Royal Panda Sportsbook NZ: Status and Facts (2026)

Royal Panda is a name many New Zealanders have seen attached to both an online casino and, for a time, a sportsbook. This guide sets out the facts without sales talk: what the brand actually is today, who owns it, where it operates, and — most importantly for Kiwi readers — whether you can legally bet on sport through it in New Zealand in 2026. A sportsbook simply means a platform that takes bets on sporting events at set prices (odds). The short version is that the ‘Royal Panda Sportsbook’ many older reviews describe is largely a legacy product, and the brand is not currently offered to players in New Zealand.

What Royal Panda actually is

Royal Panda is, first and foremost, an online casino. According to the operator’s own site, the brand launched on 10 March 2014, built around a friendly panda mascot and a catalogue of online slots (digital fruit-machine-style games), table games such as roulette and blackjack, and live-dealer games streamed with real croupiers.

A sportsbook was added to the Royal Panda offering around 2017. In the years that followed it carried fixed-odds markets on football, tennis, cricket, esports and other sports, plus in-play (live) betting while matches were underway. That sports product is the subject of this page, but as the sections below explain, it no longer plays the central role that older write-ups suggest.

Who owns Royal Panda

Royal Panda is operated by Royal Panda Limited, a company based in Malta. In 2017 the Swedish operator LeoVegas acquired the Royal Panda business in a deal worth up to €120 million (an initial €60 million plus a possible €60 million earn-out).

LeoVegas itself was then taken over by one of the largest names in global gaming: MGM Resorts International completed its acquisition of LeoVegas in September 2022. In practice, that means Royal Panda today sits inside LeoVegas Group, which is owned by MGM Resorts. Knowing the corporate chain matters because it tells you the brand is run by a large, publicly accountable operator rather than an anonymous website — though, as covered below, that does not make it legal to use for sports betting in New Zealand.

What happened to the Royal Panda sportsbook

The sportsbook has been scaled back significantly. In January 2020 LeoVegas withdrew the Royal Panda brand from the United Kingdom: it stopped taking new sign-ups on 8 January, ended deposits and sports betting on 20 January, and closed the UK operation on 31 January. The company cited weak performance as the reason.

Since then, Royal Panda has focused on casino play in regulated markets. Its official website now presents the brand as a ‘Casino & Live Casino’ platform, and where it operates under a local permit — for example in Ontario, Canada, under an Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) licence — it does so as a casino rather than a full sportsbook. In short, the standalone ‘Royal Panda Sportsbook’ described in many dated reviews is no longer a headline product, and claims of live sports markets, free bets and sign-up offers aimed at Kiwis should be treated with caution.

Is Royal Panda available in New Zealand?

At the time of writing, no. Independent market listings that track operator availability show the Royal Panda brand as unavailable to New Zealand players. Even in cases where an offshore site can be reached from a New Zealand connection, that is a separate question from whether using it is legal — and under current law it is not a licensed option for sports betting here.

Because Royal Panda holds no New Zealand licence, any account you opened would fall outside New Zealand’s consumer and harm-minimisation protections. Disputes, withdrawals and account closures would be governed by overseas rules rather than by a New Zealand regulator.

New Zealand’s betting law in 2026 and what it means for Royal Panda

New Zealand tightened its online gambling rules in ways that directly affect offshore brands like Royal Panda. There are two separate regimes: one for sports and racing betting, and one for online casino play.

Online sports and racing betting — TAB NZ only

The Racing Industry Amendment Act 2025, which received Royal Assent on 27 June 2025, makes TAB NZ the sole legal provider of online racing and sports betting to people in New Zealand. The law states that no person other than TAB NZ or its partner organisation may offer racing or sports betting to a person in New Zealand, and the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) is named as the regulator. TAB NZ delivers this in partnership with the operator Entain, which handles day-to-day betting and broadcasting.

The practical effect is simple: an offshore sportsbook such as Royal Panda cannot lawfully take sports bets from people in New Zealand. If you want to understand the enforcement side, see our explainer on how New Zealand regulates offshore sportsbooks.

Online casino — a new licensing regime

The casino side is handled by the Online Casino Gambling Act 2026, which came into force on 1 May 2026. It creates a licensing system for up to 15 online casino operators, who pay a 16% online casino gambling duty and must follow harm-prevention rules such as player-set limits, self-exclusion tools, advertising restrictions and a ban on credit-card deposits. Unlicensed online casino gambling becomes banned from 1 December 2026 (or 1 June 2027 for an operator that has lodged a licence application). Until then, offshore casino play sits in a shrinking ‘grey’ zone that is being closed off.

For the full picture of how these rules fit together, our guide to betting in New Zealand walks through the law, odds and payment basics in plain English.

Licensing, security and fair play

Royal Panda is licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA), a long-established European regulator, under licence number MGA/CRP/237/2013. Operators under this type of licence are generally required to use data encryption to protect transactions, to have games tested for fairness, and to follow anti-money-laundering and responsible-gambling obligations in the markets they are licensed for.

It is worth being clear about what that does and does not mean for a New Zealander. An MGA licence governs Royal Panda’s conduct in the jurisdictions it covers; it is not a New Zealand authorisation and does not place the brand under the oversight of the DIA or TAB NZ. New Zealand players therefore do not get the protections built into the local licensing regimes described above.

Bonuses, odds and payments: reading the fine print

Older Royal Panda pages advertise offers such as a matched free bet on the sportsbook and sizeable casino welcome bonuses. Treat any specific figure you see on third-party sites as unverified and potentially out of date, especially as the sportsbook has been wound back and the brand is not serving New Zealand.

More importantly, a bonus never improves the underlying mathematics of a bet. Sports prices are quoted in decimal odds — for example, a price of 2.00 returns $2 for every $1 staked, including your stake — and every sportsbook builds a margin into those prices. Promotions typically come with conditions: minimum qualifying odds, wagering (play-through) requirements, time limits, and currency conversion if your account is not held in New Zealand dollars. Read those terms in full before assuming an offer has real value.

Legal ways to bet on sport in New Zealand

If your goal is to bet on sport or racing online from New Zealand, the only lawful route is TAB NZ. It offers both fixed-odds and tote (pooled) betting, operates in New Zealand dollars, verifies your identity and age, and provides harm-minimisation tools such as deposit limits and self-exclusion.

For online casino games, the sensible approach is to wait for operators licensed under the Online Casino Gambling Act 2026 rather than to sign up with an unlicensed offshore brand. If you research sites in the meantime, our guide on judging sportsbook review sites explains how to tell independent information from thinly veiled advertising.

Who this information is for

This page is for New Zealand readers who have come across the Royal Panda name and want an accurate summary rather than a sales pitch. The takeaway is that Royal Panda is a real, long-running casino brand within a major gaming group, but its sportsbook is a legacy product, it is not currently available to New Zealand players, and offshore sports betting is not legal here. For anyone who does gamble, the safest path is a licensed New Zealand operator combined with firm personal limits.

Disclaimer

This article is factual information only. It does not encourage gambling, is not betting or financial advice, and is not a recommendation to use Royal Panda or any other operator. Gambling carries a real risk of financial loss and can cause harm; outcomes are based on chance and no strategy or bonus changes that. You must be 18 or over to gamble in New Zealand. Offshore sites that are not licensed in New Zealand fall outside local consumer protections. If gambling is affecting you or someone you know, free, confidential help is available 24/7 from the Gambling Helpline on 0800 654 655 (free text 8006), and you can set limits or self-exclude using the responsible gambling tools available to New Zealand bettors.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Is Royal Panda Sportsbook legal in New Zealand?

No. Under the Racing Industry Amendment Act 2025, only TAB NZ and its partner may legally offer online sports and racing betting to people in New Zealand. An offshore brand such as Royal Panda cannot lawfully take sports bets from New Zealand residents.

Can I still use the Royal Panda sportsbook?

The sportsbook has been heavily scaled back. Royal Panda withdrew sports betting when it left the United Kingdom in January 2020, and the brand now markets itself mainly as a casino. It is also listed as unavailable to New Zealand players, so it is not a current sports-betting option here.

Who owns Royal Panda?

Royal Panda is operated by Royal Panda Limited in Malta and is part of LeoVegas Group. LeoVegas was acquired by MGM Resorts International, a deal completed in September 2022, so the brand ultimately sits within the MGM Resorts group.

Is Royal Panda licensed and safe?

Royal Panda holds a Malta Gaming Authority licence (MGA/CRP/237/2013) and operates in some regulated markets, such as Ontario in Canada. That licence does not cover New Zealand, however, so Kiwi users would not be protected by New Zealand’s gambling regulator or its harm-minimisation rules.

Where can New Zealanders bet on sport legally?

TAB NZ is the only lawful provider of online sports and racing betting in New Zealand. It operates in New Zealand dollars, verifies age and identity, and offers tools such as deposit limits and self-exclusion to help you stay in control.