It is illegal to advertise offshore gambling sites in New Zealand, but some online casinos have found a loophole, 1 News reported September 9.
The offshore platforms offer free-to-play games that are nearly indistinguishable from their cash sites.
New Zealand’s Department of Internal Affairs’ (DIA) General Manager of Regulatory Services John Sneyd warns that such sites “are a gateway to an online gambling site where you can spend real money. We’re pretty clearly of the view that that advertising doesn’t meet New Zealand legal requirements and is unlawful.”
Andree Froude from the Problem Gambling Foundation told 1 News, “Our concern is the normalization of gambling through airing advertisements for a casino site, whether it’s free to play or not and the fact that JackpotCity’s pay to gamble site is a click away. It is a clear way to get around our laws regarding advertising.”
Sneyd calls sites such as JackpotCity, which advertises on TV and radio, “unlawful.”
He added, “While jackpotcity.net is a free to play site, the department’s view is that there is clearly a close association between that site and pay-to-play sites with almost identical names, and thus the advertisements contravene Section 16. We are accordingly writing to advertisers advising them of our position and requesting that the advertising be withdrawn.”
