Betfair has shut up shop in New Zealand following recent legislative changes.
The Kiwi government has been in the process of updating its betting and gaming legislation over the past month, with amendments to the Racing Industry Act 2020 receiving Royal Ascent on the last day of June.
This has closed off the New Zealand betting market with the only legal betting operator now being the state-owned TAB NZ, operated by UK-based multinational gaming group Entain.
As a result, other offshore betting operators have been given the nod to close down any New Zealand operations. This includes Betfair, which was being operated in New Zealand by Crown Resorts.
A Betfair statement read: “We apologise for any inconvenience caused by the upcoming change and poorer user experience. Unfortunately, Betfair has to make the upcoming change to comply with the Legislative Amendment.”
Offshore gaming firms which continue to target New Zealand consumers will face potential enforcement action by the New Zealand government, most likely the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) and the New Zealand Gambling Commission (NZGC).
The global Betfair betting exchange is one of Flutter Entertainment’s core brands, though as stated above its Australiasian domains have been owned and operated by Crown Resorts.
The Melbourne-headquartered firm was initially joint partner in Betfair Australia, the Oceania brand of global betting exchange Betfair, until 2014, when it acquired its partner’s 50% stake in the regional brand.
The reduction of its Australians footprint and complete exit from New Zealand some time ago has clearly had little to no impact on the global prospects of Flutter Entertainment, which remains the owner of Betfair outside of Oceania, over the past few years, however.
Flutter remains the world’s largest betting group by total revenue with its Q1 2025 financials showing revenue growth of 8% to US$3.66bn. Although withdrawing from New Zealand, it remains a key player in Australia via the Sportsbet sportsbook.
Meanwhile, Betfair is also just one element of an impressive international portfolio which also includes US market leader FanDuel and major UK&I players Paddy Power and Sky Bet, core Italian holdings Sisal and Snai, the aforementioned Sportsbet in Australia, and a new property in Brazil, among other geographies.
The amendments to New Zealand’s online betting regulation come amid wider changes in the country, with the government having confirmed its plans to launch a nationwide online casino market with 15 licences up for grabs.
This has unnerved some stakeholders in the country, particularly SkyCity Entertainment Group according to some local reports earlier this year. Entain, on the other hand, did not seem as concerned as its casino counterpart when contacted by SBC News.
