This Government bill amends the Racing Industry Act 2020 to extend TAB New Zealand's existing land-based monopoly for racing and sports betting to include online-provided gambling, to support the racing industry's long-term financial sustainability. It was enacted as the Racing Industry Amendment Act 2025.
Parliament advanced this bill under urgency (first reading, third reading) — moving it through faster than usual, with less time than normal for public submissions.
This government bill amends the Racing Industry Act 2020 to shore up New Zealand's racing and sports-betting revenue. Its main change makes it unlawful for offshore bookmakers to take bets from people in New Zealand, so that betting money currently flowing overseas is instead captured by the domestic operator, TAB NZ, which holds the monopoly on legal betting here. It also extends TAB's existing harm-minimisation and consumer-protection duties to online betting, requiring intervention where problem-gambling behaviour appears.
The government presents it as protecting a sector said to contribute billions to the economy, arguing it recovers a large sum leaking to offshore sites while adding safeguards for bettors. Critics note that reinforcing TAB's monopoly limits competition and choice, that enforcing a ban against numerous offshore websites is practically difficult, and that channelling more betting through the domestic operator raises problem-gambling concerns.
See the Parliament.nz ↗ site for the full bill.