Online gambling licenses in New Zealand and worldwide

Land-based casinos have been banned in New Zealand since 1946, through a decree added to the 1941 law (Decree Law N.3688/1941), which prohibits sports betting and gambling in New Zealand territory. Almost 80 years after the creation of the law, New Zealanders still live under that same ban.

Law 3688/1941 could not foresee, at the time, the invention of the internet and the various ways to play and place bets completely online, through betting sites and online casinos. We can affirm, in this sense, that it is outdated and that it does not contemplate the reality of online games. As we will see below, there are already two bills going through the National Congress that intend to regularize the gambling environment in the New Zealand territory.

The Gambling Act of 1941 was established in a scenario quite different from today's reality. At the time, the law prohibiting gambling served as a way to maintain moral and social values promoted by the state. It prohibits any types of establishments from offering gambling, also called games of chance (i.e. games and bets whose outcome depends entirely on luck). This framework includes all casino games, lotteries and all types of bets. The activity is punishable by imprisonment for between three months to a year, in addition to a fine.

Because this prohibition scenario has changed very little in the last 70 years, there is no mention of online gambling in the 1941 law, but there is also no differentiation between gambling in physical establishments and online games. The law prohibits establishments from offering gambling, which inevitably ends up encompassing the virtual world.

However, despite the legislation remaining unchanged to this day, it is expected that in the coming years casinos and online gaming will be regularized, at least in part, in New Zealand. Caixa Econômica Federal lottery games, such as Mega Sena, are the only gambling currently allowed in the country.

Gambling in New Zealand is considered to be all games that rely solely on luck ( casino games ), horse betting and other sports betting. Lottery and bingo games are also considered gambling and in this case also become illegal by law 3688/1941.

Both proposals to regularize betting in New Zealand, which we will talk about further below, also define gambling as those games in which the outcome of winning or losing depends solely on luck. While it is true that casino games and sports betting, eSports betting and even binary options are games of luck, they all depend, too, on some basic knowledge on the part of the player, as we explain in our game manuals.

Along with the worldwide movement that sees poker as a legitimate sport, in recent years it has come to be considered a strategy game, similar to chess, also in New Zealand. In this sense, poker can no longer be considered as a game of chance.

Over the years, there have been various pressures from different economic sectors to make casino gaming legal in the New Zealand territory. Today, there are two bills going through the National Congress that intend to regulate, in part, betting in the country. They propose the licensing of casino gaming and betting companies, indicating a profound change with regard to the operation of online casinos in the coming years.

The bill N. 186/2014 has the purpose of authorizing, licensing and regularizing the situation of casinos in the territory New Zealand. Thus, domestic and foreign private companies could offer their services legally in the country, obeying some rules. The bill includes sports betting, bingo and casino games in this regularization. Once approved by the Senate, the bill will then go through the House of Representatives, and back to the Senate for final approval.

In 2016, the discussion on the legalization of gambling and casinos in New Zealand gained momentum, which prompted modifications to the 2014 bill. Many lawmakers spoke in favor of the bill, but the opposition also had strong arguments against legalizing gambling. During 2017, he did not gain attention and did not move. The issue has remained open since then, with no news from the government that could create expectations in players and gaming operators. Many consider the idea of legalizing casino gaming and gambling at the same time – in a country that has no history of legalization – to be too ambitious.

If Bill No. 186/2014 is passed, it will create the legal basis for the licensing of gambling in New Zealand. Thus, foreign sites that currently accept New Zealand players (we reviewed several of them here at New ZealandCasinos) would have to comply with the measures imposed by New Zealand legislation to continue operating legally in the country.

In addition, New Zealand casino gaming companies could be created, as well as physical gaming and betting establishments. Another bill very similar to this, but much older, the 442/1991, also processed in Congress, but was never approved.

The online gambling they became popular in the last two decades, and since then the betting market has grown exponentially. Until casinos are regularized in New Zealand, New Zealand players can, in theory, continue betting at online casinos and foreign betting sites, as is currently the case.

There are dozens of companies dedicated to developing casino games and platforms for the most diverse types of bets (check out our complete guide to online betting ). And there are hundreds of other companies that offer an online casino environment where you have access to these games. All of them are foreign, as New Zealand currently prohibits gambling in the country.

Online casinos can be licensed in different parts of the world (see below for our list of the main regulatory bodies). They comprise hundreds of traditional casino games specially created to operate online, as well as a large number of bets available. The catalog of games is really impressive and surpasses even the biggest Dollar (NZD) casinos. Online, you find:

• pokies ;
• Kingdom ;
• poker and video poker ;
• black jack ;
• lottery games ;
• baccarat́ ;
• scratch cards ;
• sports betting ;
• bets on e-sports ;
• bingo and video bingo;
• give and several others are at your disposal to play whenever you want, wherever you are.

Many foreign sites accept New Zealand players (almost all casinos that our team has reviewed and rated on New ZealandCasinos accept). But in some others, you may be barred at the entrance and prevented from betting. That's exactly what you read. Due to our place of residence, some sites may restrict our registration.

By playing online at a foreign casino, you agree to the terms established by the company, and also agree that all possible legal disputes will be held in the country where the casino is registered.

At New ZealandCasinos, we are dedicated to creating content about online gambling. Here, you will be able to find gambling manuals, basic information about each online game, strategies to profit more, special bonuses that double your balance, unbiased reviews of the biggest casinos and betting sites, game reviews and Game providers, as well as information about reliable casinos and responsible gambling.

At the moment, the only body responsible for conducting and regulating gambling in New Zealand is the Federal Savings Bank, which promotes lottery games. As the other types of gambling are not legalized, there is no inspection on their activity.

In the case of online casinos and foreign betting sites, who regularizes their activity is the country in which their license was issued. We will talk about the main regulating bodies further below. In the case of online casinos and betting sites that do not have a license to operate internet gambling, there is no supervision over them, and therefore we do not consider them safe.

If you already bet or plan to bet online, you should at least understand the basics about the regulation and inspection of online gambling and betting to know how both affect you.

Gambling and betting legislation varies from country to country, and sometimes also varies within the same country. It creates bodies responsible for regularizing and standardizing the activity of online casinos. Today, there are several bodies around the world that license and regulate the activity of casinos and bookmakers. You can get to know them below.

There are four points that we can highlight on this topic, which are important for understanding how legal issues affect your bets.

1. Primary objective of regularization

   The basic principle that governs gaming laws around the world is simple, and it is it that makes their regulation so important. Its central purpose is to protect the user from betting sites and online casinos. These bodies allow you to place bets and play recreationally, ensuring that you will not be fully exploited by the casino.

   They establish an important code of conduct that must be respected by companies. Without this code, it can be said that players would lose a lot more money, more easily. If the company fails to comply with the rules or engages in deceptive and dishonest practices, its license may be revoked. That is why licensed sites are always the safest and the best options for betting.

2. Betting abroad

   If you were to bet on New Zealand, the laws we mentioned above would be in effect. As it is not possible to place bets here, New Zealanders can bet at online casinos and betting sites foreign. However, they must follow the Rules, Terms and conditions proposed by the company and the country in which the casino has been licensed. If you want to open a legal dispute with the casino, for example, it will have to be done in the country in which it is registered.

3. The law and the illegality of betting

   It is rarely explicitly illegal to use an online gambling site or casino. The legislations and laws that prohibit gambling around the world are mostly aimed at the company that operates the games, not the individuals who use them. Casino games and online gambling are restricted in New Zealand territory. However, this does not prevent you from using foreign sites to place your bets.

4. Licensed casinos versus unlicensed casinos

   It may seem obvious, but it doesn't hurt to point out: licensed and regulated casinos are considered much safer than casinos that operate without any type of license. Licenses exist to ensure legal backing for users, maintain a standard of Service, and maintain a fair gaming policy. To obtain a license, the company must comply with and comply with a series of requirements predetermined by the competent jurisdiction.

   In this sense, it is common for online casinos to display their license number and approval by regulatory bodies on their homepage, as a way of assuring players that the company is trustworthy and honest.

   It is worth noting, however, that the legitimacy of regulatory authorities can vary greatly, in the sense that some are more judicious than others. For example, licenses of bodies that basically accept any company as long as it can pay for the license cannot be taken very seriously.

   Because of these nuances, it is important to understand what it means when a website says that it is licensed by a certain body. And so we go into detail about each of them further down. You can use this information to choose the safest websites and steer clear of those that may be potentially dishonest. Also check out our information on how to keep gambling responsible .

• South America

  Gambling laws in South America-unlike in its largest country, New Zealand-are fairly liberal. In Uruguay and Argentina, for example, there are even physical casinos with all kinds of games available to bet on. As a tourist, you can visit these countries and bet in the casinos without any problem.

• North and Central America

  As we mentioned, online gaming laws vary greatly from country to country. In the United States, for example, each state can make its own laws and regularize, or not, casino games. The state of Nevada, where the famous Las Vegas is located, is one of the few that are home to land-based casinos and sports betting establishments such as horse racing betting.

  In most of the country, however, laws prohibit gambling as a whole or are very restricted, making its operation smaller. Most betting sites cannot offer their services to residents of the United States, and this is due to the Prohibition and strict laws of the country.

  In Canada, there is legislation that goes through the central government, but each province has the authority to make its own game rules, so they are quite diverse. Online gambling in Canada, like in New Zealand, is still a grey area – neither entirely legal nor illegal.

• Europe

  As for Europe, approaches to the legality of gambling are the most diverse. In some countries, especially in eastern Europe, gambling is banned altogether. In others, however, they are licensed and duly regularized to achieve certain parameters. There are several legalization bodies in Europe, including Malta, the Isle of Man, the United Kingdom, Spain, Gibraltar, among others.

  In the UK, for example, the legislation is quite judicious, and it is not all companies that can be legalized by the UK Gambling Commission, its supervisory body since 2005. There, all forms of sports betting and casino games are regularized.

• Asia

  Asia is an extensive and diverse continent, so its gambling legislations are not at all homogeneous. It is worth noting that in many Muslim countries, betting, even when done on foreign websites, is completely illegal in these jurisdictions. China, likewise, is strictly against any kind of gambling and both offline and online gambling are totally illegal and liable to imprisonment.

• Africa

  Africa is a huge continent and home to 54 nations. Like the other continents, there are African countries that allow and regulate physical casinos and online betting, and there are others where this activity is completely illegal. South Africa is the most liberal country to date, regulating land-based casinos and sports betting through the so-called National Gaming Board.

• Oceania

  Betting in Australia is restricted to lottery games and sports betting. Other types of bets, such as casino games, are not allowed. However, Australia is in the same "gray zone" as New Zealand, and its residents can bet in foreign online casinos. In New Zealand, there is also legislation that regulates gambling, and its residents can legally access foreign betting sites.

By knowing a little about the regulation and inspection of online gambling and betting, especially in your region, you are free from possible legal problems that may arise during your bets.

Although this article has been made after extensive research on the topic at hand, if you are in need of legal advice and information on the illegality of betting and gambling in New Zealand, we seriously recommend that you seek out a legal professional. Our content cannot be classified as legal information, so we do not recommend that you rely on it to make decisions about legal issues or issues.

We created this content because most players and punters who place bets regularly from New Zealand don't know the slightest about how gambling is regularized. And it is ideal to know a little about it, since we bet on online casinos and foreign betting sites.

In this sense, we need to be 100% sure that our time and money are being deposited in serious companies and in fair and reliable games. As we know that there are dishonest companies operating illegally in the area, it only remains for us to evaluate and identify the best online casino options .

The area of online casino gaming is relatively new, with perhaps two decades of history. For this reason, many legislations and many countries have not yet updated to include it in their registers, as is the case with New Zealand. Thus, the environment of casino games and online betting seems, to many, unsafe, confusing and even obscure. Because the laws differ from place to place and they are often unclear or do not understand online casino games, the question “is it safe?"stay in the air.

As you have seen above, the landscape of Online Gaming Inspection and regulation has already begun to change and take shape in some regions, but there is still a long way to go before they are more standardized globally.

In countries where online gaming is allowed, companies can be created and licensed to operate casino games. They are licensed by specific bodies, which are responsible for supervision and inspection. Below are the main licensing bodies.

To receive a license, a site must meet certain criteria. In this sense, every company, at the time of registering in a particular place, must meet different criteria.

In addition, online casinos and betting sites can obtain different degrees of license. For example, a license may allow the company to operate casino games, but not sports betting.

Each licensing body will determine its different types of online gambling licenses. It would be impossible to list them all here. Therefore, we will use the example of one of the largest online casino licensors, the Malta Gaming Authority from Malta. Its license types are four:

• Class 1 - License for online casino games and lottery games.
• Class 2 - License for sports betting or events based on fixed odds.
• Class 3 - License for interactive gaming portals such as online poker networks.
• Class 4 - License to maintain and manage gaming operators, for businesses operating other licensed businesses.

The regulation of online games is important because you and all the players are betting money on them, and probably expecting to profit more than they bet. There are even professional bettors, whose only activity is online betting.

Since most people deposit money on the sites without any knowledge of the rules surrounding them, the purpose of this article is precisely to identify where you can safely bet your money, trusting that the games will be fair and impartial. This is also the purpose of online gambling regulation and licenses. Licenses serve three main purposes:

1. To ensure that betting sites operate within the law.
2. To ensure that betting sites carry out safe gambling practices.
3. To ensure that users will have a fair and completely safe gaming environment.

Online casinos and gambling sites must obey the laws from where they are licensed. Certain rules may also apply to keep minors away from gambling and some other practices that aim to make gambling responsible. Like any other company, its advertisements, offers and game bonus offered should be transparent, and in no way misleading. Users should be offered a legitimate chance to win, and the certainty that they will receive their profits in a certain period of time if they win.

Unfortunately, not all sites meet these criteria. Although Gaming Regulation is growing, it is impossible to stop rogue websites from operating. What we can do is give New Zealand players enough information for them to make right and conscious choices about where to bet their money.

Regulation exists to benefit and protect players, and that is why today you can find several licensed sites, in which it is possible to bet quietly. As users and players, we know that the legal aspects of online casinos that do not concern us matter little. However, many legal aspects establish how casinos should conduct their operations, and this directly affects all of us.

In this regard, we recommend that you only use regulated and licensed sites. In our evaluations, we always make it clear what the license of the site in question is, and whether it is considered safe. Below, get to know the main bodies around the world that are responsible for issuing online gambling licenses. If you want to know more details about them, click on the links that direct you to our full articles from each licensor!

The advice that we always leave in absolutely all our articles is the importance of checking if the site you are going to bet on is licensed. If the site is licensed, it means that there is a body whose sole responsibility is to oversee it. And the primary purpose of enforcement is player protection.

Now that you've learned a little more about why and by whom online gambling licenses are issued around the world, also visit our guides on each regularizing institution to learn more about them!