New Zealand to Begin Auction for First Online Casino Licences

New Zealand is set to begin auctioning the right to apply for its first regulated online casino licences on Tuesday, September 29, marking the second phase of the country’s newly established online gambling licensing framework.

The Department of Internal Affairs has confirmed that operators that successfully completed the expression-of-interest process have been invited to take part in the auction. A maximum of 15 operators will be able to secure the right to proceed to the full licence application stage, with applications expected to open in October. However, winning a place in the auction will not amount to regulatory approval or guarantee that an operator will ultimately receive a licence.

The auction will operate under an ascending-clock format. At each stage, all remaining participants will be offered the same price, with bidders able to withdraw as the price increases. The process will continue until the number of operators remaining matches the number of licences available.

Each licence will apply to a single brand and will initially be valid for a period of up to three years. Operators will have the option of seeking a further five-year renewal. The new framework also limits individual operators to a maximum of three licences.

Those that successfully secure the right to apply will then be required to submit detailed information to the Department of Internal Affairs. Their applications will need to include business plans and strategies addressing areas such as advertising, consumer protection, harm prevention and regulatory compliance. The Department will subsequently assess whether each applicant is suitable to hold an online casino licence.

The government has not revealed how many operators will participate in Tuesday’s auction, nor has it disclosed their identities.

Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden previously outlined the scope of the competitive process when the legislation was passed by Parliament, saying: “up to 15 licences will be available through a competitive process”.

New Zealand’s Online Casino Gambling Act came into force earlier this year, introducing a domestic regulatory framework for online casino gambling. The legislation replaced the previous system, under which New Zealand customers could access offshore online casinos even though those operators were not licensed within the country.

Under the new regime, providers that have not submitted a licence application by December 1 will be required to stop offering online casino gambling services to customers in New Zealand. Operators whose applications remain under consideration will be allowed to continue serving customers during the assessment process, although they will be prohibited from advertising while they await a decision.

The Department of Internal Affairs expects the newly regulated online casino market to become fully operational during 2027.

By fLEXI tEAM