New Zealand Online Gambling Regulations

New Zealand Online Gambling Regulations

Online gambling makes headaches
not just for legislators, but for players as well. Almost every country has a
collection of acts that regulate gambling, but many things are still confusing.
New Zealand is no exception, so besides that the government works really hard
to improve things, many players are still confused about the dos
and don’ts of playing at online casinos.

So, before we start with further
explanation, let’s give a straight answer. Yes, online gambling is allowed in
New Zealand. New Zealand is in, what many like to call, the grey zone. This
means some aspects of online betting are regulated, while others are not.

This leaves a lot of room for
different interpretations, but a good thing to know is that New Zealand has
always been pretty affirmative when it comes to gambling. For example, horse
betting has been legalized way back in 1920, so may presume that things have
been going in a good direction through all these years.

The government has regulated the
whole field with the Gambling Act. According to it, online gambling is
completely legal. Of course, we are looking from the player’s perspective. On
the other side, it’s not allowed to open an online casino house in this
country. Therefore, you are allowed to gamble online, as long as you’re on
websites that aren’t located in New Zealand. Therefore, make sure to check the
location of a certain website before you make a deposit. At this point, we have
no information about any house that operates in this county, so there’s no need
to worry at the moment.

This way of regulation has both
good and bad sides. From the player’s standpoint, a good thing to know is that,
according to the Gambling Act, these kinds of wins are excluded from annual
income tax reports. So, your complete income from online gambling is tax-free.

On the other side, many players
will probably feel a little bit worried, due to the fact that all casino
websites are located outside New Zealand. As abroad houses, it seems logical
that they are not covered with the Gambling Act.

In practice, this means that
authorities can’t interface if some problem occurs. New Zealand solved this
issue in the way many other countries did. If a certain online casino wants to
get to the ability to accept players from New Zealand, a license is required.
This means that a regulatory body has been established and it is called The
Gambling Commission.

● Handles all
licensing for casinos, including new licenses and renewals.

● Reviews agreements
between casino operators and the casino license holders, including any changes
in agreements.

● Handles all
complaints regarding the way the Department of Internal Affairs handles
complaints related to Class 4 gambling.

● Specifies as
well as revokes conditions for casino licenses.

● Advises
Ministers on the current situation regarding problem gambling.

● Receives and
makes decisions on appeals to the Department of Internal Affairs’ regulatory
and licensing decisions.

Simply said, this regulatory body
is responsible for all kinds of issues, including disputes between two sides.
So, if you’re damaged by an online casino in any way, this body will take
certain actions. Suspensions and revoked licenses are some of the first things
that come to mind, but the body can take some legal actions as well. In any
case, the Gambling Commission has some kind of newsletter, which will inform
the gambling community if there are any issues with a certain online casino
website. This the thing that keeps players in peace, as it allows players to
stay away from problematic operators. On the other side, this is the best way
to induce online casinos to operate in the most professional way and provide
the best possible gambling experience.

All this works very well in
practice and the final conclusion would be that online gambling is regulated
pretty well in New Zealand. Also, the number of operators that accept players
from New Zealand is pretty big and most of them are highly reputable.