New Zealand’s Department of Internal Affairs has launched the Expression of Interest (EOI) stage of its application process for one of 15 online casino licenses it will issue later this year.
Secretary for Internal Affairs Paul James issued an official invitation via a notice in the New Zealand Gazette for interested parties to submit their EOI, effective from 17 July 2026.
The notice also outlined the requirements for an EOI, including brand and platform details, ownership structure and detailed information on each relevant person, information on existing licenses of the company and all associated individuals, source of funds and whether the company or individuals have breached or been investigated for potential breaches of licensing laws in other jurisdictions.
The fee for submitting an EOI is NZ$19,000 (US$11,100) and the minimum capital the person or entity submitting must have access to is NZ$7.5 million (US$4.4 million).
The New Zealand government first announced plans to license and regulate online casinos in July 2024. Speaking at the Regulating the Game conference in Sydney earlier this year, James explained that the move to regulate online casinos was not about introducing online gambling to New Zealanders but channeling a market that already exists towards safe, licensed sites.
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