As New Zealand is planning to open up its casino market, it appears friction is already developing as the government is pushing back against TAB securing one of the licenses.
There is plans to have 15 online casino licenses auctioned off by the government, as they bring in a shake-up of regulation around gambling.
The licensing regime is still being developed at a policy level though, with all details and dates to still be decided upon.
It’s planned that the licenses will be issued for three years and could start as soon as February 2026, but not everyone is having luck in securing one.
According to RNZ, who say they have obtained documents, the TAB offered a $150 million deal to the government in a bid to secure one of the spots.
TAB proposes major offer to New Zealand
TAB stands for ‘Totalisator Agency Board’ and was a formerly state-owned gambling company from Australia. The publisher reports it is a statutory entity which is banned from offering online casino gambling under current laws, but a law change has been requested in a letter to ministers.
The documents reportedly seen by the company show that TAB told Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden that it could offer up a $150 million payment to the government.
Although the deal is lucrative, it has been pushed back. Speaking to RNZ, Brooke van Velden said “not under my watch” in reference to whether TAB would be allowed to seek a license.
“I don’t believe that the government should be involved in casino gambling,” she said. “I look at the government trying to address the core services that people need in their lives and providing an online service for casino games is not what I think the government should be involved in.”
In a previous interview, the minister told a publisher she expected large, offshore gambling companies to win the majority of the 15 licenses that could be auctioned off.
“We don’t have a huge online gambling market, so I would expect that it’s mainly offshore providers.”
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