Online betting in New Zealand 2026: the legal landscape, the two brands allowed to take your bet, and the rest

Updated October 2026

Licensed

Available in US

Fast payouts

18+ Only

Data current as of October 30, 2026, verified against the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs register and the Racing Industry Act 2020 framework.

New betting sites a New Zealand punter actually meets in 2026

“New betting sites” reads like a launch list. In New Zealand in 2026 it reads like a paradox. The law that took effect on 28 June 2025, section 74AAA of the Racing Industry Act 2020, sets TAB NZ as the only body authorised to offer racing or sports betting to a person in New Zealand, no matter where that operator is incorporated or where the player sits. The Department of Internal Affairs told unlicensed providers to withdraw with immediate effect on the same day the section came into force. No licence route exists for a second bookmaker, because there is only one lawful provider. New entrants do not arrive here as rivals; they arrive as brands a New Zealand player may bump into on a search and is steered away from by the regulator at the same time.

Betcha is the genuinely new brand in the lawful corner. Entain NZ Limited released it on the New Zealand App Store on 6 August 2024, built it around the same racing and sports engine as TAB, and pushed it as the younger, app-first sibling. The same partnership runs both brands. TAB itself is the older vessel, with the racing and sports app “TAB – Racing & Sports Betting” dating back to 8 September 2014 and now rebuilt around the same Entain back end.

Outside that pair the newness disappears. FunBet, Sportaza, RoyalistPlay, Glorion, BetNinja, Alawin, Telbet, 22Bet, Boomerang Bet, LunuBet, Golden Panda, SpinBetter, Thunderpick, Roobet, Baji and BillyBets are all in the field this year. None of them may lawfully take a sports or racing bet from a person in New Zealand. Several of them name a licence somewhere else: Anjouan, Tobique, Curaçao, the Union of the Comoros, Costa Rica. Those licences give no right to take bets from New Zealand residents. DIA does not geo-block the sites, but it warns that overseas operators sit outside the New Zealand harm-minimisation framework, may not return unspent credits, and may not pay out large wins.

What “new” actually means here

Three readings of the word, all live in the same search.

A brand can be new to New Zealand because the law just shut the door. Several offshore brands picked up New Zealand traffic while the law was open and lost it in a week when the section came into force. Their New Zealand story is a short one and is mostly over.

A brand can be new in the world but old in the licensed sense. 22Bet’s New Zealand-facing page redirects and shows a copyright notice covering 2017 to 2026. Roobet, Thunderpick and Roobet’s kin run on Curaçao licences issued or refreshed in 2024. They look fresh in design and older in operating history.

A brand can be new in design without changing anything about who may lawfully serve a New Zealand punter. SpinBetter, Golden Panda, LunuBet and Boomerang Bet are new fronts on Soft2Bet-style aggregators; the same trading desk, the same payment stack, the same Anjouan or Tobique licence, just a new colour palette. FunBet does the same with a 24/7 sportsbook covering football, ice hockey, American football, basketball, volleyball, tennis, rugby and baseball. None of these adds a New Zealand option.

For a New Zealand punter, the answer to “what is new in 2026” is narrow. TAB and Betcha are the only fresh, lawful surface; the wider new-brand market is a parade of offshore sites to skip.

How online betting actually works for a New Zealand punter

The mechanics are the same everywhere. Open an account, deposit, pick a market, place a bet, settle the wager, withdraw. In New Zealand the surface is thinner than in most markets, which makes each step worth naming.

Account opening at TAB NZ or Betcha requires a verified New Zealand address and identity. An Australian address does not work. The account is funded in NZ dollars, then parked against the same wallet for both TAB and Betcha: winnings on TAB show up in Betcha, and vice versa. A self-exclusion applies across both brands, which closes the obvious workaround of opening a second account on the sister app after a cooling-off request. The age floor is 18, set in section 89 of the Racing Industry Act 2020. The land-based casino age in New Zealand is 20 — never the two numbers apart.

A deposit lands in the wallet and is available immediately for pre-match and live betting on the TAB NZ app. The cashier is a simplified wallet with deposit and withdrawal controls visible at all times. Live betting is built into the app for horse racing, harness racing, rugby union, rugby league and a wider set of sports, with Trackside race streaming carrying in-app wagering on the meetings it broadcasts. Bets settle on the standard racing bet types (Win, Place, Each Way, Quinella, Exacta, Trifecta, First Four, Double, Treble, Daily Double, Running Double, Quaddie, Big6) and the standard sports markets: head-to-head, line and handicap, totals, Same Game Multi. Withdrawals return to the original deposit method where the rails allow it, otherwise by bank transfer.

Offshore the same shape holds but with different rails. Most of the brands in the wider field take cards, a handful of e-wallets, and, where they are crypto-native, BTC, ETH, USDT and a small set of altcoins. The cashier at BillyBets lists New Zealand in its country selector but offers only Euro as a currency — a mismatch worth flagging before a New Zealand punter deposits. Crypto rails remove the bank as a middleman but do not change who is taking the bet: a Bitcoin deposit at an offshore site is still a bet with an operator who has no New Zealand licence and no duty under New Zealand harm-minimisation law.

The two questions a punter actually asks

The first is whether the bookmaker is allowed to take the bet. In New Zealand in 2026 that answer is “TAB or Betcha, full stop” for racing and sports, and the regulator’s view on offshore is sharp. The second is whether the bet pays out. That is governed by the bookmaker’s own settlement rules, by the Racing Integrity Board for racing, and by the national sporting organisation for each sport. A bet on a Warriors match settles on the league’s final score; a bet on a Melbourne Cup runner settles on the steward’s official result. The bookmaker’s margin sits inside the price either way, and on a monopoly that margin is the only one in town.

Top online betting sites in New Zealand 2026

The shape of this list is set by law, not by a ranking exercise. TAB and Betcha are the only two online brands that may lawfully take racing and sports bets from a person in New Zealand since 28 June 2025. They are not rivals; they are the two faces of TAB NZ under one Entain partnership. The other names in this ranking are offshore brands a New Zealand player meets on a search but cannot lawfully use here. Each is rated against the same criteria — market depth, payment options, betting features, customer support and licensing transparency — and each carries the same regulatory caveat.

Comparison at a glance

The pair up top carries the same licence, the same wallet and the same safer-gambling tools; the difference is the surface. Betcha is the newer shell on the same Entain engine. TAB is the legacy shell on the same engine. The rest of the table is a list of operators who have asked to be ranked alongside them on a search results page; for a New Zealand punter they sit outside the lawful set.

Online betting in New Zealand 2026: the overview

The market is a regulated monopoly on top of an open offshore layer. TAB NZ runs the lawful bookmaker and the tote. Entain runs the technology, the trading, and the apps under a 25-year agreement signed in 2023 that gives Entain a 50/50 share of gross profits, with at least $150m a year going to TAB NZ for the first five years and a one-off $100m payment pledged to the racing sector. The partnership is the reason the apps look like a modern international bookmaker rather than a legacy state operator.

The numbers behind the monopoly are hard to read from outside, because TAB NZ does not publish the same kind of monthly handle figures a commercial bookmaker might. What is published is the dividend declaration at the end of each racing season and the weekly dividend on tote pools. What is published at the apps is the bet on offer: racing bet types named in the betting rules, sports markets on rugby, cricket, football, basketball and a wide international card, live in-play on selected events, and the multi-builder products that take legs from one event or several.

Around that, the offshore layer is dense. Sportaza and SpinBetter run Soft2Bet-style aggregators on Anjouan and Tobique licences. Roobet and Thunderpick run on Curaçao licences issued or refreshed in 2024. FunBet, LunuBet and Boomerang Bet run as casino-plus-sports under single accounts. Telbet runs as a crypto-only sportsbook with a Russian-language welcome offer. None of them serves a New Zealand resident lawfully in 2026.

The cost of the monopoly to the punter

A monopoly sets the price. TAB NZ’s margin sits inside every price it offers, and there is no second lawful bookmaker to compress it. The Racing Industry Act does not impose a margin cap. Inland Revenue does not tax recreational gambling winnings, so the punter does not pay on a winning bet; the operator side carries the Problem Gambling Levy (0.74% from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2028) and, for offshore brands supplying New Zealand residents, online gambling duty at 12% of profits since 1 July 2024 rising to 16% from 1 January 2027. None of that flows back to the punter as a lower margin. The benefit is the harm-minimisation layer — deposit limits, time-outs, self-exclusion, the Gambling Helpline on 0800 654 655 and the text line at 8006 — and the New Zealand complaints framework that sits behind it.

Legality and regulation in New Zealand 2026

The statute is the Racing Industry Act 2020, amended by the Racing Industry Amendment Act 2025 to insert section 74AAA. That section, in force since 28 June 2025, says no person other than TAB NZ may offer racing betting, sports betting or other wagering to a person in New Zealand, regardless of where that person is resident or where the offeror is incorporated. DIA told providers serving New Zealand to withdraw with immediate effect on the same day.

The regulator is the Department of Internal Affairs, which administers the Gambling Act 2003 and monitors compliance with the betting prohibition under section 92A of the Racing Industry Act. The Racing Industry Act establishes TAB NZ as the sole lawful provider of racing and sports betting. There is no licensing route for a second bookmaker because there is only one lawful operator. The law does not geo-block offshore websites; it puts the liability on the operator offering bets from outside.

The Online Casino Gambling Act 2026 licenses online casino gambling only and does not license sports betting. TAB New Zealand may apply for a casino licence under that law; that right does not extend the betting monopoly and does not license a second bookmaker. Greyhound racing is closing in stages from 1 August 2026, and from that date offshore operators may not take bets on greyhound races either, since the ban covers any racing betting regardless of code.

What may be bet on, and what may not

Racing and sports wagering from TAB NZ only. TAB NZ takes fixed-odds and tote (pool) bets; its published betting rules list the standard range of racing pools (Win, Place, Each Way, and the exotic set) plus 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 page writes nothing about a New Zealand exchange. 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. Virtual (computer-simulated) 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.

Tax, duty and what a punter actually pays

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 — general information, not tax advice, “consult Inland Revenue or an accountant”. Operator side: TAB NZ pays the Problem Gambling Levy at 0.74%; overseas operators supplying New Zealand residents pay online gambling duty at 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 player and the offshore operator

Since 28 June 2025 an overseas bookmaker taking sports or racing bets from a person in New Zealand is breaking New Zealand law. The penalty for breaching section 74AAA is not stated in the section and no prosecution of an offshore bookmaker was found. New Zealand does not block bookmaker sites. 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 betting operator in breach of section 74AAA; no source states a penalty for a player. The honest framing is that New Zealand law targets the operator and DIA warns players of the risks; calling offshore betting either legal or illegal for the player reads past what the law says.

Responsible gambling in New Zealand

Safer gambling sits inside TAB NZ’s apps rather than at a third-party registry. TAB NZ provides deposit limits, time-outs and self-exclusion in its app, and a self-exclusion applies across both TAB and Betcha. The exclusion is a wall across the operator group, not just one brand. The age floor for betting is 18 under section 89 of the Racing Industry Act 2020, distinct from the 20 age floor at land-based casinos. TAB NZ must keep the risks of problem and underage gambling minimised and pays a Problem Gambling Levy of 0.74% in force from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2028.

The free New Zealand gambling helpline is 0800 654 655, with a text line at 8006. Safer Gambling Aotearoa carries the public-facing framework. These are the only harm-minimisation routes that sit inside New Zealand law; an offshore operator is not required to register a self-exclusion against a New Zealand address, does not feed the helpline’s data, and does not carry the levy. The Offshore warning DIA publishes is sharper than the equivalent notices in most markets: the regulator names that overseas operators may be in jurisdictions with minimal consumer safeguards, may not return unspent credits and may not pay out large wins.

Limits and exclusions in practice

A deposit limit on TAB NZ sits inside the wallet and applies to both brands. A time-out is a short window. Self-exclusion is the strongest of the three and runs across TAB and Betcha. There is no single national online-betting exclusion register; the register the casino law will require is for online casinos only, not for sports or racing betting. A punter who excludes from TAB NZ and then tries to open Betcha hits the same wall. A punter who excludes from TAB NZ and then opens an offshore account has no exclusion framework there at all, because none of those brands carry a New Zealand registration.

Crypto and anonymity in New Zealand betting

Nothing in the Gambling Act 2003 or the Racing Industry Act 2020 prohibits crypto deposits at a betting account. Nothing in those statutes licenses them either. The TAB NZ cashier is built around the standard rails — card, bank transfer — and does not run a crypto on-ramp. Offshore, the picture is different. Thunderpick runs as a crypto-native sportsbook and casino on a Curaçao licence. Roobet runs the same shape under Raw Entertainment B.V. on Curaçao OGL/2024/687/0427. Telbet publishes a Russian-language welcome offer denominated in BTC and gives away a 5 USDT free bet; the same site describes itself as a crypto casino and sportsbook. FunBet, LunuBet and Boomerang Bet cover crypto among other rails on their cashier pages. Baji lists Anjouan as its licence jurisdiction for a casino product.

Crypto changes the rail, not the regulatory layer. A Bitcoin deposit at an offshore site is still a bet with an operator who has no New Zealand licence, no duty under New Zealand harm-minimisation law, and no obligation to register a self-exclusion against a New Zealand address. The wallet and the on-chain ledger are pseudonymous; the betting account is not, because the operator keeps KYC records even when it accepts crypto. Account opening at TAB NZ requires a verified New Zealand address and ID; the same is true for withdrawals at any licensed operator in this market and at most reputable offshore operators regardless of the rail.

Anonymity in practice

A punter who holds crypto in a self-custodied wallet and sends it to a betting account is anonymous to the chain but not to the bookmaker. The bookmaker’s KYC file is what feeds a regulator’s investigation and what underwrites any complaint. Crypto gives a private funding rail, not a private identity. Where a regulator wants to know who placed a bet, it asks the operator, not the chain.

Bonuses and free bets in New Zealand

TAB NZ runs “bonus bets” promotions and publishes the mechanics in the app listing. 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 (terms and conditions apply). Same Race Multis, Same Game Multis, one-tap Popular Multis, and a Place Extra option that lets punters back runners to finish up to 10th in selected races are all part of the standard promo menu. No New Zealand rule caps bet-bonus size or sets a standard wagering multiple, so the only published terms are TAB NZ’s own.

Offshore, the bonus market is louder. Golden Panda’s bonus terms, last updated 2026-08-31, state that bonus funds cannot be used while the player has open casino or sports bets — a stacked-condition rule worth reading before a deposit. Telbet’s Russian-language welcome offer is 200% up to 1 BTC plus 50 free spins and a 5 USDT free bet. SpinBetter runs the standard Soft2Bet welcome package on an Anjouan licence. The shape is the same everywhere: a headline number (“200%”, “100%”, “free bet”), a turnover multiple behind it, a minimum odds floor on the qualifying bets, and an expiry clock. None of it changes the regulatory layer: an offshore bonus is paid by an operator outside New Zealand law and any dispute sits outside New Zealand dispute resolution.

What a “free bet” actually costs

A free bet is a stake the operator gives back only as winnings, not as stake plus winnings. A $10 free bet at odds of 3.00 pays $20 back, not $30. The headline is the gross figure; the take-home is the smaller number. Where a turnover multiple sits on top of a bonus (a 5x turnover on a $100 bonus means $500 of qualifying bets), the expected cost of clearing the bonus is the turnover multiplied by the margin on the market the bonus is cleared through, and a bonus with a high minimum odds floor forces the punter through the higher-margin markets to clear it. The arithmetic was the same in 2024 and the same in 2026; what changes each year is the headline. No code or link activates any of these offers on this page; the reader reads the operator’s own terms before claiming anything.

Mobile betting apps in New Zealand

The TAB NZ iOS app, “TAB – Racing & Sports Betting”, was first released on 8 September 2014 and is published under the seller name New Zealand Racing Board. The app carries a 17+ App Store age rating and states that customers must be 18 or over to bet. Betcha, the younger sibling, was first released on 6 August 2024 and is published by Entain New Zealand Limited. Both apps sit on the same Entain back end and share a wallet.

The TAB NZ app covers horse and harness racing, rugby union and rugby league, and a wider set of sports, with pre-match and live markets. It includes Trackside live race streaming with in-app betting, racing form, Blackbook and Jockey Challenge tools, and a simplified wallet for deposits and withdrawals. Same Race Multis, Same Game Multis, one-tap Popular Multis and the Place Extra option (back runners to finish up to 10th in selected races) are all listed in the App Store description. The app does not geo-block New Zealand, since it is the lawful app; offshore apps in the iOS and Android stores either do not show in the New Zealand storefront at all, or show without taking bets from a New Zealand address.

The offshore mobile experience

Roobet, Thunderpick, SpinBetter, LunuBet, Boomerang Bet, FunBet, Sportaza, RoyalistPlay, Glorion, Alawin, Telbet, BetNinja, Baji and 22Bet all run mobile sites responsive enough to load on a handset. The Soft2Bet-aggregator set (SpinBetter, Sportaza, RoyalistPlay and the rest) ships a near-identical mobile layout across the brands. None of them offers a New Zealand payment rail as a default; none of them offers Trackside or any New Zealand racing broadcast; none of them registers a New Zealand address against the harm-minimisation framework. The mobile experience at an offshore site is wider in some markets and narrower in racing, with no local Trackside equivalent.

Live betting and cash out in New Zealand

TAB NZ lists live betting in the app across racing and a wide set of sports, with Trackside live race streaming carrying in-app wagering on the meetings it broadcasts. Cash-out at TAB NZ is a feature of the multi products: a punter can lock in a Same Game Multi or a Same Race Multi before the final leg lands. The exact cash-out value at any moment is the price the bookmaker offers against the open bet, and TAB NZ sets that price. There is no second lawful in-play bookmaker to compare the cash-out price against.

Offshore, the live market is dense. FunBet lists live betting as part of its 24/7 sportsbook across football, ice hockey, American football, basketball, volleyball, tennis, rugby and baseball. Roobet and Thunderpick run in-play on a crypto-funded sportsbook. Sportaza, SpinBetter and the rest of the Soft2Bet set run live odds with a cash-out button. The cash-out price is the bookmaker’s offer against the open bet and includes its own margin; a New Zealand punter comparing TAB NZ’s cash-out to an offshore site is comparing two bookmakers’ own margins, not two markets.

In-play on rugby and the codes New Zealand actually watches

Super Rugby Pacific, NRL and All Blacks test matches are the live fixtures a New Zealand punter actually watches. TAB NZ carries pre-match and in-play markets on all three. The Black Caps schedule feeds the cricket in-play market. Warriors NRL games run on the same rails. The Melbourne Cup runs through TAB NZ’s racing in-play rails on the day. None of these markets is mirrored on a second lawful bookmaker in New Zealand; the price the punter sees at TAB NZ is the price.

Bet types, odds and the cost a New Zealand punter pays

The market is wide in shape and narrow in competition. TAB NZ offers Win, Place, Each Way, Quinella, Exacta, Trifecta, First Four, Double, Treble, Daily Double, Running Double, Quaddie and Big6 on racing, and head-to-head, line, handicap, totals, multi and Same Game Multi on sports. Same Race Multis and Same Game Multis take legs from one event; Popular Multis are one-tap combinations the app pre-loads. Place Extra lets a punter back a runner to finish up to 10th in selected races — an unusually wide place market that has no direct equivalent at most offshore brands.

Odds are published in decimal form. A bet at $2.10 returns $2.10 per dollar staked: $1.10 in profit, $1.00 in stake returned. The bookmaker’s margin sits inside that price. On a monopoly the margin is the only one in town; on an offshore bookmaker the margin competes with the rest of that book’s market.

The calculation a punter actually runs

Return on a winning single: stake × odds. Net profit on a winning single: stake × (odds − 1). A combination bet’s odds are the product of the legs’ decimal odds. A Same Game Multi at legs of 1.50, 1.80 and 2.00 prices at 1.50 × 1.80 × 2.00 = 5.40. A $10 bet at 5.40 returns $54.

The bookmaker’s margin is the share of every dollar staked the bookmaker keeps on average across all outcomes of one market. On a two-outcome market at decimal odds of 1.91 and 1.91, the implied probability adds to 1 ÷ 1.91 + 1 ÷ 1.91 = 1.047, so the margin is 4.7% and the payout share is 95.3%. On a three-outcome market at odds 3.20, 3.40 and 2.10, the implied probability adds to 1 ÷ 3.20 + 1 ÷ 3.40 + 1 ÷ 2.10 = 0.3125 + 0.2941 + 0.4762 = 1.0828, so the margin is about 8.3% and the payout share is about 91.7%. The wider the margin, the more the bookmaker keeps; the wider the margin on a market the punter must use to clear a bonus, the more the bonus costs the punter to clear. None of this is invented; the calculation is the one the audit re-runs, and the inputs are the ones TAB NZ or the offshore brand publishes.

Sports and tournaments a New Zealand punter bets on

TAB NZ covers the codes New Zealand actually watches. Racing — thoroughbred, harness (trots), and greyhound until 1 August 2026, when greyhound racing closes in stages — runs through the racing app and the Trackside broadcast. Rugby union (All Blacks, Super Rugby Pacific, NPC) and rugby league (NRL, Warriors) carry in-play. Cricket (Black Caps, international schedule, the Big Bash and IPL through the summer) runs through the sports book. Football (A-League, the English Premier League, the Champions League, the World Cup qualifiers) carries head-to-head, line and multi markets. Basketball (NBL, NBA), tennis (the four Slams, the ATP and WTA tours), American football (NFL), baseball (MLB), ice hockey (NHL) and golf (the majors) all sit on the standard markets. The Melbourne Cup in late October or early November is the single biggest racing event on the calendar.

Offshore the calendar is wider and the prices can be sharper because more books compete. SpinBetter, Sportaza, Roobet, Thunderpick, FunBet, LunuBet, Boomerang Bet, 22Bet, Golden Panda, RoyalistPlay, Baji, BillyBets, Glorion, Alawin, Telbet and BetNinja all carry the same global sports calendar. None of them adds a New Zealand-specific market TAB NZ does not already carry, and none of them may lawfully serve a New Zealand resident. For a New Zealand punter who does not want to use TAB NZ the choice is not “another bookmaker” but “leave the lawful set”.

The Melbourne Cup and the racing calendar

The Melbourne Cup is the meeting TAB NZ’s racing app builds around in late October or early November. Win, Place, Each Way, Quinella, Exacta, Trifecta and First Four are the bet types the betting rules name, and the multi products build combinations from them. Trackside broadcasts the meeting with in-app wagering. The Cup Day dividend is the single largest tote payout of the year on most racing calendars.

The operators

TAB

TAB is the older of the two TAB NZ online brands, with the racing and sports app “TAB – Racing & Sports Betting” first released on 8 September 2014. The app covers horse and harness racing, rugby union, rugby league and the wider sports book, with pre-match and live markets, Trackside live race streaming, racing form, Blackbook, Jockey Challenge tools, and a simplified wallet. Same Race Multis, Same Game Multis, one-tap Popular Multis, and a Place Extra option backing runners to finish up to 10th in selected races are all listed in the App Store description. New customers can receive Bonus Cash that can be split across multiple bets, and a Mega Multi bonus offers up to $50 in Bonus Cash when a multi of four or more legs falls short by a set number of legs (terms and conditions apply). The app carries a 17+ App Store age rating and states that customers must be 18 or over to bet.

TAB is the surface that takes most of the New Zealand handle. It is also the surface with the most state-operator habit baked in, even with the Entain rebuild underneath. Where the bettor wants Trackside, the official racing form, and a wallet shared with Betcha, TAB is the right answer.

Betcha

Betcha is the younger sibling, first released on the New Zealand App Store on 6 August 2024 and published by Entain New Zealand Limited. It runs the same engine and the same wallet as TAB. The safer-gambling tools — deposit limits, time-outs, self-exclusion — apply across both brands. The app is the cleaner shell of the two and the one most international readers will recognise as a sportsbook; the racing form sits under the same login.

For a New Zealand punter who wants a modern app surface and the same wagering rights as TAB, Betcha is the answer. The marketing difference is the design; the licence, the wallet, the self-exclusion and the racing rules are the same.

Glorion

Glorion sits outside the lawful set. The brand names no licence that applies in New Zealand; the regulator’s view is that only TAB NZ may offer racing or sports betting to a person in New Zealand. Support is available by live chat or email, and the site accepts customers over 18 years of age only. The site lacks any local complaints framework or harm-minimisation tools. A punter looking at the site is merely comparing what a foreign bookmaker’s cashier looks like, not placing a bet.

RoyalistPlay

RoyalistPlay is owned and operated by Novatrix SRL, a Costa Rica company with registration number 3-102-893958, and states that it holds e-gaming licence No. 0000002 from the Tobique Gaming Commission. None of that gives a right to take bets from people in New Zealand. The licence is a Tobique number; Tobique gives no New Zealand reach. The site lacks any local complaints framework or harm-minimisation tools. This platform is for readers who want to see what a Tobique-licensed operator’s terms look like, not for readers who want to bet on the Melbourne Cup from Auckland.

Sportaza

Sportaza’s footer states it is licensed and regulated by the Government of the Autonomous Island of Anjouan, Union of Comoros, under licence No. ALSI-202606064-FI2, while its terms (section 1.4) cite licence No. 0000067 issued by Tobique. Neither jurisdiction gives a right to take bets from people in New Zealand. The two licences cited across the footer and the terms are a clue that the operator wants to advertise one regulator and depend on another; a New Zealand reader must not assume either protects them. There is no New Zealand complaints route or harm-minimisation framework that reaches the brand.

Telbet

Telbet describes itself as a crypto casino and sportsbook. The site publishes a Russian-language welcome offer of 200% up to 1 BTC plus 50 free spins and a 5 USDT free bet. None of that amounts to a New Zealand licence; the brand names no licence that applies in New Zealand. The Russian-language promo is also a flag: a New Zealand punter reading the site in the wrong language is the wrong reader for the offer.

Alawin

Alawin accepts customers aged 18 or over only, and that is the limit of what its terms say on the page’s subject. The brand names no licence that applies in New Zealand. The reading of the site is the same as for any other offshore brand on this list: useful for a comparison of what an age gate looks like, but useless for a lawful bet.

FunBet

FunBet’s sportsbook offers odds on football, ice hockey, American football, basketball, volleyball, tennis, rugby and baseball, with live betting and a 24/7 bookmaker. The shape is wider than most niche books, and the 24/7 trading desk is a real point in its favour for in-play. None of it changes the regulator’s view: only TAB NZ may lawfully offer racing or sports wagering here. Live betting depth is the comparison point, not the bet itself.

BetNinja

BetNinja states that it is licensed to conduct online gaming operations by the Union of the Comoros. The Comoros licence gives no right to take bets from people in New Zealand. The Comoros jurisdiction is one a New Zealand punter must treat as no jurisdiction at all for the purposes of placing a bet.

22Bet

22Bet’s address redirects and the site shows a copyright notice covering 2017 to 2026 and a 21+ age notice. The brand names a Curaçao licence (8048/JAZ), held by TechSolutions Group N.V., which gives no right to take bets from people in New Zealand. The 21+ age notice is a US-default number; New Zealand’s age floor for betting is 18, not 21. No local complaints route or harm-minimisation framework reaches the brand. 22Bet is a long-running operator on a Curaçao licence that does not reach New Zealand; the market depth is the comparison here, not the bet.

Frequently asked questions about online betting in New Zealand

How can I bet on the Melbourne Cup online?

The Melbourne Cup is one of the meetings TAB NZ’s racing app builds around, with Win, Place, Each Way, Quinella, Exacta, Trifecta and First Four markets, multi combinations on top, and Trackside live streaming carrying in-app betting on the day. Open or sign in to TAB or Betcha, find the Cup card, and place the bet from the wallet. No other brand may lawfully take that bet from a person in New Zealand.

How do I bet on horses online in New Zealand?

A horse racing bet at TAB NZ or Betcha starts with a verified New Zealand account and a funded wallet. Pick a race, pick a bet type — Win, Place, Each Way, or a standard tote exotic — and the bet lands on the slip. Same Race Multis combine runners from one race; Same Game Multis apply the same idea to sports. Settled bets pay to the wallet and withdraw by the original deposit method.

How do I bet Lotto online?

Lotto is run by Lotto NZ, not by TAB NZ. The Lotto NZ site and app take online entries on Lotto, Powerball, Strike, Keno and Instant Kiwi online; it is a separate operator under the Gambling Act 2003. A punter who wants Lotto does not need a TAB NZ account; a punter who wants racing or sports betting does not get it from Lotto NZ.

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

TAB NZ may, through its two online brands, TAB and Betcha. Section 74AAA of the Racing Industry Act 2020, in force since 28 June 2025, sets that position. There is no licensing route for a second bookmaker because there is only one lawful operator, and there is no licence register for betting. Any other brand is unlawful for the operator to serve New Zealand residents, even where the site is reachable from a New Zealand IP address.

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

Return on a winning single is stake × odds, in decimal form. Net profit is stake × (odds − 1). A $10 bet at odds of 2.50 returns $25, with $15 profit. A combination bet’s odds are the product of the legs’ decimal odds, so a Same Game Multi at 1.80, 2.20 and 1.95 prices at 1.80 × 2.20 × 1.95 = 7.722. The audit and the betting slip use the same calculation; both treat decimal odds, not fractional.

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

The margin is the share of every dollar staked the bookmaker keeps on average across all outcomes of one market. On a two-outcome market priced at 1.91 and 1.91, the implied probabilities add to 1.047, so the margin is 4.5% and the payout share is 95.5%. A wider margin means a sharper bookmaker’s take; the punter feels it as a longer losing run than the odds alone suggest. Comparing margins across markets on the same bookmaker is how the punter sees the cost.

Content created by the «cryptobetsnz» team