Although thousands of New Zealand residents play online slots and other internet casino games every year, the government maintains strict laws regulating the activity. The country’s online gambling laws have been in place for several years now and are likely in need of some revamping, but local politicians believe that the current legislation is more effective than all other options at the moment.
The Gambling Act of 2003 currently regulates all forms of gambling in New Zealand, including online gambling. Before 2003, online gambling escaped the grasp of government regulation, meaning that the idea of regulating online casino activities is still relatively new to New Zealand. As such, the current laws do need to be reworked, as several issues have arisen.
One of the main issues that many residents in New Zealand have is that playing slots in the online gambling world is not covered by the legislation, as offshore operators are not allowed to provide gaming to residents of the country. There are only two operators licensed to do so: the New Zealand Lotteries Commission and TABCorp. Each operator offers various forms of online gambling, but online slots games are not included.
Offshore online casinos and international gambling websites actually offer the option of playing slots online; however, the government has prohibited them from targeting New Zealand players. These operators could face significant fines if charged by the local government, but few operators have been brought up on these charges in the past 5 years.
New Zealand players cannot be prosecuted for playing at offshore online casinos, so the responsibility is passed on to the operators. Since the enforcement of the laws has been somewhat lax, however, several operators continue to offer their services to New Zealand players.
Part of the 2003 Gambling Act that has been enforced concerns the advertising of online gambling operators. According to Part 2, Section 16 of the Act, advertising overseas gambling is prohibited
“A person must not publish or arrange to publish, in New Zealand, an overseas gambling advertisement”.
Offshore online casino brands may not advertise to New Zealand residents in any way. This includes television, print and online ads. Sports sponsorships are also prohibited, as they act as a significant marketing tool for many brands.
Over the years, New Zealand politicians have started to discover just how popular playing online slots and online casino games is among residents. The Australian government has decided to review its own Interactive Gambling Act, which is likely to inspire New Zealand to follow suit. As such, gambling at offshore gambling websites may be regulated in the future, allowing New Zealand residents to play in safe environments and the government to make additional tax revenue from the online gambling market.
Bio: Article from http://www.online-slots.co.nz/