Entain Warns Against Gambling Ad War in New Zealand
Entain has said New Zealand's soon-to-launch regulated iGaming market is big enough to support several New Zealand online casinos operators, while warning that an aggressive marketing push by newly licensed firms could trigger a regulatory backlash.
Andrew Hannan, Entain Australia and New Zealand's Director of Industry and External Affairs, made the comments at the CiG iDEA Summit in Manila on September 14, 2026, a B2B forum held alongside the IAG EXPO.
New Zealand's Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) is preparing to open licensing for up to 15 online casino operators as it moves to regulate a market currently served almost entirely by offshore, unlicensed sites.
The Grey Market Entain Is Chasing
Under the current Gambling Act 2003, it is illegal for a New Zealand-based company to offer online casino games to New Zealanders, with narrow exceptions for TAB NZ's racing and sports betting monopoly, run by Entain, and the state lottery.
It is not illegal for New Zealanders to play on offshore sites, and that gap has let a sizeable grey market take hold. Hannan put its value at up to NZ$920 million within a couple of years, arguing that scale is exactly what makes the regulated market attractive to operators.
Department of Internal Affairs' licensing process, covering RNG slots, table games, poker and virtual racing and sports betting, is expected to open in 2027. Entain has previously said it intends to apply for three licences, the maximum allowed to a single operator.
Casino Games Hub
A Warning From Its Own TAB Rebrand
Hannan's caution is rooted in Entain's own experience running TAB NZ. After the company's rebrand and a marketing push tied to its sports betting monopoly, Hannan said the increased advertising did not sit well with the wider public and had to be scaled back and retargeted.
He argued that with 15 licences on offer and a grey market operators are keen to convert into legal revenue, competition for market share could tempt newly licensed firms into an advertising arms race, the kind of behaviour that has already drawn regulatory scrutiny of gambling marketing in neighbouring Australia, where Entain also operates.
Hannan credited the DIA with setting clear rules of engagement on responsible gambling and advertising guidelines so far, and said that clarity, not just market size, is part of what makes New Zealand attractive to established operators and offshore firms already active there.
How New Zealand's Rollout Is Structured
New Zealand's shift to a licensed model followed years of debate over whether to expand TAB NZ's existing monopoly into online casino games or open the market to multiple licence holders.
The government opened an expression-of-interest process for prospective licensees in 2026 as part of that wider rollout.
Officials have said the slower, more scrutinised approach reflects a deliberate choice to prioritise licensing checks, harm-minimisation measures and consumer protection over a faster launch.
