Is there one place to sign up for self-exclusion from online casinos in New Zealand and be shut out of all of them at once? Not yet. As at 6 October 2026 there is no national register for online casino gambling. The Online Casino Gambling Act 2026 requires the Minister to recommend regulations that create one no later than 1 December 2027, so for now exclusion works one site at a time.

If gambling is causing harm to you or someone in your whānau, call the Gambling Helpline on 0800 654 655 or text 8006. The service is free, and its website describes it as anonymous. A separate guide covers the Gambling Helpline and other free support.

This guide separates three layers: what a site can offer you today, what a licensed operator will have to do once licences exist, and what a national register would change. It also covers exclusion at pokie venues and casinos, which falls under a different law.

Self-exclusion from online casinos in New Zealand: where it stands as at 6 October 2026

Three things are true at once. The Act and the Online Casino Gambling Regulations 2026 contain detailed self-exclusion rules. Those rules are written for an operator, and the Act defines the word narrowly: “operator means a person who holds a licence to conduct online casino gambling”. And no licence has been issued yet. The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) says it expects to start issuing licences from early 2027.

Read together, the exclusion rules are already in the legislation but do not yet bind any operator, because there is no licence holder for them to bind. That is a reading of the Act’s definitions, not a legal opinion.

LayerWhat appliesWho it binds
TodayExclusion options a site offers under its own termsThe site only
Once licences are issuedRegulation 8, regulation 11 and Minimum Standards section 7Each licence holder
Once a national register existsOne entry that every licence holder must act onEach licence holder

DIA also says that from 1 December 2026 only licensed operators will be able to provide online casino gambling in New Zealand. It warns that a player on an unlicensed platform does not have the same player protections.

The Act includes a transitional provision. A business that was already offering online casino gambling when the Act started, and that applies for a licence before 1 December 2026, is not subject to the prohibition in section 9(1) until its application is decided or 1 June 2027, whichever comes first. The exclusion rules attach to licence holders, so the Act does not say they apply to that business in the meantime. Nothing here says whether anyone may play on a particular site. What a licence means for a player is covered in licensed online casinos in New Zealand.

What a licensed operator will have to do when you self-exclude

Section 40 of the Act tells a licensed operator to take all reasonable steps to exclude a person from its gambling platform, following any procedures set out in the regulations. It applies in four situations. The person:

  • has identified themselves to the operator as a “problem gambler”;
  • has recorded themselves in the national register, once the regulations create one;
  • has asked the operator to exclude them from its platform; or
  • has been identified by the operator as a “problem gambler”.

The third route is the simplest. Under section 40, asking the operator to exclude you is enough. The Act uses the term “problem gambler”, which the Gambling Act 2003 defines by reference to gambling that causes harm or may cause harm. This guide uses the phrase only when describing the Act. The people involved are people experiencing gambling harm.

Regulation 8 of the Online Casino Gambling Regulations 2026 sets out how a request must be handled. The customer chooses the period, including an indefinite one, and cannot shorten it once it is set. The terms must be clear. The operator has to act without undue delay and no later than 24 hours after the customer chooses self-exclusion.

The platform has a duty of its own. Section 7 of DIA’s Online Casino Gambling Minimum Standards, in force from 8 July 2026, says: “The gambling platform must maintain an accurate and current register of customers who have self-excluded from the platform.” Accounts are checked against that list “before activating their account and at login”. The word “register” here means one platform’s own list. It is not the national register covered later in this guide.

When the operator excludes you

Exclusion can also start with the operator. Under regulation 11, an operator that reasonably believes a customer’s gambling is harming them must first give the customer a statement of the information that led to that belief, plus information on help services, self-exclusion and safer gambling tools. If signs of harm continue, the operator must exclude the customer from all of its gambling platforms for up to two years, say so in writing, and return uncommitted funds. It has to act without undue delay and no later than 24 hours after it is satisfied that the customer is a “problem gambler”. The customer can complain to the operator or to DIA.

What this means for your account

The regulations answer the two questions people ask first: what happens to the money, and whether the casino can keep contacting you.

On money, regulation 21 says an operator must return uncommitted funds to a customer who has self-excluded or been excluded. It must pay without undue delay, once its legal requirements are met, using the customer’s registered deposit method or, if that is not possible, a different withdrawal method the customer elects. If it cannot, it must take reasonable steps to tell the customer how much remains. Regulation 3 defines uncommitted funds as deposits, winnings and loyalty rewards that can be redeemed for cash. It leaves out inducements, which it describes as rewards or benefits provided to encourage use of a platform, and it does not mention bonuses by name. For your account, that means a balance should come back to you, but promotional credit may not.

On contact, an operator may get in touch with an excluded customer only to meet its legal obligations (regulation 8(2)). An excluded customer also cannot take part in a loyalty programme until the exclusion period has ended and the return steps below are complete (regulation 12).

The exclusion does not lapse on its own. When the period ends, the operator must not let the customer gamble until the customer has made a deliberate decision to return – logging in, acknowledging help services and confirming a wish to gamble again – and a further 24 hours have passed. That delay is a safeguard written into regulation 8. It is not a step to plan around.

Self-exclusion under regulation 8 applies to the platform where the customer asks for it. Exclusion by the operator under regulation 11 covers every platform that operator runs. The sources read for this guide do not say whether a request to one brand also reaches the sister brands of the same operator. Treat each platform as separate until the operator confirms otherwise in writing.

What can you do on a site you use today?

Health New Zealand’s Safer Gambling Aotearoa service says: “Most online casino accounts will provide options to take timeouts or to self-exclude.” Their form, length and enforcement are set by the site’s own terms, not by a New Zealand exclusion rule, and no guide can promise how a particular site will behave.

  1. Look in the account settings, or on the site’s responsible gambling page, for the exclusion option. Choose self-exclusion rather than a short break if you want more than a pause.
  2. Choose the period yourself and read what the site says happens when it ends.
  3. If there is no setting, ask in writing through support chat or email, and say clearly that you want self-exclusion.
  4. Keep the confirmation with its date, such as a screenshot or an email.
  5. Ask for any remaining balance to be paid out, and keep a record of the request.

Deposit limits and breaks are a different tool. They cap spending or pause play, while exclusion closes the account to play for the period chosen.

The same Health NZ page lists other layers. It names tools that block gambling websites and apps (BetBlocker, Gamban and Gamblock), browser settings, and payment blocks offered by some banks (ANZ, Westpac and Kiwibank). This guide has not tested them. For the TAB, the page says the TAB “provides two options: take a break from your online account or self-exclude from online and in-person venues”. It says Lotto NZ “offers ways to block yourself from online games or exclude yourself from purchasing Lotto games in retail outlets”. The operators’ own pages hold the steps, and this guide has not read them.

What does the law say about a national register?

Section 75(3) of the Act says the Minister must, “no later than 1 December 2027”, recommend regulations that:

  • establish a register of persons who wish to be excluded from online casino gambling;
  • let any person record themselves in the register and remove that record;
  • make the register readily accessible to operators at all reasonable times;
  • allow the costs of running it to be recovered from operators; and
  • cover anything else necessary or desirable to administer it.

That is a deadline for a recommendation, not an opening date. The Act does not create the register itself, and the Regulations made on 2 June 2026 do not either. The name, web address, operator, start date, minimum length of an entry and removal process are not stated in any source read for this guide. Nor is it stated whether the register will also cover the TAB and Lotto NZ. Nobody can say yet that a register will be running by 1 December 2027.

Once a register exists, section 40(b) makes an entry in it one more route to exclusion, and licensed operators will have to act on it. One entry would then replace a request to each site. Until the regulations are made, section 40(b) has no register to point at.

How does exclusion work at pokie venues and casinos?

Venues run under the Gambling Act 2003, not the online Act, and an exclusion system for them is already in place. DIA’s exclusion order guidelines say the venue manager or casino licensee “must, upon request, issue the exclusion order to the person making the request”. An order can last up to two years. Health NZ puts it plainly: “The venue operator must, by law, exclude you from the venue.”

  1. Decide which venue or venues the order should cover.
  2. Ask the venue manager or the casino, in person, in writing or by phone, and say that you want an exclusion order.
  3. Expect a request for identification. DIA says a photo is useful for identifying the person, and that it is reasonable for a venue to ask for two forms of ID when the request is made in writing or by phone.
  4. Keep the order or the written confirmation.

To exclude yourself from several venues at once, use a multi-venue exclusion (MVE). DIA says that when someone decides to exclude themselves from several venues at once this is called a multi-venue exclusion, and that “in most parts of the country, there is a service to help a person do this easily”. Health NZ points to local MVE coordinators for support. DIA describes these arrangements in its guidance for pokie venues, and no source read says they extend to online gambling.

More on support sits in the section on gambling harm and support in New Zealand.

If an exclusion request is ignored: who to ask and who can help

A complaint is only as useful as the place it can be sent. Once licences are issued, DIA says that if a licensed casino falls short of the required standards, you will be able to complain either directly to the online casino or to DIA as the regulator. DIA also warns that players using an unlicensed operator do not have the same protections. That is why a written record of any exclusion request matters on every site.

How many people are affected is covered in gambling harm in New Zealand in numbers.

If gambling is affecting you or someone in your whānau, the Gambling Helpline is free on 0800 654 655, or you can text 8006. It is run by Whakarongorau Aotearoa // New Zealand Telehealth Services. The Gambling Helpline and other free support are explained in a separate guide.

Self-exclusion from online casinos works one site at a time today. The rules meant to bring order to it are written but wait for the first licence, and the national register is still a task for the Minister. The picture changes when the first licence is issued and when the register regulations are made, so check the date before relying on this guide. This guide gives general information and is not legal advice.

Questions people ask about online casino self-exclusion

Is there a national self-exclusion register for online casinos in New Zealand?

No. As at 6 October 2026 no national register exists. The Online Casino Gambling Act 2026 requires the Minister to recommend regulations establishing one no later than 1 December 2027. Until then, a person who wants to be excluded from online casinos has to ask each site separately.

How long can self-exclusion from online casinos last once licences exist?

Regulation 8 lets the customer choose the period, including an indefinite one, and does not allow the customer to shorten it once it is set. The operator must put the exclusion in place without undue delay and within 24 hours. These rules bind licence holders, and none has been issued yet.

What happens to the money in your account when you self-exclude?

Under regulation 21, a licensed operator must return uncommitted funds without undue delay, once its legal requirements are met. Inducements, meaning rewards or benefits provided to encourage use of a platform, sit outside that definition. On a site without a licence, the site’s own terms decide, so ask for any balance in writing and keep the reply.

Does self-exclusion from online casinos apply to one site or all of them?

Self-exclusion under regulation 8 applies to the platform where it is requested. An exclusion by the operator under regulation 11 covers every platform that operator runs. The sources read do not say whether a request to one brand reaches its sister brands, so ask each operator directly.

Does a multi-venue exclusion cover online gambling?

DIA describes multi-venue exclusion within its guidance for pokie venues, as a way to exclude from several venues at once. None of the sources read says it covers online accounts. For online casinos, use the options on each site. For venues, follow the exclusion order steps above.

Can you exclude yourself from the TAB or Lotto NZ online?

Safer Gambling Aotearoa says the TAB offers a break from your online account or self-exclusion from online and in-person venues, and that Lotto NZ offers ways to block online games or to exclude yourself from buying Lotto games in retail outlets. The steps and lengths are on each operator’s own pages, which this guide has not read.

Can a casino contact you while you are excluded?

A licensed operator may contact an excluded customer only to meet its legal obligations (regulation 8(2)). The same limit continues after the period ends, until the customer has made a deliberate decision to return and a further 24 hours have passed. Sites without a licence follow their own terms.

Sources