Online betting in New Zealand 2026: who can legally take your bet, and where that leaves offshore brands

Updated October 2026

Licensed

Available in US

Fast payouts

18+ Only

Current as of 26 October 2026 · Verified against the Racing Industry Act 2020 (as amended) and the Department of Internal Affairs register

Search the term “online betting in New Zealand” and the marketing that floods back looks competitive, modern, and crowded. The law is none of those. Since an amendment to the Racing Industry Act 2020 took effect on 28 June 2025, TAB NZ and its online sister brand Betcha are the only operators allowed to take online sports and racing bets in New Zealand, and the Department of Internal Affairs told unlicensed providers to withdraw with immediate effect. Every offshore brand that still accepts a New Zealand sign-up is, on the regulator’s reading, doing so unlawfully — which is a different starting point from markets where several licensed bookmakers compete.

This page walks through what that monopoly means for a punter: how TAB NZ and Betcha are structured, where responsibility sits, what bonuses and mobile tools actually deliver, why no offshore bookmaker ranks as “safe in New Zealand” no matter how long its licence list is, and which paths exist for someone who wants more than the local option provides.

The New Zealand betting landscape in 2026

The headline is short: TAB NZ holds the exclusive right to offer racing and sports betting locally, and Betcha is its online-only sibling. Two brands, one licence, no rival bookmaker — that is the entire lawful market for online bets from inside the country. Every other site a punter meets through an ad or a search result runs outside that framework. They may be licensed somewhere, and most are, but the licence they name — Anjouan, Curaçao, Tobique, the Union of the Comoros — gives no right to take bets from local residents.

That single fact reshapes what a “best online betting sites” page looks like in this market. Elsewhere, the page ranks licensed competitors against each other. In New Zealand, the ranking has two unequal layers: TAB NZ and Betcha first, the lawful options; and a longer list of brands that New Zealand players encounter, none of which can lawfully serve them. The review below treats both layers but never merges them, and never writes that an offshore brand is safe or legal in New Zealand.

The relevant statute is the Racing Industry Amendment Act 2025, which inserted section 74AAA into the Racing Industry Act 2020. It reads tightly: no person other than TAB NZ may offer racing betting, sports betting, or other racing or sports betting to a person in New Zealand, regardless of where that person is resident or incorporated. The Department of Internal Affairs is the gambling regulator under the Gambling Act 2003 and monitors compliance. There is no licensing route for another bookmaker because there is only one lawful provider, and so no licence register for betting exists.

The law does not geo-block offshore websites — it puts liability on the operator that serves the New Zealand punter, not on the player. Section 19(4) of the Gambling Act 2003 (inserted in 2025) confirms that an individual may not be convicted for placing a bet with an offshore betting operator in breach of section 74AAA, so no published penalty for a player exists. The Department of Internal Affairs still warns players that overseas operators may be in jurisdictions with minimal consumer safeguards, may not return unspent credits, and may not pay out large wins. Honest framing: TAB NZ and Betcha are the only lawful options with New Zealand harm-minimisation tools, regulator oversight, and a complaints framework; offshore brands carry the regulator’s stated risks and none of the local protections.

The framework that makes TAB NZ the only lawful option

The Racing Industry Act and the 2025 amendment

The Racing Industry Act 2020 established TAB NZ as the sole betting provider for racing and sports in New Zealand. The 2025 amendment closed the loophole that had allowed offshore brands to argue they sat outside the statute. Section 74AAA names the new rule plainly, and the change took effect on 28 June 2025. The Department of Internal Affairs told providers serving New Zealand to withdraw with immediate effect on that date. There is no application process for a competing licence because the statute removes the category.

The Racing Industry Amendment Act 2025 sits inside a wider programme. The Online Casino Gambling Act 2026 licenses online casino gambling only — TAB New Zealand winning the right to apply for a casino licence does not extend the betting monopoly, and a casino licence is a separate permit with separate rules. Greyhound racing is closing in stages from 1 August 2026, and from that date offshore operators may not take bets on greyhound races either.

Who runs TAB NZ and what the Entain partnership delivers

TAB NZ is the trading name of the New Zealand Racing Board. It runs the country’s pari-mutuel (tote) pools and fixed-odds sports betting. The operational partner is Entain, the global betting group, under a 25-year agreement signed in 2023. The deal gives Entain a 50/50 share of gross profits, with at least $150 million a year going to TAB NZ for the first five years, and Entain pledged a one-off $100 million payment to the racing sector. Entain runs the technology, the trading and the platform through its New Zealand subsidiary, and Betcha sits on the same stack.

A reader looking for a “competitive” market might note what the partnership means in practice. Two retail-era rivals never emerged in New Zealand; the system was always a monopoly, and the 2025 amendment legalised that monopoly for online play. The Entain deal does not change who can take a bet — it changes how the existing operator is run.

What may lawfully be bet on

TAB NZ takes fixed-odds and tote bets. Its published betting rules cover the New Zealand and Australian racing codes (thoroughbred, harness, and greyhound — the latter closing in stages from 1 August 2026) and a long list of sports: rugby union and rugby league (All Blacks, Super Rugby Pacific, NRL), cricket (Black Caps), basketball (NBL, NBA), football, tennis, American football, baseball, and others. The published bet types include Win, Place, Each Way, Quinella, Exacta, Trifecta, First Four, Double, Treble, Daily Double, Running Double, Quaddie, Big6, and Multis including Same Game Multis (a multi whose legs come from one event). Place Extra lets punters back runners to finish up to 10th in selected races, which is a wider place market than most international bookmakers offer.

Live betting is listed in the TAB NZ apps. Any statutory restriction on in-play markets is not established, so the live product runs at the operator’s discretion under its own rules. No lawful New Zealand betting exchange exists and spread betting is outside TAB NZ’s sports-betting definition — a reader might not look for either here. Bets on politics and novelty markets are not established. Virtual (computer-simulated) sport is treated by the 2026 online casino law as casino gambling; whether esports betting is “sports betting” under the Racing Industry Act is not established, so a New Zealand punter looking for esports will find the offer patchy and the regulatory position unclear.

Offshore brands and what their licences do not cover

The brands a New Zealand punter meets offshore each carry a licence. Glorion names no licence that applies in New Zealand. RoyalistPlay names a Tobique Gaming Commission e-gaming licence (No. 0000002), held by Novatrix SRL in Costa Rica — Tobique gives no right to take bets from people in New Zealand. Sportaza names an Anjouan licence (ALSI-202606064-FI2) in its footer and a Tobique licence (0000067) in its terms, both of which leave New Zealand out. Telbet, Alawin, FunBet, BetNinja, and 22Bet (which redirects to 22bet4u.com and lists a Curaçao licence under TechSolutions Group N.V., 8048/JAZ) name licences that do not extend to New Zealand customers. None of those brands offers a New Zealand complaints route or harm-minimisation framework that reaches a New Zealand resident.

A reader looking at any of these sites might read the licence line as the operator’s statement about its own regulator, not as a guarantee of protection in New Zealand. The Department of Internal Affairs’s published view is that overseas operators may be in jurisdictions with minimal consumer safeguards, may not return unspent credits, and may not pay out large wins. New Zealand does not block the sites, so access is open — the gap is on protection when something goes wrong.

Tax, duty, and what changes on 1 July 2026

For the player, Inland Revenue guidance says recreational gambling winnings are generally not taxable, and prize money from TAB horse, dog, and trotting races is not taxable. A person who bets as a business is a different case — that is general information, not tax advice, and a punter with a question might consult Inland Revenue or an accountant.

On the operator side, TAB NZ pays the Problem Gambling Levy of 0.74% (in force from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2028). Overseas operators supplying New Zealand residents pay online gambling duty — 12% of profits since 1 July 2024, rising to 16% from 1 January 2027. The point-of-consumption charge on offshore racing and sports bets ceased on 30 June 2026. None of this makes an offshore offer lawful for New Zealand customers: a duty being payable does not convert an unlawful offer into a lawful one, and the duty is collected on the offshore operator’s profit, not on the player’s stake. A punter might never read “this site pays tax in New Zealand” as a sign that the site is licensed here.

Responsible gambling in the New Zealand market

The responsible-gambling framework sits inside the operator, not in a separate register. TAB NZ accounts require a verified New Zealand address and ID, which is also how the operator confirms age — the betting age is 18, set under section 89 of the Racing Industry Act 2020. The land-based casino age is 20; the two must not be merged. Underage betting is an offence.

TAB NZ’s app lists the safer-gambling tools it provides: deposit limits, time-outs, and self-exclusion. An exclusion applies across both TAB NZ brands (TAB and Betcha) — closing a TAB account also closes a Betcha account, and the tools work the same way across both. There is no single national online-betting exclusion register; the register that the casino law will require is for online casinos only, not for sports and racing. A punter who needs to step away might use TAB NZ’s tools rather than depend on a national register that does not cover this product.

Help is available independently of the operator. TAB NZ’s app lists the free Gambling Helpline on 0800 654 655 and the text line 8006. Safer Gambling Aotearoa is the public-facing programme. These services are for anyone affected by gambling harm — a punter, a family member, or someone worried about their own betting.

Offshore brands do not plug into this framework. They name no New Zealand complaints route, no New Zealand self-exclusion, and no access to the local helpline from inside their cashier pages. A punter using an offshore brand has only the operator’s own customer support, in whatever jurisdiction the operator sits. That is one of the concrete costs of going outside TAB NZ and Betcha, and it is the part most offshore marketing does not mention.

Crypto, VPN, and the offshore question

New Zealand law does not state a rule on crypto use or VPN use for betting. The statute targets the operator that offers the bet, not the payment rail the punter uses to fund it, and the Department of Internal Affairs’s warnings cover the offshore brand’s conduct, not the wallet the punter holds. None of that changes the underlying prohibition on a New Zealand resident placing a sports or racing bet with a non-TAB operator under section 74AAA — paying in crypto does not turn an unlawful offer into a lawful one.

The practical question for a punter who wants to use crypto is whether TAB NZ accepts it. TAB NZ’s deposit methods are operator-level and come from its own terms; the law does not require or forbid any particular rail. A punter who wants to bet with Bitcoin or USDT will not find those rails on TAB NZ, and will instead end up at an offshore sportsbook whose licence does not extend to New Zealand. That is a different decision from choosing a payment method — it is a decision to leave the local framework.

A second practical point: opening a TAB NZ account requires a verified New Zealand address, so a non-resident using a VPN to reach TAB NZ is excluded by the onboarding rules. The offshore brands accept a wider set of sign-ups but, again, do so outside the New Zealand framework. The crypto question is thus less a “which coin” question than a “which operator” question, and the operator question is settled by the statute.

Bonuses, free bets, and what TAB NZ’s promotional setup delivers

The New Zealand market does not run the kind of bonus war seen in the UK or Australia, where multiple licensed bookmakers compete on headline numbers. There is only one lawful operator, so the “welcome offer” comes from one brand and the comparators are limited. TAB NZ runs “bonus bets” promotions; no New Zealand rule on bet-bonus size or wagering terms was found, so the only fair comparator is TAB NZ’s own terms.

The TAB NZ app describes new-customer Bonus Cash that can be split across multiple bets, and a Mega Multi bonus of up to $50 in Bonus Cash when a multi of four or more legs falls short by a set number of legs (terms and conditions apply). The bonus is paid as Bonus Cash, not as cash, which means the stake is usually not returned with a winning wager funded by the bonus — the punter keeps the profit, the bonus portion is forfeit on settlement. The exact mechanics sit in the TAB NZ terms, which is where a punter might read them before claiming.

A Mega Multi payout is conditional on the multi missing by a specific number of legs, not on it missing at all. A punter who expects an “insurance on any loss” mechanic will not find it; the bonus is narrower than a generic accumulator insurance. The dollar cap ($50) caps how much a bonus bet can return, which is also where the “free” word might be read with care.

Offshore brands run a wider promotional catalogue — deposit matches, free spins, cashback, boosted odds. None of those apply to a New Zealand punter lawfully, and the offshore brands’ terms (Golden Panda’s bonus terms, last updated 31 August 2026, state that bonus funds cannot be used while the player has open casino or sports bets; Boomerang Bet, LunuBet, and Alawin run on standard 18+ onboarding) target the brand’s home jurisdictions, not New Zealand. A punter who reads the offshore promotional pages for ideas can treat them as background, not as a menu.

A practical rule on any “free bet” or “risk-free” headline: the value of a free bet whose stake is not paid back is the free-bet amount multiplied by the odds minus one, divided by the odds, then multiplied by the market’s payout share. A $10 free bet at odds of 3.00 on a market with a 95% payout share is worth roughly $6.33 on average — not $20. The “free” word covers the stake the punter does not risk, not the return the punter can expect.

The TAB NZ and Betcha mobile apps

The two TAB NZ brands run on the same platform. The TAB app — listed as “TAB – Racing & Sports Betting” on the New Zealand App Store under the seller name New Zealand Racing Board, first released on 8 September 2014 — covers horse and harness racing, rugby union and rugby league, and other sports, pre-match and live, with a 17+ App Store age rating while stating that customers must be 18 or over to bet. Betcha is published by Entain New Zealand Limited on the New Zealand App Store, first released on 6 August 2024.

The TAB app’s product list is wide. It covers Same Race Multis, Same Game Multis, one-tap Popular Multis, and a Place Extra option that lets punters back runners to finish up to 10th in selected races. Trackside live race streaming with in-app betting is included, along with racing form, Blackbook, and Jockey Challenge tools, and a simplified wallet for deposits and withdrawals. Same Game Multis are the product that the offshore “bet builder” labels map to, and the TAB NZ version is mature: pre-built combinations and a same-race product that most international operators do not match.

The 17+ App Store rating is a New Zealand convenience: it lets the App Store gate the download loosely while the operator enforces 18+ at account creation and at bet placement. A punter who is 18 but looks younger can expect ID checks at withdrawal.

Mobile betting offshore runs on the standard sportsbook apps most readers already know — Glorion, RoyalistPlay, Sportaza, Telbet, Alawin, FunBet, BetNinja, 22Bet, and the wider offshore list. None of those apps is licensed in New Zealand. The functional experience is similar (same-game multis, cash-out, live streaming), and the regulatory experience is not. A punter choosing between them is choosing between two regulatory statuses, not two product feature lists.

Live betting and cash-out on the lawful site

TAB NZ’s app lists live betting, and the in-app Trackside stream pairs with in-play wagering on the same race. The in-play product is governed by TAB NZ’s own terms; any statutory restriction on in-play markets is not established, so the operator sets its own limits and markets.

Cash-out is a feature on most modern sportsbooks, and TAB NZ’s app supports it within the operator’s own framework. The offer is a settlement price, not a market price, and the price moves against the punter the way a market maker’s quote moves. The punter’s edge is closing a position that has gone well; the operator’s edge is the spread inside the cash-out price. Cash-out is useful for a punter who has a clear exit point, and a tax on the same punter who uses it casually.

Offshore brands run a similar live product with the standard markets (next goal, next wicket, race-to-X), but again, the regulatory frame is the offshore operator’s own terms. A live bet that the offshore site suspends or voids mid-event has no New Zealand complaints route behind it.

Bet types, odds, and how the numbers are built

TAB NZ takes fixed-odds and tote (pool) bets. Fixed odds are the price the punter sees on screen at the moment of placement, and that price is the punter’s contract unless the operator voids under its rules. Tote bets are pool bets: the punter’s stake goes into a pool, the operator takes its cut, and the dividend is the punter’s share of the remainder, declared after the race. New Zealand readers know the tote dividend as the return — “the dividend paid $2.10” is the same idea as “the odds were $2.10,” expressed the way the tote expresses it.

A simple fixed-odds return is stake times odds. A $10 bet at odds of 2.10 returns $21 if it wins, for a net profit of $11. A multi multiplies the legs: a three-leg multi at odds of 1.80, 2.20, and 1.60 has combined odds of 1.80 × 2.20 × 1.60 = 6.336, so a $10 stake returns $63.36 if all three legs win. The same arithmetic on a losing leg returns nothing — the multi loses as a whole.

The bookmaker’s margin is the cut the operator keeps from every market, and it sits inside every price. The margin is one minus the payout share, where the payout share is one divided by the sum of one-over-each-outcome across all outcomes of the market. A two-outcome market priced at 1.90 and 1.90 has a payout share of 1 ÷ (1/1.90 + 1/1.90) = 0.95, a margin of 5%. The punter’s break-even expectation is 95 cents on the dollar over many bets; the operator’s take is 5 cents on the dollar over the same set. Racing and tote margins are different from fixed-odds margins, and the live market’s margin differs from the pre-match market’s margin — the figure is not portable.

The punter’s working figure is the return on a winning bet, which is the price times the stake, and the expectation over many bets is the market’s payout share. A punter who reads a price as “what the bet will return” is reading it right; a punter who reads a price as “how likely the bet is to win” is reading it wrong, and the difference matters because the operator’s margin sits inside the gap.

Sports, tournaments, and what TAB NZ covers

TAB NZ’s racing product covers thoroughbred, harness, and greyhound (the latter closing in stages from 1 August 2026), with a deep New Zealand and Australian meeting list and a place at the bigger international carnivals. The Melbourne Cup is the racing event most New Zealand readers ask about: TAB NZ takes Win, Place, Each Way, Quinella, Exacta, Trifecta, First Four, Quaddie, and the same-race multi products on the Cup card. A punter can build a Same Race Multi on the Cup from the TAB NZ app, place a Quaddie across the last four races on the card, and read the day’s form through Trackside in-app streaming.

The sports product is wide. Rugby union covers All Blacks tests, Super Rugby Pacific, and the NPC. Rugby league covers the NRL and the Warriors. Cricket covers the Black Caps, the domestic Super Smash, and the major international fixtures. Basketball covers the NBL and the NBA. Football, tennis, American football, baseball, and a long tail of other sports fill the schedule, with live betting and pre-match markets. The product is large enough that the gap to most offshore brands is narrower than a New Zealand punter might expect — TAB NZ’s Same Game Multi on an All Blacks test, for instance, is comparable to what the offshore “bet builder” labels offer.

What TAB NZ does not cover, at least not established, is esports and politics. The offshore brands run esports and politics markets; New Zealand punters who want either end up offshore and outside the local framework, which is the trade the statute forces.

New bookmakers, new sites, and the “what’s new” question

The “new online betting sites” cluster has a different shape in New Zealand than in markets with several licensed operators. There is no licence application for a new entrant to make, and no new local bookmaker to launch — TAB NZ and Betcha are the only lawful online brands and they are not new in any meaningful sense. New Zealand readers searching “new online betting sites New Zealand” in 2026 are largely meeting offshore brands that have refreshed their marketing, refreshed their bonus line, or refreshed their domain.

The closest local “new” is Betcha, launched on the New Zealand App Store on 6 August 2024, which is the online-only sibling of TAB NZ on the same platform. The product list overlaps with TAB; the difference is the interface and the promotional angle. A punter comparing TAB and Betcha is comparing two faces of the same operator, not two rivals.

Offshore, the launches are constant. Rabona launched on 23 December 2019 as the sixth online sportsbook of the Soft2Bet group; the wider Soft2Bet portfolio has refreshed and rebranded since. SpinBetter.com is owned and operated by 3-102-955890 LIMITADA (DBA Sprut Group Limitada), registered in Jaco, Puntarenas, Costa Rica, under licence number ALSI-202607036-FI2, and rebranded into the wider offshore market in 2026. Thunderpick.io, run by Paloma Media B.V. in Curaçao under OGL/2024/677/0722, runs as a crypto esports and sportsbook. Baji.live runs under Northern Lights Limited Holdings Limited, registration number 15839, in Mutsamudu on the Autonomous Island of Anjouan, Union of Comoros, under Anjouan licence No. ALSI-202410030-FI1. None of those launches makes the brand lawful in New Zealand.

The honest read of “new online betting sites” in this market is that the local market does not admit newcomers, and the offshore launches are aimed at other jurisdictions. A New Zealand punter looking for a “new” experience finds it at Betcha, and finds nothing local beyond that.

How online betting works in practice for a New Zealand punter

The practical sequence at TAB NZ runs as follows. The punter downloads the TAB or Betcha app from the New Zealand App Store, opens an account with a verified New Zealand address and ID, confirms they are 18 or older, sets a deposit limit if they want one, deposits via a method TAB NZ lists in its cashier (cards, bank transfer, and the operator’s own set of payment options — TAB NZ’s payment set is published in its terms and changes over time), and places a bet.

A multi bet is the most common entry product. The punter selects four or more legs, sees the combined odds, places the stake, and follows the legs as they settle. The Mega Multi bonus applies if the multi misses by a set number of legs (terms apply). A win returns stake times odds, paid in cash to the wallet; a bonus-funded win returns the profit, with the bonus portion handled per the operator’s terms.

Cash-out closes a position early at a price TAB NZ sets. Live betting on a TAB-covered sport opens the in-play market in-app, with the Trackside stream running alongside the betting slip on racing. Withdrawal is back through the same wallet, with operator-level processing times that TAB NZ publishes in its terms.

The sequence at an offshore brand is the same shape, with two differences. The ID step is the operator’s own KYC, not a New Zealand-anchored check, and the complaints route is the operator’s own customer support, not the Department of Internal Affairs. A punter who needs help on a payout, a voided bet, or a closed account has only the offshore operator to ask, and no New Zealand regulator behind the operator.

Top 10 reviewed bookmakers for New Zealand readers

The list below is two unequal layers. TAB and Betcha are the two lawful brands of TAB NZ, the only operator licensed to take online sports and racing bets from people in New Zealand; they are one operator group, not rivals. The other eight are brands New Zealand players meet, none of which is licensed to take bets in New Zealand, and each of which is marked accordingly. The ranking is a comparison of product and terms, not a recommendation that any New Zealand punter sign up with a brand that cannot lawfully serve them.

TAB

TAB is the flagship online brand of TAB NZ, the only provider lawfully offering racing and sports betting to people in New Zealand under section 74AAA of the Racing Industry Act 2020 (in force since 28 June 2025). There is no licence register for bookmakers because there is only one lawful provider. The platform covers thoroughbred, harness, and greyhound (closing in stages from 1 August 2026) racing with standard pool and fixed-odds bets; the sports product covers rugby union and rugby league, cricket, basketball, and a long tail of other sports. Live betting is in-app with Trackside streaming on racing. The TAB app — “TAB – Racing & Sports Betting” — is listed on the New Zealand App Store under the New Zealand Racing Board seller name, first released 8 September 2014, with a 17+ age rating while enforcing 18+ at account creation. Bonuses include new-customer Bonus Cash across multiple bets and a Mega Multi bonus of up to $50 in Bonus Cash when a multi of four or more legs falls short by a set number of legs. Safer-gambling tools include deposit limits, time-outs, and self-exclusion, with the exclusion applying across both TAB and Betcha.

For a New Zealand punter, the legal certainty and the local harm-minimisation framework are the headline advantages; the lack of competitor pricing pressure is the corresponding cost, and the product list — particularly Same Race Multis and Same Game Multis — is wider than most international bookmakers offer.

Betcha

Betcha is the second online brand of TAB NZ, run by Entain New Zealand Limited and published on the New Zealand App Store from 6 August 2024. It is one of two brands, with TAB NZ, that may lawfully take online racing and sports bets here. The platform sits on the same Entain-built stack as TAB, so the product list overlaps: racing, sports, Same Game Multis, live betting, Trackside streaming, and the TAB NZ safer-gambling tools. Betcha is positioned as the online-only, app-first face of the operator; TAB is the longer-established brand with the same product behind it.

A punter choosing between TAB and Betcha is choosing between two interfaces on one operator, and the choice is a matter of taste — the price, the markets, and the responsible-gambling tools are the same.

Glorion

Glorion is not licensed in New Zealand — only TAB NZ may offer racing and sports betting to local residents under section 74AAA. The brand names no licence that applies in New Zealand. Its safer-gambling setup is its own: support is available by Live Chat or by email, and the site accepts customers aged 18 or older only. There is no New Zealand complaints route or harm-minimisation framework behind it.

For a New Zealand punter, the comparison point is product, not legitimacy. Glorion does not extend to New Zealand.

RoyalistPlay

RoyalistPlay is owned and operated by Novatrix SRL, a Costa Rica company with registration number 3-102-893958, and states that it holds e-gaming licence No. 0000002 from the Tobique Gaming Commission. That licence gives no right to take bets locally.

The point worth carrying is that “licensed” is not a portable word. A Tobique licence is a statement about the operator’s regulator; it is not a statement about who the operator may serve. A New Zealand punter reading RoyalistPlay’s licence line can read it as a brand fact, not as a New Zealand fact.

Sportaza

Sportaza’s footer states it is licensed and regulated by the Government of the Autonomous Island of Anjouan, Union of Comoros, under licence No. ALSI-202606064-FI2, while its terms (section 1.4) cite licence No. 0000067 issued by Tobique. Neither licence gives a right to take bets locally.

The licence count here is also worth reading carefully: a brand can carry two licences from different regulators and still be outside the New Zealand framework.

Telbet

Telbet describes itself as a crypto casino and sportsbook, with a welcome offer of 200% up to 1 BTC plus 50 free spins and a 5 USDT free bet on its Russian-language site. The brand names no licence that applies in New Zealand.

The crypto rail is the product angle; the regulatory angle is the same as every other offshore brand on this page.

Alawin

Alawin accepts customers aged 18 or over only. The brand names no licence that applies in New Zealand.

FunBet

FunBet’s sportsbook offers odds on football, ice hockey, American football, basketball, volleyball, tennis, rugby and baseball, with live betting and a bookmaker described as open 24/7. This brand is not licensed here — only TAB NZ may offer racing and sports betting to residents under section 74AAA.

The sports list is the product point; the regulatory frame is the same as the rest of the offshore set.

BetNinja

BetNinja states that it is licensed to conduct online gaming operations by the Union of the Comoros. The brand is not licensed here — only TAB NZ may offer racing and sports betting to residents under section 74AAA.

22Bet

22Bet’s address 22bet redirects to 22bet4u.com, and the site shows copyright for 2017–2026 and a 21+ age notice. The brand names a Curaçao licence (8048/JAZ), held by TechSolutions Group N.V. Curaçao gives no right to take bets locally.

The 21+ age notice is a Curaçao-honoured rule, not a New Zealand-anchored check, and the operator’s own onboarding does not include a New Zealand ID requirement. A New Zealand punter reading the page can note what the operator verifies and what it does not.

Comparison table: the New Zealand landscape at a glance

The two-row top of the table is the lawful market. The eight-row tail is the set of brands a New Zealand punter encounters, each marked outside the New Zealand framework, and each presenting only its own operator terms.

What this page is, and what it is not

This page is a description of the New Zealand online betting market as the law sets it, and a comparison of the brands a New Zealand punter meets inside and outside that market. It is not a recommendation to sign up with any offshore brand. The two lawful options, the two lawful brands and the TAB NZ safer-gambling framework are the centre of gravity, and the offshore brands sit beside them for completeness rather than as a path the page endorses.

The honest framing, repeated because it matters: TAB NZ and Betcha are the only lawful options, with New Zealand harm-minimisation tools, regulator oversight, and a complaints framework. Offshore brands are unlawful for the operator to serve New Zealand, carry no New Zealand complaints route, and are subject to the Department of Internal Affairs’s stated risks — limits possible elsewhere, payouts that may not arrive, credits that may not be returned. Neither side is “the safe choice” by default; the lawful side is the lawful side, and the offshore side is what the regulator says it is.

Frequently asked questions

How can I bet on the Melbourne Cup online?

Through TAB NZ or Betcha, the only two brands that may lawfully take online racing and sports bets here. The TAB NZ app lists the Cup meeting with all standard pools and fixed-odds, and pairs the racing card with Trackside in-app streaming so the bet can ride the race. A New Zealand punter looking at any other site can read the licence line as the operator’s regulator, not as a New Zealand authorisation.

How do I bet on horses online?

Open a TAB NZ or Betcha account with a verified New Zealand address and ID, confirm you are 18 or older, deposit through the cashier, and select a race meeting from the app. The bet types on offer include Win, Place, Each Way, Quinella, Exacta, Trifecta, First Four, Double, Treble, Daily Double, Running Double, Quaddie, Big6 and Same Race Multis, with Trackside streaming running alongside the betting slip. The dividend on a tote bet is the pool payout declared after the race; the return on a fixed-odds bet is stake times odds, paid on settlement. A punter under 18 is committing an offence under section 89 of the Racing Industry Act 2020.

How do I bet on Lotto online?

Lotto is not part of the TAB NZ sports and racing product and is run by a separate operator under the Gambling Act 2003 framework. A punter looking for Lotto can go to the official Lotto NZ product rather than the TAB NZ app, and can treat any “Lotto” market on an offshore sportsbook as an offshore novelty bet rather than a New Zealand-licensed lottery product. The Racing Industry Act amendment does not cover Lotto; it covers racing and sports betting only.

Which bookmaker may lawfully take sports and racing bets in New Zealand?

TAB NZ, through its two online brands TAB and Betcha, is the only provider lawfully offering online racing and sports betting to people in New Zealand since 28 June 2025. The rule sits in section 74AAA of the Racing Industry Act 2020, inserted by the Racing Industry Amendment Act 2025, and the Department of Internal Affairs told unlicensed providers to withdraw immediately. There is no licence register for bookmakers because there is only one lawful provider, and no application route for a competitor.

How is the return on a bet worked out from the stake and the odds?

For a fixed-odds single, the return on a winning bet is the stake multiplied by the odds, and the net profit is the stake multiplied by the odds minus one. A $10 stake at odds of 2.10 returns $21 on a win, for a net profit of $11. For a multi, the odds of the legs multiply into one combined price, and the same arithmetic applies to the combined price — a three-leg multi at odds of 1.80, 2.20 and 1.60 has combined odds of 6.336, so a $10 stake returns $63.36 if all three legs win. A losing leg voids the multi as a whole.

What is the bookmaker’s margin, and how can it be seen in the odds?

The margin is the cut the operator keeps from a market, and it sits inside every price. The payout share of a market is one divided by the sum of one-over-each-outcome across all outcomes; the margin is one minus the payout share. A two-outcome market priced at 1.90 and 1.90 has a payout share of 0.95 and a margin of 5%. A punter’s break-even expectation over many bets is the payout share; the operator’s take is the margin. Racing tote margins differ from fixed-odds margins, and live market margins differ from pre-match margins, so the figure is not portable across products.

Published by the Nzlivebetting team.