The New Zealand government has announced plans to regulate online casinos, with the new regulatory system “to be in place from early 2026”.

In a statement on the government’s website, Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden has said that a “high-level approach” to online casino regulation has been agreed to by the government, “designed to minimise harm, support tax collection and provide consumer protections to New Zealanders”.

Van Velden commented: “There will be a licensing system for online casinos, where operators will need to comply with a set of criteria before they will be able to offer services to New Zealanders. It will be illegal for unlicensed operators to offer services to New Zealanders.

“Licensing is how we regulate most forms of gambling domestically. This is not intended to increase the amount of gambling New Zealanders do but to ensure operators meet requirements for consumer protection and harm minimisation, as well as paying tax.”

Regarding licences, only ..

Labour has announced its ministerial team for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which includes the appointment of Baroness Fiona Twycross as Minister for Gambling.

A member of the House of Lords since November 2022, Twycross will be responsible for gambling and will report to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Lisa Nandy.

Joining Twycross and Nandy on the DCMS ministerial team is Sir Chris Bryant, Minister for Creative Industries, Arts, and Tourism, as well as Stephanie Peacock, Minister for Sport, Media, Civil Society and Youth.

While Twycross has been appointed as Minister for Gambling, she is also a Lords Minister and will be responsible for DCMS business in the House of Lords, with Peacock being responsible for gambling in the House of Commons.

Twycross was also appointed Baroness in Waiting (Government Whip) on 11 July.

Commenting on her new role on her X account, Twycross said: “Delighted to be part of a fabulous team supporting @lisanandy in @D..

The Betting and Gaming Council has stated its members are concerned about the UK Gambling Commission’s Gambling Survey for Great Britain as they believe its findings may be “unreliable” and overstating gambling participation and gambling-related harm.

The commission published its first annual GSGB report earlier this week as the gambling regulator seeks to “establish a new baseline for understanding gambling behaviour in Britain”.

However, due to the changes to data collection to a push-to-web methodology, the UKGC has emphasised that the GSGB report estimates “are not directly comparable with results from prior gambling or health surveys and such comparisons should not be used to assess trends over time”.

The GSGB featured responses from 9,804 people in the 2023 annual report, but this figure will increase to around 20,000 by next year.

BGC members raise concerns

In a statement, BGC members have raised concerns about the estimates reported in the GSGB, noting that the estimates m..

The UK Gambling Commission has published its first annual Gambling Survey for Great Britain report as the gambling regulator seeks to “establish a new baseline for understanding gambling behaviour in Britain”.

Of note, the GSGB report has stated that just under half of adults aged 18 and over have participated in any form of gambling in the past four weeks, but this figure drops to just above a quarter when those who only participated in lottery draws are excluded.

In addition, the report found that 41 per cent of adults who gambled in the past 12 months rated the last time they gambled positively, 21 per cent gave a negative score and 37 per cent gave a neutral score. Male participants were more likely to have higher Problem Gambling Severity Index scores, as well as those aged 18 to 34.

In response to the publication, the UKGC’s Executive Director of Research and Policy, Tim Miller, has described the GSGB report as “the next significant step forward in our journey on creating a ro..

The UK Gambling Commission has published its first annual Gambling Survey for Great Britain report as the gambling regulator seeks to “establish a new baseline for understanding gambling behaviour in Britain”.

Of note, the GSGB report has stated that just under half of adults aged 18 and over have participated in any form of gambling in the past four weeks, but this figure drops to just above a quarter when those who only participated in lottery draws are excluded.

In addition, the report found that 41 per cent of adults who gambled in the past 12 months rated the last time they gambled positively, 21 per cent gave a negative score and 37 per cent gave a neutral score. Male participants were more likely to have higher Problem Gambling Severity Index scores, as well as those aged 18 to 34.

In response to the publication, the UKGC’s Executive Director of Research and Policy, Tim Miller, has described the GSGB report as “the next significant step forward in our journey on creating a ro..