Enforcement: How hard does the regulator enforce?

The Department of Internal Affairs renewed its prohibition on advertising unlicensed online casino gambling with effect from 1 May 2026, carrying take-down powers and penalties of up to NZD 5,000,000 for a body corporate and NZD 300,000 for an individual. This enforcement mechanism is active now, operating through the transitional period between the Act's commencement and the scheduled 1 December 2026 market launch, while full prohibition on unlicensed operation itself is scheduled to take effect from 1 June 2027. The extraterritorial licensing requirement under the Act means an offshore operator that continues to enable New Zealand-based players to gamble without securing one of the fifteen available licences is exposed to this advertising-prohibition regime now, and to the fuller unlicensed-operation prohibition once it takes effect. The newly introduced prohibition on affiliate marketing for online casino gambling further narrows the distribution channels available to any operator not yet licensed, closing off a route historically used to reach New Zealand-based players from offshore.