New Zealand has always been open to gambling under certain restrictions in order to maintain a positive attitude towards gambling. At some points, New Zealand has some strict regulations about gambling, but today people are legally allowed to participate in gambling games under the regulations of the Department of Internal Affairs. Some of the games that allow gambling are the lotteries, slot machines, horse racing, and other sports.
History of Legal Gambling in New Zealand
Gambling has been a part of New Zealand’s history from a long time which goes back to the 1830s according to the documented reports. There have been several inventions to monitor gambling throughout the years, including the automatic totalizator which was made by George Julius. The machine was able to tell the fans about the position of the horses during the race.
The first gambling law was to prohibit bookmaking in New Zealand, and it was enacted in the 1920s. The betting on horses was only permitted for viewers present on the event until 1961. Later in the 1980s, the lottery games and casinos were approved by the government. Even today, gambling is a part of New Zealand and makes around $3 billion per year. Today there are 6 grand land-based casinos operating on islands.
The Age Limit
Although there is a very wide perspective in the right age limit for gambling in New Zealand, as many establishments offer gaming environment to everyone irrespective of their game. But the big casinos like the SkyCity Queenstown are committed to keeping minors off the games. They prohibit anyone under the age of 20 from entering the casinos and make sure that the betting floors do not have any minors loitering around.
Anyone suspicious for being below the age of 20 will be asked for identity proof by the staff members or the security and will be asked to leave the gambling floors immediately. The security is trained to be vigilant about keeping the minors out, and anyone who refused to provide any age proof can be asked to leave the casino immediately.
Acceptable ID proofs
There are several identity proofs that one can provide for providing the information. An NZ or any overseas passport, driver’s license, or any ID proof with authentication from the government will be accepted.
There are also penalties for showing false IDs. One can get fined for up to NZ$500 for showing a fake ID. For any visitors who are travelling New Zealand, they can face problems with their permit and may have to renew their permit if they get prosecuted with extreme violations.
If you are under the age of 20 and get caught in the SkyCity Casino, there will be a trespass order against you, and you will not be able to return to the SkyCity casino for the next two years even if you turn 20 the next day.