New Zealand racing industry secures future with new online betting laws

Kiwi jockey James McDonald winning the HK$40 million Hong Kong Cup on Romantic Warrior at Sha Tin in Hong Kong on Sunday. Photo / HKJC

• Winston Peters introduced legislation to secure the racing industry’s sustainability by stopping money leakage to offshore operators.
• The legislation extends TAB New Zealand’s monopoly for sports and racing betting to online platforms.
• The TAB estimates Kiwis lose $180 million annually to offshore operators, with the changes expected to retain this money.

Racing Minister Winston Peters has moved to secure the long-term sustainability of the New Zealand racing industry by introducing legislation to stop the leakage of money to offshore gambling operators.

The legislation would amend the Racing Industry Act 2020 and would extend TAB New Zealand’s current land-based monopoly for sports and racing betting to online. The Racing Industry Act established TAB New Zealand for the purposes of funding the racing industry. It provides 90% of the racing industry’s revenue, which generates billions of dollars for the New Zealand economy and employs over 13,500 people.

“This legislation will enhance the long-term sustainability of New Zealand’s racing industry by making TAB NZ New Zealand’s sole provider for sports and race betting both on land and online,” says Peters.

“Growing competition from offshore online betting operators poses a significant threat to the TAB NZ model.

“This change brings the model up-to-date with the current sports betting climate and will ensure the financial sustainability of the racing industry, as established in the coalition Government’s Q4 Action Plan for New Zealand,” Peters says.

The bill makes a number of other changes to support the success of TAB New Zealand, including new oversight powers for the minister to seek information from the TAB and regulatory oversight of the prohibition on other operators.

“These oversight tools will ensure that TAB NZ can continue to deliver value for consumers and the racing industry, and to ensure that the ongoing viability of the industry,” Peters says.

Winston Peters has moved to secure the long-term sustainability of the New Zealand racing industry. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Other changes to the legislation include regulation-making powers for harm prevention and minimisation, and consumer protection, and removing the Point of Consumption Charge.

TAB chief executive Nick Roberts welcomed the legislation, which will stop potentially hundreds of millions in turnover being lost to overseas, or even illegal, betting sites that return very little or sometimes nothing to New Zealand racing and sport.

“This is a positive outcome which will have national impact,” said Roberts. “We estimate Kiwis lose $180 million annually to offshore racing and sports betting operators.

“Retaining this money in New Zealand will not only maximise funding to our communities instead of providing profits to foreign companies, but also ensure Kiwis can bet in a safe and regulated environment.”

The TAB was established as the country’s sole betting operator in 1950 but that position has been eroded by online activity since the turn of this century. Roberts said the minister’s announcement serves as a welcome reset.

“Critically, this will deliver an additional $1 billion to our stakeholders over the remaining term of our strategic partnership with Entain.”

In June 2023, TAB New Zealand commenced a 25-year strategic partnering arrangement with sports-betting and gaming group Entain for the delivery of the TAB’s betting operations.

The bill will be referred to the Governance and Administration Committee for a select committee process.