SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Following on from the November 2014 announcement that New Zealand Racing had created a task force to look into policing and monitoring remote online betting. New Zealand Racing Minister Nathan Guy has urged the government to crack down on online gambling operators targeting the nation’s consumers.
Guy highlighted that the rising popularity of remote based gambling and sports betting operators was depriving New Zealand of vital tax revenues and undermining the state run TAB which New Zealand Racing operates.
Guy would announce that a review of offshore gambling operators would be undertaken by a working group lead by former MP Chris Tremain.
The working group will report back with recommendations in September. Other members of the group are Racing Board chief executive John Allen, Sport New Zealand chair Sir Paul Collins, Thoroughbred New Zealand representative Greg McCarthy and two Internal Affairs officials.
In November 2014, Guy and New Zealand Racing organisations raised concerns on the impact of remote gambling, stating that New Zealanders were wagering a potential NZ $300 million (£150 million) with remote operators.
The racing minister further detailed the complexities of policing and monitoring remote gambling within New Zealand, as many of the bets wagered were placed with Australian based operators.
