- New Zealand is pushing to regulate and launch online blackjack and other casino games by late 2026/early 2027
- In order to get more members of parliament on board, a recent concession would not allow any credit card deposits
NEW ZEALAND – New Zealand is trying to launch an iGaming market that would bring more options for legal online blackjack and other casino/table games to the country.
This bill would pave the way for 15 operators to launch online gaming by 2027, even though the initial target date was closer to the end of 2026.
In order to win over the members of parliament, a credit card ban for iGaming has been proposed. This would not allow any casino operators to accept credit card deposits, preventing players from gambling with money they do not physically have.
“The reason behind this is because I did not want to end up with people who were using online gambling making their way into further debt and getting themselves into a bit of a cycle,” said Brooke van Velden, the minister for the NZ workplace relations and safety.
This is not uncommon for legal gambling markets in 2025, as the UK and many US states with legal blackjack have similar bans on betting with credit cards or on a cash advance.
This is also not the first concession that the bill has seen in an effort to make it past parliament. The gambling duty tax has been increased to 16% of revenue, and New Zealand communities will have 4% come their way.
Casino revenue would also be put aside to fund problem gambling for New Zealand residents.