The Best New Zealand Betting Sites for 2024

Is Online Sports Betting Legal in New Zealand?

Yes, online sports betting is legal in New Zealand. The 2003 Gambling Act states that residents can legally bet on sports, including horse racing and greyhound racing, through Totalisator Agency Board New Zealand (TAB NZ), formerly the New Zealand Racing Board (NZRB) and the Racing Industry Transition Agency (RITA), which holds a monopoly on all forms of sports betting in the island country.

TAB NZ offers a wide range of totalisator and fixed-odds betting products, with over 80% of the totalisator betting dollar returned to the customer. The rest gets pumped back into racing and sporting codes, after tax and costs are deducted.
However, TAB NZ isn’t your only option – many bookmakers accept customers from New Zealand.

International Betting Sites Accept New Zealanders

While foreign betting companies have tried to enter New Zealand’s online gambling market legally, only to be rejected, there has been no effort made by the government to block international operators. As these sites have no physical presence in New Zealand, they are not breaking the country’s gambling laws by accepting customers from NZ.

Although there is an advertising ban in place and the government encourages locals to use TAB NZ, New Zealanders can pretty much pick and choose where they bet on their favourite sports. Options include nearly all the major UK and European sites, which offer competitive odds on an array of sports and generous deposit bonuses or free bet offers for new and existing customers.

Due to the legal status of the sites in New Zealand it is doubtful you will have any support from the government if things go wrong, so ensure you pick an established company to bet with.

English is obviously among the standard languages for most betting sites available in New Zealand, so viewing the website and communicating with support agents won’t be a problem. However, you may have to hold your balance and bet in either Euros or US dollars, as only a limited number of online betting sites accept deposits in New Zealand dollar (NZD).

The History of Sports Betting in New Zealand

Before we explore the history of sports betting in NZ, it’s important that you’re aware of the major ethnic groups that make up New Zealand.
New Zealand comprises two islands – the North Island and the South Island – located in the southwest Pacific Ocean. The first settlers were the Polynesians in the 1200s who developed into Māori people, before being joined by Europeans 400 years later.

The modern New Zealand culture has been mostly shaped by the British, although since the 1960s there has been a greater influence of old Māori culture. New Zealand was also one of the founding members of APEC in 1989, which encourages free trade across Asian-Pacific states.

In the 1990s, gambling began to grow in New Zealand with the opening of its first casino in 1994 followed in 1996 with the permitting of TAB to offered fixed odds betting and sports betting. TAB NZ was established under the Racing Act 2003 and its responsibilities include promoting the racing industry.

You can find over 675 TAB NZ outlets around the country, offering odds on rugby, cricket and even sheep shearing. Betting products include fixed odds and pari-mutuels options. TAB NZ also operates a phone service and broadcasts racing on two television channels.

The Future of Online Betting in NZ

There currently seems a contradictory stance towards online gaming in New Zealand, where the government will not permit any new operators online yet does not prevent offshore sites. This means that as a sports bettor you can pick and choose from some of the best online sports books in the world.

Whereas other countries are keen to shut down international sites and stop the flow of money out of their boarders, New Zealand do not seem to have any desire to do so at present. The assumption is this will change at some point in the future, although there is no indication when or if this will happen.