It is quite regular that Spelinspektionen prohibits various foreign gaming companies from offering their gaming services and gaming products in New Zealand if they do not have a New Zealand gaming license – and now it has happened again when this time Disrupt Entertainment Limited N. V. is in Spelinspektionen's window.

What Spelinspektionen has discovered this time with the company above is that the gaming site has violated New Zealand gaming law on two of the following points:

• The gaming site has focused on New Zealand players by providing their website with New Zealand language which is classified as wanting to market themselves to New Zealand players.
• The gambling site has offered their registration and bonus terms in New Zealand which again means that they are trying to market themselves in the New Zealand gambling market towards New Zealand players.

All in all, these two points mean that the gaming site clearly, according to Spelinspektionen, is trying to offer its games to New Zealand players without a New Zealand gaming license, which in turn is not allowed. In their decision under event number 21si2239, Spelinspektionen writes that the Website will immediately cease to allow New Zealand players to register, deposit money and play for money on their gaming site.

Important to remember now is that since the gaming site does not have a New Zealand gaming license and still targets New Zealand players, it means zero consumer gaming protection for you if you find yourself trying to register, deposit money and play there. In other words, you risk not receiving your deposited money and/or winnings from the gaming site as they are not within the applicable New Zealand gaming law.

Spelinspektionen's work in countering prohibited gambling activities

It is not only the issuing of gaming licenses, examination and investigation of license holders, and the revocation of New Zealand gaming licenses that Spelinspektionen is working on – they also have the purpose of countering illegal gaming activities as is the case above and previous injunctions against other foreign gaming companies.

A foreign gaming company simply means that they are not within New Zealand in terms of registration and that they do not have a valid New Zealand gaming license to provide online games for New Zealand players.

In order to be able to counteract illegal gambling activities in order to maintain the safe New Zealand regulated gambling market for New Zealand players who do not always know which gambling sites actually have New Zealand gambling licenses and not so, the Spelinspektionen must be able to cooperate with several different actors such as other countries ' gambling authorities, payment method operators, and so on.

Measures can then be to block New Zealand players at foreign gambling sites through IP addresses, payment blocks (New Zealand transactions are denied) and that New Zealand players also receive warning messages when they visit gambling sites that do not have New Zealand gambling licenses.

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