How old do you have to be to gamble online in New Zealand?

Is 18 the legal gambling age in New Zealand for every kind of gambling? For online casinos it is: section 38 of the Online Casino Gambling Act 2026 makes the operator responsible for taking all reasonable steps to confirm that a player is at least 18. For a land-based casino the legal age is 20, and the rule for Lotto draws is changing. This guide sets out each age and the law behind it, as at 8 October 2026.

Legal gambling age NZ: the ages at a glance

New Zealand has no single gambling age. The age depends on the kind of gambling, and each kind sits in a different Act. One number on a sign-up page cannot describe all of it, and a page that says only “18” leaves out the casino age.

Each row is explained below, with the section and the date it was read. Where the sources read for this guide are silent, the guide says so.

How old do you have to be to play at an online casino?

Section 38 of the Online Casino Gambling Act 2026 sets the age for online casino gambling at 18. It requires an operator to “take all reasonable steps to ensure that a person who participates in online casino gambling on the operator’s platform is at least 18 years old”. The duty sits with the operator, not the player.

The Act has been in force since 1 May 2026, with a few sections starting later. It defines online casino gambling as gambling at a distance through a communication device: games that rely on a random number generator or another chance-based outcome, table games such as blackjack, poker and baccarat, and bets on a computer-simulated sporting event. Online pokies fall inside that definition. Betting on a physical sporting event is outside it. The TAB’s rules sit under the Racing Industry Act 2020, which the TAB section below covers. Lotteries run by a class 3 operator’s licence holder are excluded as well.

The Act is built around licensed operators. The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) says it expects to start to issue licences from early 2027, and that it will publish a public register of licensed online casinos in New Zealand. Read the age rule as a position at a date, not as a description of a market that already runs under licences.

How is your age checked online?

Section 38 does not say how an operator is to check. The detail sits in the Online Casino Gambling Regulations 2026 (SL 2026/169), which were made on 2 June 2026 and came into force on 3 July 2026. Section 76(1)(a) of the Act allows regulations “prescribing procedures for verifying the age and identity of customers”.

Regulation 15 requires an operator to obtain a customer’s full name and date of birth before it activates the account. Regulation 16 requires the operator to verify the customer’s identity, so that it is satisfied it knows who the customer is, and the customer’s age, so that it is satisfied the customer is at least 18 years old. Regulation 17(1)(a) then requires the account to be activated only after the operator has complied with regulations 15 and 16. The order is details, then verification, then activation.

The Online Casino Gambling (Minimum Standards) 2026, published on DIA’s website, were made on 1 July 2026 and took effect on 8 July 2026. Section 11 deals with accounts: each one must be uniquely identifiable, a customer must log in with at least a unique identifier and password, and operators must give customers the option of multi-factor authentication for sensitive actions. Section 11 says nothing about age. Account security is not age checking.

Before you sign up to any online casino:

1. Check who runs the site. Once DIA publishes its register of licensed online casinos, confirm the operator there and note the date you checked.
2. Notice what the sign-up asks for. Under regulation 15, an operator must have your full name and date of birth before it activates the account.
3. Have your own proof of age and identity ready. Regulations 15 and 16 do not list the documents an operator will accept or how long checking takes, so ask the operator’s support team.
4. Save what the operator tells you about verification, with the date. A dated record helps if you raise a problem later.

What this means for your account

Verification of age and identity before an account is activated is what regulations 15 to 17 require of an operator. It is the operator’s duty rather than yours. What you control is accuracy: details that match your documents. The sections read for this guide do not say what happens to a balance if a check fails, and this guide does not cover it. Limits and payment safety are a separate subject, set out in deposit limits and safe payments at online casinos.

Can someone else gamble online for a person under 18?

From 1 December 2026, doing so can be an offence. Section 66 of the Online Casino Gambling Act 2026 makes it an offence to participate in online casino gambling on behalf of a person in New Zealand who is under 18, if you know they are under 18 or are reckless as to whether they are. The fine is up to $10,000.

Both parts must be met: the gambling is on behalf of the young person, and the adult knows or is reckless about their age. Sections 66 and 67 start on 1 December 2026, although the Act as a whole has been in force since 1 May 2026. Section 66 is aimed at the adult. This guide does not cover any consequence for a young person who gets onto a platform, because the sources read do not set one out. Whether the section applies in a given case is for a court to decide.

How old do you have to be to enter a casino?

Section 303 of the Gambling Act 2003 sets the age for a land-based casino at 20. A person under 20 commits an offence by taking part in casino gambling or by being in a casino’s gambling area, with a fine of up to $500. A casino operator who allows it can be fined up to $5,000.

An operator has a defence if it proves it had reasonable grounds to believe the person was 20 or over, and sighting an evidence of age document that shows it is enough. The law looks for a document, not a statement.

So a 19-year-old meets the age in section 38 but not the age in section 303. The sources read for this guide give no reason for the difference, and this guide does not guess at one.

How old do you have to be to play the pokies or bet at the TAB?

The age is 18 for both. Section 302 of the Gambling Act 2003 makes it an offence for a person under 18 to take part in class 4 gambling, which covers pokies in pubs and clubs. Section 89 of the Racing Industry Act 2020 makes it an offence for a person under 18 to make a bet.

At a pokie venue the fines reach beyond the player: up to $500 for the person under 18, up to $1,000 for a venue manager or key person who allows it, and up to $5,000 for a corporate society that lets a person under 18 take part at its venue. A manager or key person has a defence if they reasonably believed the person was 18 or over, and sighting an evidence of age document counts.

The TAB rules also reach other people. Betting on behalf of a person under 18 can bring a fine of up to $1,000. Members, officers, agents and employees of a racing club, TAB NZ or a TAB NZ agent who receive or register a bet from a person under 18 can be fined up to $5,000. Section 90 lets the police and those staff ask for an evidence of age document when they reasonably believe an under-18 is betting. The sources read do not describe how the TAB checks age when someone opens an online account. The law sets the age at 18.

How old do you have to be to buy a Lotto ticket?

It depends on the game, and the law is changing. Section 301 of the Gambling Act 2003 sets 18 for instant games such as Instant Kiwi. For Lotto draws, the Regulatory Systems (Internal Affairs) Amendment Act 2026 widens section 301 to cover a New Zealand lottery, from 29 March 2027 at the latest.

Under section 301 today, a person under 18 who buys or tries to buy an instant game ticket commits an offence, with a fine of up to $500. Buying one for a person under 18, or selling one to them, can bring a fine of up to $1,000.

The Amendment Act received Royal assent on 5 June 2026. Its section 117 amends section 301 by replacing “instant games” in the heading with “New Zealand lottery” and deleting the words “an instant game that is” from subsection (1)(a), which widens the restriction beyond instant games. Under section 2(2)(c), section 117 comes into force on the earlier of 29 March 2027 or a date set by Order in Council.

YouthLaw Aotearoa, a free legal help service, says there are “no age restrictions for participating in lotteries like Lotto, Bulls Eye, Play 3 or Keno” now, and that this is due to change in 2027. No earlier start date appears in the sources read for this guide. They also do not cover the age for a MyLotto account or what a retailer asks for at the counter.

What DIA actually checks

DIA is the regulator for the new online casino regime. Its information for players says nothing about a minimum age, so the age rule comes from the Act itself and not from DIA’s player page.

What DIA publishes for players today is about licensing. It expects to start to issue licences from early 2027, it will publish a register of licensed online casinos, and licensed operators will have to display a unique registration icon on their platforms and in their advertising. That is a check on who runs a site. It is not a check on a player’s age, which stays the operator’s duty under section 38 and regulation 16.

DIA also says players do not have the same protections at an unlicensed platform. This guide does not describe how, or whether, such a platform checks age, and it does not say whether a person may play on one. For venues, the TAB and Lotto, the duty falls on the venue, the society, the TAB staff or the seller, as the sections above set out.

Where to get help if a young person is gambling

A question about the legal gambling age in New Zealand is often a worry about a young person’s gambling. If gambling is worrying you or someone in your whānau, the Gambling Helpline offers free support on 0800 654 655, or you can text 8006. People of all ages can be affected by gambling, and the Youth Gambling Helpline, 0800 654 659, has younger counsellors. Its page says youth counsellors are not available all the time, and staff can arrange a call back. For the wider picture, see gambling harm and where to get help in New Zealand. This guide gives general information and is not legal advice.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Online Casino Gambling Act 2026 (2026 No 14), sections 2, 5, 38, 66, 67 and 76, accessed 8 October 2026
• Online Casino Gambling Regulations 2026 (SL 2026/169), regulations 2, 15, 16 and 17, accessed 8 October 2026
• Regulatory Systems (Internal Affairs) Amendment Act 2026 (2026 No 26), sections 2 and 117, accessed 8 October 2026
• Gambling Act 2003, sections 301 to 303, accessed 8 October 2026
• Racing Industry Act 2020, sections 89 and 90, accessed 8 October 2026
• Department of Internal Affairs: Information for players, accessed 8 October 2026
• Department of Internal Affairs: Online Casino Gambling Minimum Standards (section 11), accessed 8 October 2026
• YouthLaw Aotearoa: Gambling (Lotto and other lotteries), accessed 9 October 2026
• Gambling Helpline, accessed 8 October 2026
• Gambling Helpline: Specialist services (Youth Gambling Helpline), accessed 8 October 2026