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New Zealand is home to approximately 5.33 million people, and 60% of its population has participated in some form of gambling being a national lottery, sports betting, or casino gaming. This indicates that the nation has a friendly outlook on gambling, which is why many are surprised that there are only 6 retail casinos in the country. However, a key detail is missing here, and that’s the number of pokie machines. There is no conclusive data on the matter, but it’s estimated that there are more than 15,000 pokies machines across New Zealand (the data from 2021 says 14,743), and only around 3,000 are in retail casinos.
There are over 1000 pubs where Kiwis can gamble on pokies, and a lot of them also pursue this passion online. They can find 1 dollar pokies through tepamuescape or other sites that have round-up lists of top online casinos available in the country. So, it would be interesting to look at casino culture here and see what kind of regional impact it has.
Where Are The Casinos in New Zealand
There are six casinos with an operational license in New Zealand:
- Christchurch Casino in Christchurch Central City
- SkyCity Casino in Auckland Central
- SkyCity Hamilton in Hamilton Central
- SkyCity in Queenstown
- Grand Casino in Central Dunedin
- SkyCity Wharf
Additionally, New Zealand has passed a bill that allows it to regulate offshore online casinos that accept players from this region. This means that Kiwis also have access to online casino NZ sites that are based overseas but still held accountable by the local government. This may seem like the new legislation is stepping on the toes of retail businesses, but that’s really not the case. The sites that are now regulated were operational for years back, and New Zealanders have played on these online casinos. The new bill simply makes the whole activity safer and allows the government to collect 12% tax on offshore casinos' profits.
Employment, Tourism, and Community Contributions
If we focus exclusively on retail casinos in New Zealand, we can confidently say that they have a significant impact on employment. They generated over 1100 jobs for New Zealanders, around 450 million NZD in annual sales, and stimulated other jobs in adjacent industries. Establishments like Christchurch Casino and SkyCity Auckland also provide infrastructure for tourism in the form of accommodation, dining, and nightlife.
There is also the contribution of pubs or establishments that hous pokei machines. The New Zealand government taxes profits on these machines as well. Specifically, 20% of machine profits needs to be paid as tax. However, some organizations are exempt from this tax because they are licensed to operate gaming machines. This license is only awarded to non-profit organizations if you are licensed to operate gaming machines. To get the license, the organization needs to prove that the funds they are raising are for the betterment of the community.
According to Sportnz.org there are over 20,000 licensed machines that have contributed more than 300 million NZD per year. The funds were used for improvements in education, sports, art, and health.
Social Costs Gambling and Casinos in New Zealand
We’ve seen how gambling, casinos, and pokie machines are important components in the country’s economy. Not only does the activity help raise funds that are used for the betterment of the communities across the nation. That said, there are steep social costs that need to be mentioned.
The Ministry of Health has published papers on this topic at the end of December 2025. The data in those publications pertains to social costs for 2023-2024, and it is estimated at over 4 billion NDZ at 90% confidence interval. The majority of these costs stem from healthcare expenses (both physical and psychological) and from financial harm that is caused by gambling.
It’s these costs that served as a catalyst to begin regulating offshore operators. After all, the major drivers of these social costs were online casinos, along with pokie machines that are easily accessible in any urban setting. The paper also states that a strong reduction of these costs is possible with stricter regulations of land-based pokie machines and online play. As a result, there will be new policies or clearly defined guidelines that have to do with the advertising of gambling entertainment.
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