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Summary of NZ Gaming Consultation: Key Points

New Zealand legalised gambling in 1933 and the first legal activity was the national lottery known also 'Art Unions'. It continued with the bookmaking in 1961 in which horse race betting was officially regulated. The first casino opened in 1994 leading to the appearance of various gaming venues. Today, the gambling field is governed by the Gambling Act of 2003 and any activity which is outside the regulation is considered illegal.

Only local gambling is legal in Aotearoa so remote gambling is still forbidden. Despite the fact that running offline gambling in this territory is banned by the statute, the Kiwi gamblers are allowed to play at real money casino sites based in New Zealand and outside it. Fortunately, in 2019, the government looks to regulate online gambling with overseas operators and the Department of Internal Affairs is conducting a review regarding this sphere.

In July 2019, a discussion document about the Kiwis’ views on a future regulatory framework for online gambling was launched. The Department of Internal Affairs published in June 2020, the different views on whether regulating online gambling would eventually lead to more harm than not regulating it. Here are key points of the submissions report from public consultation.

Reducing Online Gambling-Related Harm

2,997 submitters shared their points of perspective over August and September which include the policy to reduce gambling-related problems caused by online gambling and other worries and advantages associated with this field. Actually, the feedback emphasised more on the problems' complexity and considered significant supports to reduce the harms.

Several applicants worried about gambling-related problems and thought that self-exclusion schemes to reduce gambling-related problems are not sufficient or effective. In fact, their concern is about the gamblers who are already experiencing problem gambling behaviours. Although most of the submitters supported credit card and public WIFI restrictions, and internet filtering, some of them noted that the prohibited gamblers could easily choose other solutions like alternative payment methods, phone data, and/or VPNs.

Educational-based problem gambling prevention programs

The participants, hence, suggested that efficient education and sensitisation are important to help New Zealanders understand the risks related to online gambling. In this awareness-raising, the gamblers should be aware of the problem of gambling and addiction and should be able to deal with these risks. Moreover, gambling operators should also take responsibility for the harm caused by their products.

These gambling companies should be aware of the gambling advertising impacts on vulnerable and young people. As for the government, it should implement regulations regarding the gambling industry there because individual or industry self-regulation would not work. Thus, strong enforcement powers are necessary to ensure industry compliance.

Consistent regulation between online and land-based gambling

Another high priority for submitters is also a coherent regulation between online and traditional land-based gambling. Many of them ranked this topic as a priority and gave feedback. In general, they suggested that similar regulations should be applied for both systems and it was crucial to implement strong regulations to prevent and reduce gambling harm.

In addition, according to the submitters, it is paramount online gambling operators pay for harm associated with their products. As stated by a few submitters, there was a correlation between the harm suffered by players and the gambling products offered by operators. Therefore, fining the operators is a kind of strategy to make them aware of choosing good products for their customers.

Online gambling is advantageous to the community

According to the submitters, operators in online gambling should return benefits to the community. They noted that many Kiwis got the advantages of the distribution of funds from different forms of gambling. For example, as stated by Sport New Zealand, regulating the online gambling field in this country would be a high source of funds for sport and recreation. They, thus, agree with the policy to allow the online gambling field in New Zealand.

Furthermore, some submitters suggested that only licensed operators would ensure funds from gambling in the country. Many submitters approved licensed domestic operators or made their support contingent on certain factors. Some of them noted their support was contingent on which all the operators would be licensed and the communities could get benefit from online gambling.

Access to a variety of gambling products

The least priority for submitters is access to the different types of gambling products. The submitters who ranked this priority did not give the reason for their choice but those who commented were worried about the rise of problem gambling due to the availability of a variety of gambling products.

They believed that the easier the access to gambling products, the higher is the risk to experience gambling-related problems. Nonetheless, the Fundraising Institute of New Zealand (FINZ) stated that if gambling products stay in New Zealand, the charities will benefit from trusts and foundations.