Mobile betting in New Zealand in 2026: two apps you can lawfully use, and a long list of brands you cannot

Updated October 2026

Licensed

Available in US

Fast payouts

18+ Only

Last updated 26 October 2026. Verified against the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) statement on the Racing Industry Amendment Act 2025 and the New Zealand App Store listings for TAB and Betcha.

The shape of mobile betting on a New Zealand handset

A New Zealand punter who downloads a betting app in 2026 is not choosing between rivals. They are choosing, in practice, between two brands of the same operator. TAB and Betcha are the two online brands of TAB New Zealand, and since 28 June 2025 they are the only operators permitted to take bets on racing and sports from New Zealand residents. That single line of statute — section 74AAA of the Racing Industry Act 2020, inserted by the Racing Industry Amendment Act 2025 — sets the shape of everything else on this page.

The downstream of that statute is what a bettor actually meets. There is no other bookmaker app that can lawfully serve a New Zealand account. There is no licence register of betting operators to cross-check, because there is no licence to apply for: only TAB NZ may hold one. Other apps do appear in the Play Store and the App Store, and some of them run advertising aimed at New Zealand users. They take deposits in New Zealand dollars and quote decimal odds. None of that makes them lawful here, and DIA told providers serving New Zealand to withdraw with immediate effect. The market outside that boundary is offshore, run under Curaçao, Anjouan, Tobique or Comoros licences, with no New Zealand complaints route and no access to the local harm-minimisation framework.

Three points follow from the statute, and the rest of the page works them out:

• The choice inside the law is between two brand skins, not between two bookmakers. TAB and Betcha run on the same odds engine, the same safer-betting tools and the same customer account. The difference is product mix and presentation: TAB carries racing form, Blackbook, Jockey Challenge and the full racing code calendar, while Betcha leans toward a sports-led, app-first experience.
• An offshore app works fine as software and fails as a remedy. Deposits can clear, bets can settle and odds can be generous. If something goes wrong — a voided multi, an account freeze, an unreturned balance — the punter has no New Zealand body to complain to. The Terms and Conditions of those brands typically route disputes to an offshore regulator or to nothing at all.
• The math of the bet is unchanged by which app holds the punt. A decimal odds price of 2.10 means the same thing at TAB and at any other bookmaker, and so does the margin baked into it. The “100% bonus” headline runs on the same rollover logic. The shape of mobile betting in New Zealand is the shape of betting anywhere — it is the legal frame around it that makes this country different.

The two lawful New Zealand betting apps

TAB — Racing & Sports Betting

TAB is the retail brand New Zealanders grew up with, now delivered as a phone app called “TAB – Racing & Sports Betting” on the New Zealand App Store, under the seller name New Zealand Racing Board. It was first released on 8 September 2014, which makes it one of the longer-running betting apps in the country. The app carries a 17+ App Store age rating; the betting age itself is 18, and the App Store rating reflects the broader gambling content.

What the app covers runs wider than most international sportsbooks on the same shelf. Racing comes first: horse and harness racing, with greyhound racing included until it is wound down from 1 August 2026. Rugby union and rugby league get prominent placement, alongside cricket, football and the other codes punters in Aotearoa follow. Pre-match and live betting are both available, and the live offering includes Trackside live race streaming with in-app betting — a feature that few offshore apps can match because they cannot lawfully stream New Zealand racing.

The product mix is what a TAB account has always offered, translated to a touchscreen. Same Race Multis and Same Game Multis are present, alongside one-tap Popular Multis and a Place Extra option that lets a punter back a runner to finish as far back as tenth in selected races. The racing form, Blackbook and Jockey Challenge tools are the bits the app brings over from the desktop site, and they sit beside a simplified wallet for deposits and withdrawals.

The signup path requires a verified New Zealand address and ID. That is not a marketing footnote — it is the only legal way TAB can confirm the punter is in New Zealand and over 18, and it is the only way the Problem Gambling Levy and the safer-betting tools can be applied at account level. New customers can receive Bonus Cash that can be split across multiple bets, and the app surfaces a Mega Multi bonus that pays up to $50 in Bonus Cash when a multi of four or more legs falls short by a set number of legs. Both promotions carry their own terms and conditions.

The safer-betting tools are the parts that matter most over a year of using the app, not on the day of signup. Deposit limits, time-outs and self-exclusion are all available inside the app, and an exclusion applies across both TAB NZ brands. The free 24/7 Gambling Helpline (0800 654 655) and the text line 8006 are listed inside the app itself.

Betcha — Sports Betting

Betcha is the newer of the two skins, first released on the New Zealand App Store on 6 August 2024 under the publisher Entain New Zealand Limited. The app carries a 17+ age rating and lists Safer Betting tools inside the app, alongside the same 0800 654 655 Gambling Helpline that TAB carries. Betcha and TAB NZ are the two brands lawfully permitted to take online bets on racing and sports from New Zealand residents, and that is the entire legal position: Betcha is not a rival bookmaker, it is a second shop window for the same operator.

The product mix is sports-led rather than racing-led, which is the point of having two brands. The same odds engine feeds both apps, but the front page of Betcha is built around football, basketball, tennis, rugby and the codes a younger or sports-first punter follows, with racing tucked behind a tab rather than pinned to the home screen. Live betting is present and the multi bet builder works on both skins. For a punter who wants the racing form, the Blackbook and the live race streams, the TAB app is the better fit. For a punter who mostly bets on rugby, football and basketball and wants a cleaner sportsbook on a phone, Betcha is the one that suits.

The signup path is the same — verified New Zealand address and ID, an 18+ check at account creation, and the same deposit and safer-betting toolkit underneath. Bonus Bets promotions appear in the Betcha app on the same terms as TAB, because the two brands run on the same wallet and the same customer record. Anything claimed on Betcha reads back on the TAB account, and any exclusion set on one applies to both.

The partnership behind both apps deserves a sentence. TAB NZ’s partner Entain runs the TAB business under a 25-year agreement signed in 2023, with a 50/50 share of gross profits between Entain and TAB NZ and at least NZ$150m a year going to TAB NZ for the first five years, plus a one-off NZ$100m payment from Entain to the racing sector. Entain is the global operator behind Betcha, and that is why Betcha looks and feels like a sportsbook built outside New Zealand — it was, before the partnership put it on this side of the law.

What runs on a New Zealand handset outside the two lawful apps

The other nine brands in this comparison are offshore bookmakers that New Zealand punters meet through search results, affiliate sites, social media and word of mouth. None of them is licensed in New Zealand, none has a New Zealand complaints route, and the harm-minimisation framework that TAB and Betcha carry does not reach any of them. Their licences — Curaçao, Anjouan, Tobique, the Union of the Comoros — give them the right to operate in the jurisdictions that issued those licences, not the right to take bets from people in New Zealand.

They are still on this page because punters meet them, and because the comparison only earns its keep if it spells out what is on offer and what it is not. The header of every offshore card carries the same phrase: “not licensed in New Zealand”. That phrase is the legal frame, not the editorial verdict — the editorial verdict sits at the foot of each card, after the specifications.

A note on age. TAB and Betcha are 18+. Several of the offshore brands in the table set a higher age floor — 21+ — because that is the rule in the jurisdiction that licensed them. An 18-year-old New Zealand punter who can lawfully open a TAB account cannot lawfully open an account with those brands on the same birthday, and an account opened against that age rule can be closed and balances withheld when the operator checks ID at withdrawal.

A note on currency. Offshore brands usually default to euro or US dollar wallets, even when they let a punter pick a country. BillyBets, for example, lists New Zealand in its country selector but shows only euro in its currency filter — a wallet in euro means the punter carries the FX cost on every deposit and withdrawal, on top of whatever margin the bookmaker holds.

The ten operators compared

The table below sets TAB and Betcha against nine offshore brands that New Zealand punters meet. The “New Zealand status” column does the legal work; the third column carries what each operator’s own terms say about the matter the comparison is built around — mobile betting, specifically, meaning an app or a mobile-optimised site that takes bets from a phone.

The legal row of the table is the one that matters most. The other two columns describe what each operator offers as a product; the legal row describes what each operator can lawfully offer to a person in New Zealand. The two lawful brands get the law’s protection — a regulator, a complaints route, a levy that funds treatment, exclusion tools that work across both skins. The nine offshore brands get the rest of the comparison, which is generous by comparison-shopping standards and thin by consumer-protection standards.

TAB — Racing & Sports Betting — The ten operators compared

TAB’s mobile offering is the only mobile offering in New Zealand that takes a bet on a phone, applies the local safer-betting framework to it, and routes a complaint through a local regulator. The product is the one New Zealand racing has always had, on a touchscreen: horse and harness racing, rugby union and league, football, cricket and the rest of the codes that matter here, plus the racing form, Blackbook and Jockey Challenge tools that the TAB desktop site grew up around. Live betting includes Trackside live race streaming with in-app betting, and the multi builder covers Same Race Multis, Same Game Multis, one-tap Popular Multis and a Place Extra option that lets a punter back a runner to tenth in selected races.

The signup path requires a verified New Zealand address and ID; the age check sits at 18, with betting under 18 an offence under section 89 of the Racing Industry Act 2020. The safer-betting toolkit runs deposit limits, time-outs and self-exclusion, and an exclusion set on TAB applies across both brands. New customers can receive Bonus Cash that can be split across multiple bets, and the Mega Multi bonus pays up to $50 in Bonus Cash when a four-leg-plus multi falls short by a set number of legs — both promotions on the operator’s own terms.

The verdict on TAB is the easy one on this page: it is the lawful option, with the local harm-minimisation framework behind it, and the only place a New Zealand punter can settle a dispute through a New Zealand body. The product is conservative by international sportsbook standards, because the racing-first product and the multi builder’s racing focus do not move as quickly as a global sportsbook’s front page. For a New Zealand punter whose betting is built around the racing codes and the local sports calendar, that is the shape of the fit, not a deficiency.

Betcha — Sports Betting — The ten operators compared

Betcha is the sports-led skin of TAB NZ, released on 6 August 2024 under Entain New Zealand Limited, and it sits one tap away from the TAB app on a New Zealand handset. The age rating is 17+ in the App Store and 18+ for betting. Safer Betting tools live in the app, the 0800 654 655 Gambling Helpline is listed in the app, and the customer record behind the app is the TAB NZ record that any TAB exclusion already applies to.

The product mix is the point. Where TAB leads with racing, Betcha leads with football, basketball, rugby and tennis, and the multi bet builder leans on the same-game-multi pattern that has become the standard on a phone. Live betting is in the app, the live race streams from Trackside are available, and the wallet is the same simplified wallet as the TAB app. Because the two brands share the same wallet and the same customer record, anything claimed on Betcha reads back on the TAB account and vice versa.

The verdict on Betcha is that it gives a New Zealand punter the same legal protection as TAB on a sportsbook-shaped front page, and that for a punter who bets mostly on rugby, football and basketball, that is the better fit of the two lawful skins. For a punter whose year is built around the Melbourne Cup, Cup Day and the racing codes, the TAB app is still the right one.

BillyBets — not licensed in New Zealand

BillyBets is a Curaçao-licensed brand that lists New Zealand in its cashier’s country selector but shows only euro in its currency filter — a wallet in euro means the punter carries the FX cost on every transaction. The mobile platform runs on both Android and iOS through the mobile-optimised site, and 24/7 support is available through live chat and a Help Centre.

The age rule on BillyBets is 18+, the international sportsbook default. The country selector accepting New Zealand does not mean BillyBets is licensed here; it means the cashier is willing to take a New Zealand deposit, with the operator-side risk of breaching section 74AAA sitting on the brand rather than on the punter.

The verdict on BillyBets is that the mobile platform is competent and the support is around the clock, and that neither helps a New Zealand punter when the dispute is a voided multi or an account freeze. The euro-only wallet is the concrete cost: the punter pays the FX spread on every deposit and again on every withdrawal, and the spread sits on top of whatever margin the odds carry.

Alawin — not licensed in New Zealand

Alawin accepts customers aged 18 or over, runs on a mobile-optimised site, and names no licence that applies in New Zealand. The Terms and Conditions do not address New Zealand residents specifically, and the safer-betting framework behind TAB and Betcha does not reach it.

The product mix is the standard offshore sportsbook and casino bundle: a sportsbook on the front, a casino behind it, the typical bonus structure attached. None of that is unlawful for the punter in New Zealand; section 19(4) of the Gambling Act 2003, inserted in 2025, says an individual may not be convicted for placing a bet with an offshore operator in breach of section 74AAA. The unlawful side sits on the operator.

The verdict on Alawin is that the 18+ age check and the mobile-optimised site are the floor of what an offshore brand offers, and that the floor is the same on every offshore brand in this comparison. The reason to single Alawin out from the rest is thin — the product mix is generic, and the legal frame is the same generic offshore frame.

RTbet — not licensed in New Zealand

RTbet runs on a mobile-optimised site and carries a Curaçao licence. The sportsbook covers football, tennis, table tennis, basketball, ice hockey, American football and baseball, with live betting and virtual sports alongside. The product mix is wider than most on this list, with the unusual addition of table tennis as a tier-one sport.

The licence is Curaçao, which gives no right to take bets from people in New Zealand, and the New Zealand harm-minimisation framework does not reach the brand. The mobile site runs on Android and iOS through the browser, with no native app listed.

The verdict on RTbet is that the sportsbook is the broadest of the offshore brands in this comparison, and that the breadth is the same breadth a global sportsbook offers anywhere else in the world. For a New Zealand punter whose betting is built around the international calendar — NBA, NHL, NFL, the football codes — RTbet’s menu reads closer to that brief than the menu at TAB or Betcha. The cost is the legal frame: no New Zealand complaints route, no access to the local harm-minimisation tools, and the offshore tax-and-disputes regime standing between the punter and a problem.

FunBet — not licensed in New Zealand

FunBet’s sportsbook offers odds on football, ice hockey, American football, basketball, volleyball, tennis, rugby and baseball, with live betting and a bookmaker described as open 24/7. The mobile platform is a mobile-optimised site, and the brand names no licence that applies in New Zealand.

The unusual addition in the sportsbook is rugby, which most offshore books treat as a tier-two sport behind football. For a New Zealand punter who bets on Super Rugby Pacific and the All Blacks, FunBet’s rugby menu is a more prominent placement than most offshore books give it. The bookmaker’s 24/7 framing matters on live betting, where a closed book on a quiet Sunday morning is the kind of friction a punter remembers.

The verdict on FunBet is that the rugby menu is the concrete reason to single this brand out, and that the concrete reason does not move the legal frame. The 24/7 framing helps the live punter; the offshore status leaves the dispute resolution in the offshore regime.

22Bet — not licensed in New Zealand

22Bet is run by TechSolutions Group N.V., a Curaçao company with registration number 144920, which also runs 20Bet, Bizzo and National Casino. The Curaçao licence number tied to 22Bet is 8048/JAZ. The mobile platform is a mobile-optimised site, with iOS and Android apps available.

22Bet is one of the longer-established offshore brands and one of the better-known, which is part of why it shows up in search results aimed at New Zealand punters. The product mix is wide — a sportsbook, a casino, the usual bonus structure — and the mobile platform is mature.

The verdict on 22Bet is that maturity and brand recognition do not translate into a New Zealand licence, and that the Curaçao licence the brand advertises is the licence that gives it the right to operate in Curaçao. The mobile platform is competent; the legal frame is the offshore frame.

Rooster — not licensed in New Zealand

Rooster is operated by Novatrix SRL, a company incorporated in Costa Rica with registration number 3-102-893958, under e-gaming licence No. 0000002 issued by the Tobique Gaming Commission. The mobile platform is a mobile-optimised site.

The Tobique Gaming Commission is one of the smaller regulators in the offshore space, and the licence the brand advertises is the one that gives it the right to operate under Tobique’s rules. None of that reaches New Zealand.

The verdict on Rooster.bet is that the licence is real as a Tobique licence and irrelevant as a New Zealand licence, and that a New Zealand punter reading the footer will read it that way. The mobile site is competent; the legal frame is offshore.

Golden Panda — not licensed in New Zealand

Golden Panda offers a sports section with a sportsbook, esports and virtual sports, alongside a casino, live casino, crash games, rewards, cashback, a VIP Club, Golden Goals and Prediction Markets. The mobile platform is a mobile-optimised site, and the brand names no licence that applies in New Zealand.

The product mix is wider than most on this list, with prediction markets sitting alongside the sportsbook. For a New Zealand punter who wants to bet on more than sport, the wider mix is the draw. None of it is licensed for New Zealand.

The verdict on Golden Panda is that the prediction markets are a concrete reason to single this brand out, and that the legal frame is still the offshore frame. The mobile site is competent; the harm-minimisation framework behind TAB and Betcha does not reach it.

Winz — not licensed in New Zealand

Winz states in its footer that it holds a licence delivered by Anjouan and Tobique. The mobile platform is a mobile-optimised site. The product mix is the standard sportsbook-and-casino bundle.

The dual licence in the footer is unusual — most brands list one regulator. Neither Anjouan nor Tobique gives a right to take bets from people in New Zealand.

The verdict on Winz is that the dual licence is the only thing that singles this brand out from the rest of the offshore list, and that the legal frame is the same offshore frame every other brand on the list carries. The mobile site is competent; the harm-minimisation framework does not reach it.

What a New Zealand punter loses by betting with an unlicensed bookmaker

Three concrete losses, each of which matters at a different point in the life of an account.

The first is on the day a dispute opens. A TAB account dispute can be taken to the Department of Internal Affairs, the Advertising Standards Authority if the dispute is about an ad, or to the Disputes Tribunal if the dispute is about money. A Betcha account dispute can be taken to the same places, because Betcha and TAB are the same operator. An offshore account dispute can be taken to the regulator that issued the offshore licence — Curaçao, Anjouan, Tobique, the Union of the Comoros — and the punter’s leverage in that forum is the leverage of a customer in a foreign jurisdiction against an operator whose home court is in that foreign jurisdiction. The Department of Internal Affairs warns that overseas operators may be in jurisdictions with minimal consumer safeguards, may not return unspent credits and may not pay out large wins. That warning is the regulator’s own framing of what an offshore account looks like at the moment it goes wrong.

The second is on the day a punter needs the safer-betting tools to work. TAB and Betcha run deposit limits, time-outs and self-exclusion across both brands, and an exclusion set in one app applies to the other. The Gambling Helpline (0800 654 655) and the text line 8006 are listed inside the apps. The offshore brands in this comparison run their own safer-betting tools under their own licence conditions — typically deposit limits and self-exclusion at the brand level — and the cross-brand reach that exists between TAB and Betcha does not exist between an offshore brand and the New Zealand helpline. The 0800 number still answers, but the operator behind the offshore account is not part of the New Zealand harm-minimisation framework and is not required to act on a helpline referral.

The third is on the day a tax question lands. Recreational gambling winnings in New Zealand are generally not taxable, and prize money from TAB horse, dog and trotting races is not taxable under Inland Revenue guidance. The same guidance applies to winnings from an offshore bookmaker in most cases, but the documentation is harder — the offshore operator’s statement is the only record, and the punter carries the audit trail. A person who bets as a business is a different case, and the rule is the same whether the bookmaker is TAB or offshore.

The tax rule that applies to the operator is a different matter. TAB NZ pays the Problem Gambling Levy of 0.74% (in force from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2028). Overseas operators supplying New Zealand residents pay online gambling duty of 12% of profits since 1 July 2024, rising to 16% from 1 January 2027. That tax payment does not make an offer lawful. The point-of-consumption charge on offshore racing and sports bets ceased on 30 June 2026, so a duty is still payable by an offshore operator on the New Zealand-resident side, but it is a tax, not a licence.

The legal frame around a New Zealand betting app

The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) is the gambling regulator under the Gambling Act 2003 and monitors compliance with the betting prohibition (Racing Industry Act 2020, section 92A). The Racing Industry Act 2020 establishes TAB NZ as the sole betting provider for racing and sports in New Zealand. The Racing Industry Amendment Act 2025 inserted section 74AAA: no person other than TAB NZ may offer racing betting, sports betting or other racing or sports betting to a person in New Zealand, regardless of where that person is resident or incorporated. The change took effect on 28 June 2025, and DIA told providers serving New Zealand to withdraw with immediate effect.

There is no licensing route for another bookmaker and no licence register for betting, because there is only one lawful operator. The law does not geo-block offshore websites — it puts liability on the offshore operator. The Online Casino Gambling Act 2026 licenses online casino gambling only and does not license sports betting; TAB New Zealand winning the right to apply for a casino licence does not extend the betting monopoly.

Greyhound racing is closing in stages from 1 August 2026, and from that date offshore operators may not take bets on greyhound races either. That is a small change in the surface but a large one in the menu: greyhound racing was the third of the three racing codes TAB took bets on, and its removal narrows the racing calendar.

What may be bet on from a New Zealand account is racing and sports betting from TAB NZ only. TAB takes fixed-odds and tote (pool) bets; its published betting rules define bets such as Win, Place, Each Way, Quinella, Exacta, Trifecta, First Four, Double, Treble, Daily Double, Running Double, Quaddie and Big6, and Multis and Same Game Multis. Live betting is listed in the TAB NZ apps; any statutory restriction on in-play markets is not established. No lawful New Zealand betting exchange exists and spread betting is outside TAB NZ’s sports-betting definition. The ban covers events held inside and outside New Zealand. Virtual sport is treated by the 2026 online casino law as casino gambling; whether esports betting is “sports betting” under the Racing Industry Act is not established, so an esports bet at an offshore brand is at best an unsettled question and at worst a breach of section 74AAA by the operator.

Safer gambling on a New Zealand phone

The safer-betting framework runs through the same two apps. Deposit limits set a ceiling on what a punter can put into the account across a chosen window. Time-outs pause the account for a chosen period. Self-exclusion closes the account for a longer period and applies across both TAB NZ brands. The free 24/7 Gambling Helpline (0800 654 655) and the text line 8006 are listed inside both apps. Safer Gambling Aotearoa is the harm-minimisation body funded by the Problem Gambling Levy that TAB NZ pays.

There is no single national online-betting exclusion register: the register the casino law will require is for online casinos only. For betting, the exclusion sits at the operator level — at TAB NZ, which means at TAB and at Betcha. An exclusion does not reach an offshore brand, and an exclusion set at an offshore brand does not reach TAB NZ.

TAB NZ must keep the risks of problem and underage gambling minimised under the Racing Industry Act 2020, and pays a Problem Gambling Levy of 0.74% (in force from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2028). The levy funds treatment services and harm-minimisation programmes run by organisations including Safer Gambling Aotearoa.

Bonuses and free bets at the two lawful New Zealand apps

A bonus at TAB or Betcha is, in the language of the app, “Bonus Cash”. New TAB NZ customers can receive Bonus Cash that can be split across multiple bets, and the app lists a Mega Multi bonus of up to $50 in Bonus Cash when a multi of four or more legs falls short by a set number of legs. Both promotions carry terms and conditions, and those terms are the only place to read what the bonus costs: the wagering requirement, the minimum odds, the expiry window, the markets that count and the markets that do not.

The shape of a TAB or Betcha promotion follows the standard bookmaker pattern: bonus money credited to a separate balance, a turnover requirement that asks the punter to bet the bonus (and sometimes the deposit) a set number of times at minimum odds before the bonus and any winnings from it become withdrawable. The Mega Multi bonus is a softer shape — it pays out when a multi narrowly misses, so the wagering sits on a single event rather than across a turnover requirement.

The offshore brands in this comparison each carry their own bonus structure: a deposit match, a free bet, a cashback on net losses, an accumulator insurance that refunds a multi when one leg lets it down. The mechanics are familiar, the terms are where the cost sits. A “100% bonus” headline carries the same kind of rollover logic wherever it appears, and the rollover logic is the only thing that decides what the bonus is worth. A punter who reads the headline and skips the terms is the punter the rollover logic is built for.

Reading the odds on a New Zealand betting app

The odds on a TAB or Betcha market sit inside a margin the bookmaker holds on every market. The margin is the share of every dollar bet that the bookmaker keeps, on average across all outcomes of the market. A market with two outcomes at odds of 1.91 and 1.91 has an overround of about 4.7% — the punter’s expected return across both outcomes is 95.3 cents on the dollar, implying a margin of 4.5%. The same shape holds for a three-outcome market (win, draw, loss in football), and the margin scales with the number of outcomes.

The return on a winning bet is the stake multiplied by the decimal odds. A NZ$10 bet at odds of 2.50 returns NZ$25 — the NZ$10 stake plus NZ$15 of profit. The same NZ$10 at odds of 1.50 returns NZ$15, which is the NZ$10 stake plus NZ$5 of profit. On a combination bet, the odds of the legs multiply into one price: four legs at 2.00, 2.00, 2.00 and 2.00 give a combined price of 16.00, so the NZ$10 returns NZ$160 if all four legs win.

The margin on a New Zealand TAB or Betcha market is not published as a number, and the same is true of every other bookmaker. A punter who wants to read it has to back-calculate from the odds on every outcome of the market. The shape is the same everywhere — every market carries a margin, and the margin is the bookmaker’s cut of the action. A market with a tight margin (around 2-3%) is the punter’s market; a market with a wide margin (8% or more) is the bookmaker’s market.

Payments on a New Zealand betting app

TAB and Betcha deposit methods are operator-level and come only from TAB NZ’s terms. The methods typically include debit card, bank transfer and the prepaid options a New Zealand punter expects, with a minimum deposit set by the operator and a maximum deposit governed by the deposit limit the punter has set on the account. No statutory payment rule for betting accounts (card, bank, credit, prepaid, crypto) was found.

The offshore brands in this comparison take cards, e-wallets and, on several of them, cryptocurrency. A punter using a New Zealand-issued card at an offshore brand carries the bank’s own foreign-transaction rules on top of the bookmaker’s deposit and withdrawal terms, and the punter carries the FX spread if the wallet is in euro or US dollar.

No payment-blocking order or bank obligation was found in New Zealand law, so a New Zealand bank is not required to block a deposit to an offshore bookmaker. Nothing states a rule on crypto or VPN use, but account opening at TAB NZ requires a verified New Zealand address — a punter who wants the lawful path cannot route around it, and a punter who tries to open a TAB account through a VPN will not pass the address check.

Advertising and the Gambling Advertising Code

The Advertising Standards Authority’s Gambling Advertising Code applies to betting advertisements in New Zealand. Ads must not target children (under 14) or young people (14 to under 18), judged by context, appeal and expected audience — 25% or more of the audience counts as significant where accurate data exists. Ads must not encourage harm, must be truthful, and must have terms available. No New Zealand equivalent of a “whistle-to-whistle” ban for betting was found.

Because only TAB NZ may offer betting here, DIA reads the prohibition as covering promoting or taking such bets for another operator. How DIA treats betting affiliates is not established, so the page describes the monopoly and never invites readers to sign up with an offshore brand. The promotion in this article is the description of what an offer is worth, not a route to claim it.

Tax on New Zealand betting winnings

For the player, Inland Revenue guidance says recreational gambling winnings are generally not taxable, and prize money from TAB horse, dog and trotting races is not taxable. A person who bets as a business is a different case, and the rule is general information, not tax advice — the right reference is Inland Revenue or an accountant.

For the operator, TAB NZ pays the Problem Gambling Levy of 0.74%. Overseas operators supplying New Zealand residents pay online gambling duty of 12% of profits since 1 July 2024, rising to 16% from 1 January 2027. A duty being payable does not make an offer lawful. The point-of-consumption charge on offshore racing and sports bets ceased on 30 June 2026.

The market and its conditions

What may be bet on

Racing and sports betting from TAB NZ only. Fixed-odds and tote bets are both available, with the published betting rules covering Win, Place, Each Way, Quinella, Exacta, Trifecta, First Four, Double, Treble, Daily Double, Running Double, Quaddie and Big6, and Multis and Same Game Multis. Live betting is listed in the TAB NZ apps. No lawful New Zealand betting exchange exists, and spread betting is outside TAB NZ’s sports-betting definition. Bets on politics and novelty markets are not established. There is no statutory per-bet cap; limits are TAB NZ’s own terms. The ban covers events held inside and outside New Zealand.

What may not be bet on

Bets with any operator other than TAB NZ. Online casino gambling is a separate question and is licensed under the Online Casino Gambling Act 2026; a TAB NZ casino licence does not extend the betting monopoly. Greyhound racing bets are closing in stages from 1 August 2026.

What “not licensed in New Zealand” means in this comparison

It means the operator has no right under New Zealand law to take racing or sports bets from a person in New Zealand. It does not mean the operator is unlawful everywhere — Curaçao, Anjouan, Tobique and the Union of the Comoros all licence operators to take bets from people in their own jurisdictions, and the offshore brand’s licence is real as a licence in the jurisdiction that issued it. It means that, in New Zealand, the operator is in breach of section 74AAA, and the punter has no New Zealand body to complain to if something goes wrong. DIA’s warning that overseas operators may be in jurisdictions with minimal consumer safeguards, may not return unspent credits and may not pay out large wins is the regulator’s own framing of what that means in practice.

Frequently asked questions about mobile betting in New Zealand

Which bookmaker may lawfully take sports and racing bets in New Zealand?

TAB and Betcha are the only operators permitted to offer racing and sports betting to New Zealand residents. Both are online brands of TAB New Zealand, the holder of the monopoly under section 74AAA of the Racing Industry Act 2020, in force since 28 June 2025. There is no other lawful bookmaker app, and no licence register to cross-check, because there is no licence to apply for.

How is the return on a bet worked out from the stake and the odds?

For a single bet, the return is the stake multiplied by the decimal odds. A NZ$10 stake at odds of 2.50 returns NZ$25, which is the NZ$10 stake plus NZ$15 of profit. For a combination bet, the odds of the legs multiply into one combined price, and the stake is multiplied by that combined price to give the return if all legs win.

What is the bookmaker’s margin and how can it be seen in the odds?

The margin is the share of every dollar bet that the bookmaker keeps, on average across all outcomes of the market. For a two-outcome market with odds of 1.91 on each outcome, the implied probability is 52.4% on each side, totalling 104.8%, and the 4.8% above 100% is the margin. A market with a margin of around 2-3% is tight for the punter; a market with a margin of 8% or more is wide.

What does a player lose by betting with a bookmaker that has no New Zealand licence?

The losses are concrete: no New Zealand regulator to complain to if a bet is voided or a balance is withheld; no access to the local harm-minimisation framework (deposit limits, time-outs, self-exclusion that apply across TAB and Betcha); and an FX cost if the wallet is in a foreign currency. The Department of Internal Affairs warns that overseas operators may not return unspent credits or pay out large wins.

From what age can bets be placed with TAB NZ, and what is checked when opening an account?

Bets can be placed from age 18. Betting under 18 is an offence under section 89 of the Racing Industry Act 2020. Opening a TAB NZ account requires a verified New Zealand address and ID, and the same checks apply to Betcha because the two brands share a customer record.

Are betting winnings taxed in New Zealand?

Recreational gambling winnings are generally not taxable under Inland Revenue guidance, and prize money from TAB horse, dog and trotting races is not taxable. A person who bets as a business is a different case, and the right reference is Inland Revenue or an accountant. Operator-side, TAB NZ pays the Problem Gambling Levy of 0.74%, and overseas operators supplying New Zealand residents pay online gambling duty of 12% of profits since 1 July 2024, rising to 16% from 1 January 2027.

Published by the Nzsolebookie team.