NZ Minister Disappointed by SkyCity’s Move Offshore

Recently updated on January 13th, 2026

Following the announcement by SkyCity to forge ahead with the launch of an online casino, lawmakers have rushed to reflect on the legalities of internet gambling in New Zealand. Internal Affairs Minister, Tracey Martin spoke to Newstalk ZB’s radio jock Heather du Plessis-Allan about her reaction to the move. She expressed her disappointment in the news after having started discussions to put in place legislation to regulate the online gaming environment in Kiwi.

Internal Affairs Minister Rues SkyCity’s Move Offshore

Asked for her reaction to SkyCity’s move to take their gambling products offshore, she didn’t hesitate to express her disappointment. “I was disappointed when they (SkyCity) came to let me know that they were moving forward into the offshore online gambling environment” she reflected. She conceded that it was within their best interest to do so looking at the fact that New Zealand still hadn’t put regulations in place. “Quite rightly we have no legislation regulations that could stop them. But I was disappointed that they’d made this move knowing that we were going to be legislating and regulating in this space in a while”.

New Zealand to Legalize Online Gambling

Kiwi gamblers will be excited to know that the government have been looking into regulating online gambling. Quizzed on her plan to regulate the online gambling, Martins was not coy about her plan of action.“The biggest threat to New Zealand at the moment is actually offshore online gambling” she exclaimed. She continues, “we’ve already started pulling together what we believe will be legislation that will fill this loophole”. In her plan, offshore gambling firms will have to abide by the current gambling legislation. The regulation look at three main pillars:

• Trusted providers
• Community building
• Harm minimization

The laws will be implemented long after SkyCity has launched its online casino. This framework will hopefully boost the New Zealand economy. Additionally, it’ll make sure that there are more legal betting sites in Kiwi. If you are looking to bet at legal online casinos, simply head to our reviews to find the best betting sites in New Zealand.