Lotteries and Fundraising
Over time, betting on various outcomes became a popular activity. New forms started emerging and this is when the history of gambling in New Zealand led us to the start of lotteries. At first, these lotteries were regional and hardly regulated.
An interesting fact is that before the first lotteries in New Zealand appeared, people were actually betting overseas, illegally. One of the earliest known lotteries in the country was the National Art Union Lottery, which started operating around 1932. Its biggest drawback was the fact that the prizes were small. The main reason why the prizes were small was because these lotteries had one goal – fundraising.
The transition from Regional Lotteries to the National Golden Kiwi Lottery
Regional lotteries transitioned into the National Golden Kiwi Lottery. The first Golden Kiwi draw took place on December 12, 1961. A total of 250,000 tickets were sold within a day. The reason why the Golden Kiwi Lottery was established was to meet the increased demands for fundraising.
Some 20 years later, the New Zealand Lotteries Commission was founded in 1987 and took the Golden Kiwi Lottery under its wing. In the same year, the Lotto was introduced to the public and that is when the popularity of Golden Kiwi started dropping down. In 1989, the Golden Kiwi Lottery was out of the picture and was “replaced” with the Instant Kiwi scratch card lottery.
Emergence of Pokies and Land-Based Casinos
The emergence of pokie machines and legal land-based casinos was done in New Zealand much later than you might have imagined. Physical pokies hit the market in 1987, long after the rest of the gambling-developed world.
At the start, just a few charitable organizations used the pokies and they distributed them in just a handful of cabinets in some prominent bars, Returned Services Associations, and the lobbies of certain hotels. The legendary Aristocrat Gaming developer is the name that we connect with the first pokies in New Zealand.
Then, the breakthrough in the New Zealand gambling world happened – in 1989, the New Zealand parliament consented to the legalization of gambling organizations across the country. That meant that pokies now fell under official government regulations and were allowed to appear in casinos.
Christchurch Casino was the first land-based establishment in New Zealand and it opened in 1994. Nowadays, there are six casinos in total in the country:
- Christchurch Casino – as mentioned, opened in 1994;
- SkyCity Auckland – opened in 1997;
- Grand Casino Dunedin – opened in 1999;
- SkyCity Queenstown – opened in 2000;
- SkyCity Hamilton – opened in 2002;
- SkyCity Wharf – SkyCity acquired Otago Casinos Limited and rebranded the casino to SkyCity Wharf Casino in 2013
Transition to iGaming
Online pokies and casinos have been around for longer than you might have imagined. Microgaming introduced the very first online casino in the world in the mid-1990s, and that marked the start of a new era for online gambling.
In 1996, WMS Industries announced the release of the pokie Reel’ Em In – a game that opened a second screen for a bonus round, which was seen as a revolution in the iGaming world.
Microgaming followed up again by introducing the first online jackpot pokie called Cash Splash – a game responsible for some of the biggest jackpot payouts in history!
This fast-paced evolution of the global online gambling industry and the widespread interest in it among Kiwis forced the government to intervene and regulate the market.
Legal Framework and the Gambling Act of 2003
We can say that the legal history of online gambling in New Zealand starts with the Gambling Act of 2003. This is a bill introduced in February 2002 which became the Gambling Act 2003 upon receiving Royal assent on 18 September 2003.
The need for the Gambling Act 2003 was evident, and according to the Department of Internal Affairs, its purpose is to:
- Control the growth of gambling in the country
- Prevent problem gambling
- Allow some forms of gambling
- Prohibit certain forms of gambling
- Promote responsible gambling
- Ensure the fairness of games
- Limit criminal activities associated with gambling
- Ensure that money generated from gambling benefits the community
- Encourage community involvement in gambling-related decisions.
As one can imagine with government regulation, the Gambling Act 2003 is quite an extensive one, but we can break down its most crucial components into three main parts:
- Forms of gambling not allowed: all overseas lotteries, pokies websites, apps, casino websites, sports betting and racing websites.
- Lotto NZ and New Zealand Racing Board (TAB) – the only operators authorized to offer online gambling services in the country.
- Licenses – no companies based in New Zealand can offer online casino services.
There is no legal framework that stops Kiwis from gambling at offshore online casinos, and that is how most residents in the country play online casino games. No one can stop you from accessing international gambling sites that accept Kiwis, but you do that at your own risk.
Since you are not protected by any specific New Zealand law, if something goes wrong, there is no way you can get protection.
Thankfully, tons of international sites are licensed by trusted regulators and that accept Kiwis, so as long as you choose such a site, you have nothing to worry about!
Predictions for the Future of Gambling in New Zealand
You might be surprised, but not much has changed in New Zealand’s iGaming scene since the introduction of the Gambling Act 2003. Therefore, one cannot help but feel that New Zealand is left behind when it comes to online gambling.
Experts in the industry warn that a change in the Gambling Act is critical, since gambling has changed so much since the release of the legislation.
It is no longer fit to its purpose and we now see other countries moving much faster in their response to the evolving iGaming scene – most notably to prevent problem gambling. Moreover, we now see several aspects of the online casino developing that no one could have foreseen, such as:
Since the benefits of a regulated and tight online gambling scene are well-known, we sincerely hope that the New Zealand government listens to the experts and starts drafting new legislation! Until then, Kiwis can play their favourite online casino games on quality online gambling sites.