The New Zealand gambling market has tremendously grown since the introduction of the Gambling Act in 2003. This was the time that new advancements in technology were realized, at that time we had many gamblers relying on offshore providers to enjoy the experience of gambling.
In her report in August last year, the Country’s Minister for Internal Affairs, Tracy Martin noted that users connecting to the internet using different methods that can be seen as old fashioned had not developed enough to support different types of games. As a result, the government has set in motion a sort of conference to weigh support that is available to everyone for the regulation of new ways of iGaming.
Since then the gambling market has faced several changes that have led to the increased demand for gambling services in the country. The increased demand eventually saw online gambling attracting many followers due to its convenience and automation which is easy to adapt especially for the youth. The increased gambling levels in the country have made the Government of this country opt to expand the market as says iGamingBusiness so as all punters can be well accommodated and safeguarded against harmful players in the industry.
Today’s State of Gambling in New Zealand
Many changes have taken place since the introduction of online betting in the gambling market of this country. We have had the Lotto NZ and the TAB as the only providers with a license to operate and offer these sorts of products online. Recent statistics have shown that close to 70% of residents in New Zealand aged 15 years and over engage in gambling-related activities. Further results have shown that among the residents who gamble, 5% of them experience gambling problems that have had a negative effect either to themselves or the society at large. The most vulnerable group here is the youth who entirely depend on online for most of their services. This is due to the expansion of smartphones and the dependence of the young ones on them.
Nowadays, everything can be done over the phone, and this commodity has led to an increase in the offers of different services and improvements in them as well. At first, there were some concerns about the safety and availability of the services to the population who are not legally aged to enter the market.
This is still to be improved in regulations, but meanwhile, the services have improved their screening methods and have a way of detecting malicious and improper behavior, as well and identifying minors and suspending them from enrolling in the first place. By doing so, the populations of young are secured and the funds are safe as well since the younger population that is not legally aged can have some difficulties in understanding the worth of money. By doing so, protects the young and decreases losses.
This is because most of them are not able to control their gambling behavior and may not know if the practice is harmful to them or not. Gambling can be labeled as addictive behavior and lead to devastating consequences if it spins out of control. In these cases, help should be sought and a professional can help in putting this habit under control. This is extremely important in the young population, who is prone to this uncontrolled behavior. Not only that this behavior can have devastating consequences on the individual, but it also affects whole families. The government has noted unique expenditure traits in the economy as huge amounts of funds have been directed towards gambling-related activities.
For instance, recent statistics from Stuff.co.nz have shown that Kiwis spent $125m more compared to last year on gambling-related activities. The statistics further reveal that poker machines, casinos, and Lottery were the greatest contributors to the expenditure with TAB and Class 3 gaming contributing the least. The high gambling levels in the country have made the government see the need for expanding the gambling market in an effort to protect the vulnerable groups and the entire industry at large.
Possible Options iGaming market expansion
The government of this country has hatched a new plan which is set to lead to the possible expansion of the real money gambling industry. As CasinoDeps NZ says, New Zealanders could observe the arrival of the best legal and licensed online casinos for cash in recent times. The first option the government has enforced is to impose specific market restrictions on TAB and Lotto NZ. This shall not affect the number of services they provide but instead, they will have permission to make and promote the brand new services pivot the ones already offered. The improvement of the variety will lead to an expansion in the amount of users of the mentioned services.
Not only that, but the ones that are already using these will expand the interest in games that they are playing online. This increase will lead to an increase in the outcomes of the companies and the growth of this market as well. By expanding the offer, these companies will need to take a big step towards the safety of data that is being processed. This is extremely important in this day and age since the identity of each and every user needs to be protected, as well as the data they are leaving behind. By protecting the database, all users are protected, and even more, users will engage knowing that it is safe to use the products and services.
Another option the authorities have enhanced is expanding the variety of foreign companies that can work in this country. In this option, the authorities are yet to issue a licensing model for companies within the country which shall eventually allow charitable operations to get into the iGaming industry. This will eventually lead to the implementation of a regulatory measure that will cover both domestic and foreign operations.
As a result, the number of iGaming providers shall increase all over the country making it one of the most lucrative activities among residents. Not only this, but companies can learn from one another in order to provide the best possible experience for the users that are involved in this kind of gambling. By increasing the variety of companies on the market, the market will grow, but the participants will compete for their customers. This is a good thing, because competition leads to improvement in services and games provided to the users.
Conclusion
The development experienced in New Zealand’s gaming market shall result in positive contributions to the entire industry making New Zealand one of the best gambling destinations. As stated here, Kiwis willing to play for real money will only increase. This is a goal of any industry to achieve, by increasing the offer; more users will start using these services increasing the cash flow of the company, leading to even greater expansion.
It will also lead to improvements in the approach and safety of data of all users. These changes shall first see the country’s gambling market expand hence attracting more investors and secondly providing a favorable restrictive framework that will protect the interest of the gamblers making gambling a better vice which is free from fraud and other forms of malpractices. In addition to this, the market will become versatile and safer for the users, leading to more pleasant usage of the mentioned services.
