 20 years by one trade outlet and 25 years by another.
Renata Kovacs has spent the better part of a decade following the regulatory shifts and licensing battles that define how gambling markets open, close, and evolve across Europe and beyond. She came up through the legal and compliance side of the industry before shifting her focus to journalism and analysis, giving her a perspective that sits closer to the operator room than the press box. Her coverage tends to cut through the noise and get straight to what a regulatory change actually means for the businesses and players involved.