The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) in New Zealand issued a directive to 20Bet to stop making ads that target New Zealanders. According to the DIA, the Cyprus-registered gambling operator has been targeting New Zealand’s market with paid YouTube ads. This is happening after the New Zealand market outlawed online casino and betting advertisements by overseas operators.
New Zealand’s Gambling Act 2003 made it clear that it is illegal for any offshore account to make gambling advertisements focused on the country’s players. Because of that, the DIA found 20Bet in breach of this, necessitating the cease-and-desist order.
According to the DIA, the operator has been directly targeting New Zealanders, working with the tagline “taking risks is something that Kiwis like doing.” The DIA director of gambling, Vicki Scott, emphasized the department’s enforcement action, stating that it was true that 20Bet had been instructed to cease its adverts, or else action would be taken.
What has been going on?
The Problem Gambling Foundation applauded the DIA for the step it had taken, pointing out that it is not the first time that offshore operators have breached the law to use online advertising to target New Zealanders. The director of the Problem Gambling Foundation, Andree Froude, stated that too many of the operators have been taking advantage of the fact that it’s difficult to deal with them since they are based overseas.
For example, in September, the DIA fined four social media influencers and an offshore casino platform NZ$125,000 because of illegally placing gambling advertisements. Influencer Millie Elder-Holmes was fined NZ$30,000 for repeated promotion of offshore casinos, while the other three were fined between NZ$15,000 and NZ$20,000. For the Curacao-based operator, Spinbet, the fine added up to NZ$60,000 for 12 different breaches. The DIA stated that, unfortunately, complaints of influencers promoting gambling had doubled in the last two years, with 75 cases being recorded in 2025.
Froude encouraged the public, stating that if anyone came across similar violations, they should not be afraid of reporting them to the DIA. In fact, doing so is directly saving the market and players from unscrupulous gambling behavior. And as you can see, the regulator is aiming to make the market even more player-friendly.
Even though the directive against 20Bet is a good regulatory stance by New Zealand’s market, there is a huge challenge being exposed. You are getting to see what a country faces when it tries to enforce national gambling laws against international companies without a physical presence in the country.
All rights on TAB NZ
The orders by DIA came a few months after New Zealand formally delegated all the online racing and sports betting services to TAB NZ. Even though it has been legal for the last two decades, from 28 June, all rights were stripped from any other operator. The rationale behind this monopoly was to keep betting profits within New Zealand and ensure that all betting occurs within a regulated environment.
It would be interesting to note that, in the last couple of years, New Zealand has been losing an estimated $180 to $200 million annually in revenue to overseas online bookmakers. Because of this, the government decided that it was time to find a way to tame this revenue. The domestic market could benefit even more if it could get a hold of all that revenue. With the monopoly, the revenue is redirected back into the local racing and sports industries.
Additionally, by making TAB NZ the sole legal online operator, all betting falls under a fully regulated framework overseen by the DIA. This allows for better implementation and enforcement of consumer protection measures and harm prevention. Unfortunately for unlicensed operators, the government cannot regulate what happens. If a player encounters foul play, there is no way to follow up unless they work with the regulatory body behind the operator. And unfortunately, the player does not have the backing of the government.
Government’s move towards online casino gambling
While the new restrictions are solely focused on sports betting, online casinos are still unregulated. However, the government is coming in hot with a licensing system that will start operations from 2026. With the proposed bill, only 15 operators will be given a license to operate in the country legally. These licenses will remain valid for only three years, but operators can renew them for up to five years. Already, some of the big sharks have already applied for the licenses, and things are moving on smoothly.
Currently, the country has 36 online operators that have registered with the government and pay Goods and Services Tax (GST). However it is interesting to note that out of the 36 operators, data from Inland Revenue revealed that only 15 accounted for more than 90% of the online gambling GST in the last three years. With such data, the regulator realized that having a few operators is enough to get a high channeling rate and maximize revenue. In fact, it even eases the job of the regulator in following up on many online companies.
By granting 15 licenses, the government expects to generate revenues of up to NZ$200 million. And even though foreign entities have been given the go-ahead to apply, if an unlicensed operator is caught offering services to New Zealanders, they could face fines of up to NZ$5 million. The government is really moving to make the system better, and the world is watching to see what comes of it.
Source: https://zamsino.com/nz/
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