While most types of gambling were outlawed in New Zealand for many years, the introduction of the 2003 Gambling Act and other changes in legislature has seen it becoming a far more legally accepted pastime.
These days gambling is popular and although the county’s population is relatively small, there are a large number of gamblers and huge revenue from the gambling industry.
The gambling industry as a whole is entirely regulated by the government and if it is not, then it is one of the illegal types which are few and far between. Everything land based is typically covered by regulation and although the online platform is illegal in New Zealand, it is not in fact impossible to enjoy the virtual world of casinos and betting legally.
New Zealand’s 2003 Gambling Act
The 2003 Gambling Act of New Zealand regulates all of the legally allowed gambling types as a whole and any licensed land based casinos anywhere in New Zealand. The Act has twice been amended since coming into effect.
The aim of the 2003 Gambling Act is to ensure that all New Zealand communities benefit from gambling activities. All games of chance that are played outside of land based casinos are only allowed if their proceeds are donated to charity.
The forms of gambling that are legally allowed according to the 2003 Gambling Act are divided into four different classes. These include any games that do not require licensing and have no commission attached for classes 1 and 2, games that require licensing and have prizes exceeding NZD5 000 for class 3 and games that are played outside of licensed land based casinos for class
4.
Legislature states that only the types of gambling that have been specifically mentioned in the Act are legally allowed to be played in New Zealand. These include lotteries, scratch cards, bingo, casino games and betting.
New Zealand’s Online Gambling Laws
Gambling laws in New Zealand forbid remote interactive gambling which is essentially any kind of online gambling. This however only affects online casino sites that operate in New Zealand and it forbids any advertising of online casinos from anywhere in the world.
The good news is that online players can play at online casinos that are based outside of New Zealand granted they are based in legal jurisdictions. This means that players are free to enjoy any NZD online casino as long as it is internationally based and many top sites accept New Zealanders.
The one downside is that should anything go wrong at any of the international online casinos that a New Zealander is playing at, that New Zealander cannot request assistance from the government.
Paying Tax on Gambling Wins
New Zealanders are lucky enough not to have to pay tax on gambling wins because gambling is considered to be a recreational pastime and not a source of income. There are however exceptions.
Tax must be paid on winnings if the players are professional players. This is because it is then considered a source of income and becomes taxable.