Licensing & Safety
Understanding licensing is arguably the most important part of any casino review, and it's an area where New Zealand's regulatory landscape is changing quickly. The Online Casino Gambling Act 2026 , administered by the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA / Te Tari Taiwhenua), comes into force on 1 May 2026 and establishes the country's first formal licensing regime for online casino gaming. Under this Act, up to 15 licences will be allocated during 2026, with the first DIA-issued licences becoming active from 1 December 2026 and the full regime expected to be operational through 2026.
This means that, at the time of writing, no online casino operator holds a DIA licence , including Betandplay Casino. Every platform currently accessible to New Zealand players — Betandplay included — operates under a foreign or offshore licence. Betandplay's own licensing is associated with the Tobique Gaming Commission and the Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA). These are legitimate offshore licensing bodies that impose their own compliance standards, but they are entirely separate from, and not equivalent to, New Zealand authorisation.
Key takeaway: a Curaçao or similar offshore licence means an operator has met that jurisdiction's requirements. It does not mean the operator is licensed, regulated, or endorsed by any New Zealand authority. Only DIA-issued licences, available from December 2026, will carry that status.
It is not a criminal offence for an individual New Zealander to play at an offshore casino — the Act targets unlicensed operators and advertisers, not the players themselves. However, offshore play falls outside New Zealand's consumer protection framework entirely, meaning there is no DIA oversight, no local dispute resolution body, and no guaranteed recourse if a disagreement with the operator arises. Players who choose to use offshore platforms are relying solely on that operator's own terms, its offshore licensing authority, and independent industry certifications.
To assess baseline safety, it helps to look at technical and fairness certifications rather than licensing alone. Reputable operators typically use SSL encryption to protect payment and account data, and their pokies and table games are usually built on Random Number Generator (RNG) software that has been independently tested. Bodies such as iTech Labs and eCOGRA are commonly referenced across the industry for RTP (Return to Player) verification and RNG certification, giving players some assurance that game outcomes are statistically fair even where local regulatory oversight is absent.
Licensing Snapshot: Offshore vs Incoming NZ Regime
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Aspect
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Betandplay Casino (Current)
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DIA-Licensed Regime (From Dec 2026)
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Licensing body
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Tobique Gaming Commission / Curaçao (CGA)
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Department of Internal Affairs (DIA)
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NZ consumer protections
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None
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Built into licence conditions
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Dispute resolution
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Operator's own terms only
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NZ-based recourse expected
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Status as of writing
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Active, offshore
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Not yet issued
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