Each has a dedicated directory page listing every pokie venue by suburb with addresses and hours. There are roughly 1,100 pokie venues across New Zealand. The full register is published by the DIA at dia.govt.nz/Gambling-Class-4.

Responsible gaming, wherever you play

Our sister site answers “nearest bookmakers to me” for licensed betting shops across Great Britain. New Zealand has 5 casinos in our database, spread across 5 cities. Coverage spans tribal, commercial, and integrated-resort properties depending on the country’s licensing regime.

Two islands.Five points on the map.

Online casino gambling is now regulated by the Online Casino Gambling Act 2026. We have started to implement the new law to ensure a safe, fair and well-controlled online gambling environment for New Zealanders. Every casino offers self-exclusion under its host responsibility programme, and an exclusion can be arranged to cover several venues at once. Ask at the venue or contact it in writing; breaching an exclusion is an offence for the excluded person, and staff are trained to enforce it.

Save the exact venue name, official source link, the item you confirmed and the date of confirmation. Keep the return-to-accommodation plan alongside it, not inside a gambling balance or a hoped-for payout. Where a detail remains uncertain, record the unanswered question Golisimo online casino review so that another traveller does not read a blank field as a positive confirmation. Opening information, table schedules, events and dress expectations can change.

No new casino licence can be granted without a parliamentary amendment — the cap is legislative, not administrative. The full list is SkyCity Auckland, SkyCity Hamilton, SkyCity Queenstown, Christchurch Casino, and Grand Casino Dunedin. No new casino licence has been issued in New Zealand since 1996; six venue licences were granted in total, and Queenstown’s Wharf Casino surrendered its licence in March 2024, leaving five. These operators will be permitted to operate under an exemption while their applications undergo a rigorous assessment process. All other online casinos will be legally required to exit the New Zealand market. If a city is absent from the five-venue set, first check what kind of place the search result describes.

Christchurch Casino — the country’s first, opened in 1994 — is well known for its poker tournaments. Independent / Other runs 5 of the 5 casinos in New Zealand. The remainder are operated by smaller chains and independents. The Secretary must not grant a licence unless the provider has demonstrated this suitability.

Slots, Blackjack, Roulette, Poker, Baccarat appear most often across New Zealand’s casino floors. Specific table mins and rule sets vary by property — see individual casino pages for details. Open the venue’s current contact or visit page shortly before departure. Check the entrance you intend to use, the published opening information, any temporary notice and the accepted photo identification. If a particular table, restaurant or event is the reason for going, ask about that item directly. The editorial clock asks whether a venue is still part of New Zealand’s licensed casino set.

How Do Casinos in New Zealand Differ From Online Casinos?

All licensed operators will be held to the same regulatory standards, meaning people who choose to gamble will be better protected. These standards will ensure online casinos are fair and secure and that harm is minimised. To help customers identify which online casinos are licensed and meet New Zealand’s regulatory requirements, we will publish a public register of licensed online casinos. Licensed casinos will also be required to display a unique registration icon on their platforms and in their advertising, making it easier for players to recognise licensed operators. A pokie venue is a pub, club, or similar DIA-licensed site hosting between one and 18 pokies machines under the Gambling Act 2003. Pokie venues are distinct from casinos, which are licensed under a separate casino operator’s licence regime (Part 3 of the Act).

Licensing process

Start with the complete active set, then locate, compare or verify without being pushed towards a gambling operator. As of 28 June 2025, online racing and sports betting is prohibited unless it is operated by New Zealand’s domestic provider TAB NZ. Providers who have submitted a licence application will be granted an exemption to continue operating without advertising until the outcome of their application has been determined. At each step, all participants are offered the same price at the same time and choose whether to stay in the auction or withdraw. As the price rises, participants exit once the price is higher than what they are willing to pay.

Current Regulations

• Up to 15 online casino gambling licences will be available, each valid for a period of up to three years, with the possibility to renew for a further five years.
• Coverage spans tribal, commercial, and integrated-resort properties depending on the country’s licensing regime.
• A remote service can use a city name without operating a physical casino there.
• Up to 15 online casinos will be successful at auction and gain the right to apply for an online casino licence.
• Someone checking a historical venue needs the historical entity and its date.
• A Commission decision reference is not automatically either licence number.

Online casinos (before and after the 2026 Act) operate entirely separately and are covered in detail on the casino vs pokies guide and the New Zealand gambling law explainer. Up to 15 online casinos will be successful at auction and gain the right to apply for an online casino licence. From 1 December 2026, only these operators will be able to provide online casino gambling to customers in New Zealand. The auction attracted 32 bidders and concluded after 10 rounds, with the final auction price reaching $15 million (NZD) per licence. The auction determined who has won the right to apply for an online casino gambling licence. The gaming floor of every New Zealand casino is restricted to people aged 20 and over, with photo ID required, while the online casino age limit is 18.

Access to New Zealand market insights was one of the most requested resources by those interested in gaining a licence to conduct online casino gambling in New Zealand. At this stage, online casino gambling advertising is prohibited in New Zealand. Online casinos must not advertise online casino gambling services to New Zealand customers. During this transition period, regulatory systems, the licensing process, and operational requirements will be progressively introduced. The Problem Gambling Foundation (pgf.nz) provides counselling, harm-reduction programmes, and advocacy.

Continue the national research

• If the licence application is declined, the provider will be required to cease all online casino gambling operations in New Zealand and must exit the market.
• For slots, always card-on (the casino tracks plays anyway; the card just credits comps).
• You must be at least 20 to enter a physical land-based casino.
• Check the legal entity and the specific authorisation rather than relying on a shared brand name.
• No new casino licences have been issued in New Zealand since a 2001 moratorium.
• It can be a verified address, confirmation that a remembered venue has closed, or a decision that the evening works better without a gambling stop.

New Zealand has 5 casinos concentrated under Independent / Other’s operation across 5 cities. That single-operator dominance shapes everything from rule sets to comp programs — players effectively choose between visiting different Independent / Other properties or going elsewhere. A compact note is more useful than several open search tabs.

A hospitality business can contain gaming machines without being a licensed casino venue. A remote service can use a city name without operating a physical casino there. Creating a new marker simply because a search phrase exists would turn the map into a misleading destination guide.

If the licence application is declined, the provider will be required to cease all online casino gambling operations in New Zealand and must exit the market. The Department of Internal Affairs administers the licensing regime. Each casino runs under a casino operator’s licence and a casino venue licence granted under Part 3 of the Gambling Act 2003 (sections 124–146), renewed at regulated intervals.