Casino regulation in Australia and New Zealand

Australia: How it works

1) Who regulates

States and territories (NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, SA, TAS, ACT, NT): land casino licenses, slot machines (including VLT/EGM "pub"), hall control, owner verification, machine requirements.

Federal level: framework for online activities and advertising, supervision of remote services, combating illegal sites, nationwide measures for responsible play and payment protection.

AUSTRAC: Financial Monitoring and AML/CTF.

State committees/commissions: inspections, fines, licence conditions, incident response plan (IRP).

2) What is allowed and prohibited

Land-based casinos: available legally under state/territory licenses; strict control of owners, processes, information security.

Online:

Allowed - sports/betting at licensed providers.
Prohibited - online casinos and interactive casino games for players located in Australia (by a country-oriented operator).
Blocking/suppression: illegal sites are blocked at the request of regulators; payments and advertising of such brands are pursued.

3) Responsible play and consumer protection

National Register of Self-Exclusion (BetStop): a single lock on all licensed online bookmakers.

Limits and instruments: deposit/time limits, "cool-off," age verification before the game/output.

Advertising: hard "18 +," mandatory warnings, timing and content restrictions; banning misleading promises and "easy money."

4) Payments, KYC and AML

KYC before output (often before play); documentary identity and age checks.

Segregation of client funds from licensed operators, understandable SLA by conclusions.

AML/CTF: risk assessment, transaction monitoring, control of increased risk (including crypto flows), mandatory reporting.

5) Technology and gaming integrity

Slots/EGM: State-level slot machine and software certification, version control, and event logging.

Monitoring: logs of rounds/bets/payments, verification of "anomalies," audit of jackpots and provider pools.

New Zealand: Key elements of the regime

1) Who regulates

Central Regulator (Profile Ministry/Department): Policy, Land Casino Licensing, Betting/Lottery Law Enforcement.

Local authorities: "host responsibility" practices and community engagement, gambling harm prevention.

2) What is allowed and prohibited

Land casinos: limited number of licenses, strict conditions on personnel, safe practices, training, RG coverage.

Online:

Allowed - lotteries and bets through authorized state operators.
Prohibited - remote casino games for residents from private operators.
Class-4 (pub "pokia"): unlicensed are not allowed; act according to special rules (social fund, reporting).

3) Responsible play and support

Host responsibility: mandatory procedures in the hall - observation of signs of harm, training of personnel, the right and duty of intervention.

Self-exclusion: individual and multicast orders (ban on visiting multiple sites).

Treatment funding: Prevention and assistance is funded by special fees and targeted programs.

4) Advertising, KYC and AML

Advertising: strict "18 +," ban mislead, ban on impact on vulnerable groups; special requirements for bonus T & Cs.

KYC/AML: mandatory identity and source checks, suspicious transaction reporting, payment and withdrawal control.

Data and privacy: increased requirements for storage, access and incident response.

Australia vs New Zealand - comparative table

Criterion	Australia	New Zealand
Land Casino Licenses	States/Territories	Central regulator (limited number of licenses)
Online casinos for residents	Not allowed	Not allowed
Online verticals	Allowed betting/betting at licensed providers	Allowed state lotteries and sweepstakes (through authorized operators)
Self-exception	National Register (online bookmakers) + regional mechanisms	Individual and multi-node exceptions, strong "host responsibility"
Advertizing	Hard 18 +, ban mislead, time/content limit	Hard 18 +, focus on harm prevention
KYC/AML	Strong - AUSTRAC, funds segregation, risk models	Strong - centralized standards, reporting
Testing/Integrity	EGM/software certification in states, audits, logs	Casino software certification, strict license conditions, audit

What is important for the player to know

Brand verification checklist

1. Jurisdiction: The site has a license number and clear affiliation (state/territory in AU or central regulator in NZ).

2. RG tools: limits, timeouts, self-exclusion; visible links to help.

3. Bonus T & Cs: Vager, Timing, Games Contribution, Betting/Withdrawal Limits - Explicit and Advance.

4. RTP and providers: content providers are indicated, information about the honesty of games is published.

5. Payments: transparent terms, 2FA, understandable KYC; there are no "endless checks" without reason.

6. Complaints: there is a working escalation channel and an understandable response time.

What is important for the operator to consider

Compliance Roadmap (generalized)

1. Structure and people: fit & proper beneficiaries, appointment of Compliance/MLRO/InfoSec/RG leads.

2. Politicians: AML/KYC/KYT, Responsible Gaming, information security/privacy, IRP, BCP/DR; personnel training.

3. Technologies: content certification, version control, unchangeable round/payment logs, monitoring RTP/payment anomalies.

4. Payments: segregation of funds, transparent onboarding policy, off-ramp procedures (if there is crypto).

5. Marketing: anti-mislead, 18 + targeting, affiliate control, correct bonus terms.

6. Post supervision: regular reporting, penetration tests, external audits, incident log and corrective actions.

Common mistakes

"Paper" RG/AML without implementation in UX.

Content releases without recertification and change-management.

Hidden bonus/output limits.

Insufficient control of affiliates and creatives.

Weak incident response and log storage processes.

Practical conclusions

If the target is legal offline activity in Australia and New Zealand, prepare for high inspection standards, transparent reporting and rigorous responsible play programs.

If you're an online operator, consider the restrictive nature of both markets for casino gaming: in Australia the focus is on licensed betting/betting, in New Zealand the focus is on government operators.

In both countries, reputation is more important than speed: the safety of players' funds, correct marketing and real RG are the basis of long-term stability and relations with payment partners.

Australia and New Zealand take a conservative approach to online casinos and place high demands on offline operators. At the same time, both jurisdictions offer predictable rules to those who are willing to invest in compliance: transparent payments, fair games, tough RG and responsibility to society.