Experts Say New Zealand’s iGaming Bill Will Hurt Sports

Some 33 sports organizations in New Zealand have opposed the country’s online gambling bill. The reason for this is the lack of a provision that requires online operator to channel a portion of their proceeds toward the sports sector.

New Zealand’s iGaming Bill Has Become a Point of Contention

New Zealand lawmakers have pushed for online gaming for quite some time. Now, an online casino bill is finally gaining traction, but not everyone is happy. The measure’s critics include sports organizations that have expressed concern about the lack of a provision that will channel a portion of operators’ revenue toward the sports sector.

Historically, operators in New Zealand have fueled sports, creating a mutually beneficial relationship between the two sectors. Despite envisioning licensing 15 offshore operators, the latest iGaming bill includes no provision for the financing of sports, leading to claims that it will “destroy community sport.”

The New Zealand Herald reported that the local sports sector receives roughly NZD 170 million ($100.1 million) from operators of pokies. However, experts believe that this sum will drastically decline when online casino gaming becomes a reality.

Digital Entertainment Is Taking Over

Martin Snedden, the board chair at Cycling New Zealand, expressed some of his concerns in an interview with The New Zealand Herald. As a retired athlete and former executive at prestigious cricket organizations, Snedden was deeply concerned about the implications of the latest bill.

Snedden noted that the gambling sector currently channels NZD 350 million toward a variety of community initiatives, with roughly half of this money supporting sports. Since the new iGaming bill includes no provision for the financing of community initiatives, this money could drastically decline.

Snedden attributed this rather pessimistic projection to the fact that people’s daily lives are becoming more and more intertwined with the digital space. As a result, he predicted that many players would switch to online operators and quit playing pokies.

Since iGaming operators will not be required to give a cut of their proceeds to sports and other community initiatives, the entire sports sector will suffer, Snedden argued.

Snedden Says the Government Should Have Consulted the Sector Earlier

According to Snedden, the government should consult industry experts and try to understand what the problem is. He regretted that the government had not realized that there was a problem for way too long.

When asked what he thinks about Minister Brooke van Velden’s claim that the effect of the legislation cannot be predicted with any certainty, he said that people with any familiarity with sports and gaming, and those with any common sense, should see the potential problem.

Snedden suggested that the government should act now rather than waiting for a few years for the damage to be done.