New Zealand's PGF urges blanket ban on gambling advertising before online casino launch

New Zealand's Problem Gambling Foundation (PGF) has urged the government to consider a blanket ban on gambling advertising before the country's online casino market launches. The group's director, Andree Froude, made the case in an interview with RNZ's Morning Report, the outlet reported.

Froude said companies applying for and receiving licences have a record of targeting New Zealand customers before the industry was regulated, and argued that the government should respond to what she described as optional treatment of laws. She said advertising works and that companies spend heavily on it, and that preventing harm requires prohibiting gambling advertising.

Eleven of the 15 available licences have been secured, and the market is due to launch in mid-2027, according to the report. The iGaming market involving overseas operators in New Zealand is estimated at $770m.

The report said blanket advertising bans have been explored in Australia, where unregulated companies continue to target customers, and that further reductions in regulated gambling advertising are planned in the United Kingdom and Spain, with trade groups arguing such measures have increased traffic to offshore markets. It said Ontario in Canada did not pursue companies that operated without a licence during the grey-area period, while the Netherlands imposed restrictions and did not let such companies apply for a licence until a specific period had expired.

The report said a blanket ban on advertising in New Zealand is highly unlikely and would require pre-emptive legislation before the market has launched. It said Froude's concerns should be taken seriously given the expected level of domestic online gambling activity.