NZ Sport Fears Millions in Lost Funding from Gambling Law Shake-Up – Is Australia Next?

This week, 33 of New Zealand’s top sporting bodies, including Netball NZ, Athletics NZ, and Cycling New Zealand, issued a joint statement opposing the government’s proposed Online Casino Gambling (OCG) Bill. The bill was initially introduced by Brooke van Velden, the Internal Affairs Minister, in an attempt to regulate and license 15 international operators. The bill passed its first reading in July at Parliament with 83 votes for and 39 votes against.

Under the existing setup, all the proceeds from class 4 pokie machines, which operate in pubs and clubs across the country, are funnelled back into the community. They raise over NZ$350 million on average, and nearly half of that goes to local sports clubs.

But now, community sport in New Zealand fears that this key money stream could dry up under the country’s proposed Online Casino Gambling (OCG) Bill. The draft law would see up to 15 overseas online gambling platforms officially licensed to operate in NZ. However, unlike the current pokies model, there’s no requirement for these operators to return a share of profits to local communities.

Right now, more than NZ$170 million a year from pokie machines makes its way into grassroots sport across the country, helping fund everything from junior footy teams to regional athletics clubs. Without a clear mechanism in the bill to replace that support, sporting organisations warn that local clubs could be left seriously out of pocket.

Cycling New Zealand chair Martin Snedden said the move could break a decades-long bipartisan model that helped prop up community sport. “There’s no safety net in the new bill,” he warned.

While the OCG Bill is still being debated in New Zealand’s parliament, the situation is being overseen in Australia, where community sport also leans heavily on gambling revenue, particularly through pokies.

Here at home, it’s estimated that Australians lose approximately $25 billion on legal forms of gambling annually, and Australian community groups were reported to receive more than $500 million a year from pokies grants. Sporting clubs are among the largest beneficiaries of these grants, especially in New South Wales and Victoria. Hundreds of sports clubs rely on this funding just to keep their doors open in these states alone.

But with rising pressure to crack down on gambling harm, there’s been public scrutiny about how pokie machines are licensed, and who benefits from them. Some states have seen a decline in pokies revenue as restrictions continue to tighten, and this has forced amateur sports clubs to rethink how they’re funded.

According to gambling reform advocates, relying on pokies to fund community sport creates a moral dilemma where grassroots activities lean on losses from addiction.

Martin Thomas, CEO of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, said that it’s a broken system, and kids shouldn’t be playing sports with jerseys paid for by people losing their savings at the pub.

As online gambling, including sports betting apps and casino-style games, becomes more widespread, many people call for the legalisation of the market. Like in New Zealand, much of this offshore activity slips through Australia’s regulatory cracks and doesn’t generate tax or community return.

New Zealand’s OCG Bill, if passed in its current form, could redraw the entire funding map for sport and community causes. And while Australia isn’t quite there yet, similar conversations have been looming for months.

With the federal government under pressure to close online gambling loopholes and state governments facing calls for reform and legislation, sports organisations here may soon find themselves in the same bind as their Kiwi counterparts.

For now, Australia will be watching what happens across the Tasman, but the question isn’t if the same debate will arise here – it’s when.