New Zealand awards 11 rights in online casino licence auction ahead of 2027 launch

Eleven bidders secured rights to apply for online casino licences in New Zealand after an auction run by the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), the DIA confirmed on 13 October 2026. Each successful right was won at roughly NZ$15m (about €7.5m) per right; the auction opened with 32 bidders, ran for 10 rounds and allocated 11 of the 15 available licences’ rights to apply. The new regulated market is expected to launch in 2027, although the DIA has not set a firm launch date.

Auction mechanics and immediate consequences for operators

The auction awarded a right to apply rather than an operational licence itself. Each right permits a single brand to operate in the regulated market for an initial period of three years, after which operators may apply to extend the licence for a further five years. The DIA published the auction results on 13 October 2026 and confirmed 11 successful bidders from a starting pool of 32. The auction lasted 10 rounds.

Bidders paid around NZ$15m per right. The government opened the market with 15 available licences; the auction released 11 rights in this round. For parties that win more than one right, the rules allow operators to use multiple brands in the market, subject to the regulatory limit that a single operator may hold no more than three licences.

Who won rights to apply

The DIA listed the successful applicants and the number of rights awarded to each where applicable:

• Baytree Interactive Limited — three rights to apply

• Christchurch Online NZ Limited — one right to apply

• One Casino Limited — one right to apply

• Playvia Gaming (NZ) Limited — two rights to apply

• Rock Swift Group Limited — two rights to apply

• Rush Entertainment Limited — one right to apply

• Skill On Net Limited — one right to apply

• SkyCity NZ Online NO1 Limited — one right to apply

• SkyCity NZ Online NO2 Limited — one right to apply

• Stake New Zealand Limited — one right to apply

• TAB New Zealand — one right to apply

The listing published by the DIA shows Baytree Interactive Limited received the maximum allocation permitted to a single operator: three licences. Playvia Gaming (NZ) Limited secured two rights. Several successful bidders hold rights that could be deployed across multiple brands within the three-year term, subject to the licence cap.

Corporate relations and notable holdings

Baytree Interactive Limited is a subsidiary of Super Group, the parent company of the Betway brand; Super Group therefore gained three rights through Baytree. Entain secured two rights via its subsidiary Playvia Gaming (NZ) Limited and additionally holds a separate arrangement that resulted in a licence through TAB New Zealand. The agreement behind TAB New Zealand is a strategic partnership covering sports betting and extends for 25 years.

Stake New Zealand Limited — the local arm of the global operator Stake, which is known for accepting cryptocurrency — also won one right to apply. A Stake spokesperson said:

"We’re really excited about the opportunity in New Zealand as the market moves towards regulation. It’s a strong fit for Stake and another important step in growing our presence globally."

The spokesperson noted the company’s recent market expansions into Alberta, Argentina and Mexico in 2026, and framed the New Zealand move as part of a wider strategy to enter regulated markets with long-term potential.

Regulatory timing, transitional rules and the 1 December 2026 prohibition

The DIA has set an important compliance milestone before the market opens. From 1 December 2026, operators are prohibited from engaging in any online casino gaming in New Zealand unless they have submitted a licence application to the DIA. Operators with applications already in progress are allowed to continue operating until their application process concludes.

The DIA has not published a specific market-launch date in 2027; it has only indicated the market is expected to launch that year. Licence winners hold rights to apply, and the DIA retains its regulatory process for assessing full licence applications after the auction stage.

Financial scale and industry implications

The headline figure from the auction is the roughly NZ$15m paid per right to apply — a sum the DIA’s published results cite as the approximate price level reached during bidding. The auction began with 32 bidders and ran for 10 rounds before awarding the 11 successful rights listed above.

Because the initial licence term is three years, with an optional five-year extension available by application, operators will need to plan short- and medium-term market entry strategies. The cap of three licences per operator means groups with wider ambitions must structure entries through separate corporate entities or partnerships. The TAB New Zealand 25-year strategic partnership for sports betting with Entain is a concrete example of a longer-term commercial arrangement already disclosed in the auction record.

What operators and vendors should note now

Operators that did not secure rights can still participate in the market through commercial agreements with licence holders, subject to DIA approval and any conditions the licence carries. Vendors providing platform, payment, compliance and identity-verification services should expect demand as winners convert rights into full licence applications and prepare for the operational launch in 2027. The DIA’s 1 December 2026 prohibition on unlicensed casino activity makes the final quarter of 2026 a key transition period for operators and suppliers.

The Department of Internal Affairs’ published shortlist finalises the first regulatory allocation step for New Zealand’s online casino market ahead of the formal launch next year.