New Zealand tribal leaders call for pause to online gambling changes
Tribal leaders in New Zealand have called for a pause to the government’s plans to auction off 15 online casino licenses pending further consultation.
The government plans to issue 15 licenses enabling online casino gaming starting in February 2026.
However, large overseas gambling companies are likely to win most of the licenses, which has raised concerns.
According to RNZ, the Online Safety Iwi Leaders Group has asked for a pause to the plans to give community leaders and experts a chance to have their say.
RNZ reported that Rāhui Papa, chair of Pou Tangata, part of the National Iwi Chairs Forum, told RNZ that the changes would create new gambling dependents, particularly among Maori families, who he said were particularly at risk of problem gambling.
Papa said, “If it’s offshore then there is no compulsion to honor Te Tiriti o Waitangi, that there is no feedback into the community, and financial support for harmful gambling. In our view the lack of research into the harmful effects, the flow-on effects – the physical, the financial and psychological that will happen to families. Not just Māori families but to families in Aoteroa.”
Gambling companies that win the licenses will not be obliged to give money to community groups.
However, the minister for Internal Affairs, Brooke van Velden, said they would have to pay both the offshore and problem gambling levies. She also said that the public would be able to have their say when the bill is debated in Parliament later this year.
Van Velden also pointed out that “interested parties will be able to have their say on the regulatory system through the Select Committee process” when the bill goes through Parliament later this year.
Charlotte Capewell brings her passion for storytelling and expertise in writing, researching, and the gambling industry to every article she writes. Her specialties include the US gambling industry, regulator legislation, igaming, and more.
