How Online Gambling Trends Are Influencing Auckland’s Digital Economy
Last Updated on April 7, 2025
The availability of gambling via the internet has steadily grown in New Zealand over the last ten years, due to changes in the availability and consumption of goods and services over the internet. The improvements in mobile phone usage and internet access in cities like Auckland have opened new avenues for leisure, including engaging with online casinos.
According to a report published by the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), New Zealanders and their residents spent approximately NZD 2.6 billion on gambling activities in 2024, a significant fraction of the amount coming from online sources. People still spend the most on conventional gambling activities, including pokie machines, TAB betting and lotteries, but online gambling is progressively gaining traction, especially among younger and relatively more advanced users of technology.
Compared to many other countries, one of the unique aspects of New Zealand’s gambling market is that residents can legally access foreign gambling websites, even though their options for regulated local online gambling are quite limited. These foreign casino websites are outside the reach of the New Zealand Gambling Act, but can be easily found and many of them market their services to users from New Zealand, including support for NZD currency, New Zealand payment systems and even customer services operated out of New Zealand.
According to industry reports and independent research, approximately 12-13% of adults in New Zealand participated in online gambling in the past year. This is a notable jump from five years ago, when the number hovered around 8%. Based on anecdotal evidence and payment service providers’ commercial data, the share of Aucklanders participating is at least on par with the national average, if not somewhat higher, owing to the younger population of the city, faster broadband internet and higher smartphone penetration.
Economic Ripple Effects in Auckland’s Tech Sector
The increase in online gambling activities has resulted in added economic activity in the Auckland region’s wider technology and services sector. Regardless of where most online casinos that target New Zealand clients are located, they rely on a host of peripheral services, which include software engineering, cybersecurity, UX UI design and digital marketing. A number of these services are subcontracted out to providers, some of whom are located in Auckland.
Front-end design for mobile gaming platforms, secure digital wallet integration and data analytics are just a few examples of new Mobile Gaming contraining online casino services that have recently emerged. These NZ online casinos are now equipped with mobile-first interfaces, enhanced user interactivity, instant transaction capabilities and superior reactiveness, which has set another gold standard for how digital platforms across industries strive to operate.
This shift is already impacting the employment landscape by creating new jobs and the availability of specialised skills in Auckland’s technology hub. The availability of developers, data scientists and compliance analysts is on the rise, not just for casino projects but for a range of industry-wide applications of these technologies. Therefore, the impact of online gambling phenomena has a very limited scope within the entertainment industry. This extends to the domains of fintech, cybersecurity and customer engagement technologies.
Nonetheless, increases in emerging industries pose delicate regulatory and ethical challenges. Public health agencies have raised red flags regarding the escalation of gambling-related harms, particularly when digital gambling is set free from the jurisdiction’s regulatory shackles.
These systems’ anonymity, accessibility and uninterrupted nature stand in direct contrast to the frameworks designed around physical gambling establishments. As they formulate recommendations for policy action in regard to new digital spaces, Auckland Council and public health officials are paying close attention to these shifts.
Investment Opportunities in Auckland’s Digital Entertainment Space
While New Zealand’s legal framework prohibits core gambling activities onshore, the increase in online gambling has raised interest in the country’s digital entertainment and technology sectors. There is a particular concentration of activity in Auckland at the moment.
Participants in the business include payment service provider startups as well as game mechanics firms utilizing blockchain and augmented reality technologies, all of which are synergistic to the gambling industry. These companies may not classify themselves as part of the gambling industry, but they work in emerging technologies that enhance the level of interactivity, security and retention of users, making them indispensable for engagement-driven industries.
The growth of video gaming and its content creation, as well as streaming, has provided opportunities for other creative industries in Auckland. Animation studios, software houses and gamification experts are tapping new avenues of development by participating in projects that coincide with trends noticed within the online casino industry.
Such government bodies like New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) and Callaghan Innovation are supportive and have seen the opportunities in this space. Throughout providing grants and support during the innovation stage, they are assisting local projects to scale and access international markets. Auckland also saw an increase by almost 9% in the new tech businesses being registered by the end of 2022, a huge percentage of which fall under digital services, entertainment and associated sectors.
With the changing industry demands, the universities and other technical colleges in Auckland are starting to shift as well. There has been an increase in the offering of courses concerning game designing, cybersecurity, digital ethics and real-time data analytics, which are increasingly in demand by firms operating at the intersection of the rapidly evolving world of online gambling.
However important the supporting services might be to the economy, an angle considering social issues related to gambling remains unaddressed. While investment and job opportunities may enhance Auckland’s digital economy, community groups and policymakers still balance those advantages against the dangers presented by unmanaged or poorly managed gambling spaces.
As the international context shifts, so does the digital gambling world, and its impact will enhance Auckland’s economy both directly and through an expanding web of businesses in related sectors. Stakeholders strive to guarantee that this advancement does not contribute to the decline of social welfare whilst enabling long-term economic progress.
