Neds NZ: Australian Bookmaker and the 2025 Betting Law

Neds is an Australian online bookmaker that built a large following in the trans-Tasman market for sports and racing betting. If you have read older write-ups describing Neds as an easy option for New Zealand punters, it is worth pausing: the legal position changed significantly in 2025, and the picture for Kiwi bettors is no longer what it was.

This guide explains, in plain terms, what Neds actually is, who owns it, where it is licensed, and — most importantly — how New Zealand’s 2025 betting law affects whether offshore bookmakers like Neds can lawfully take bets from inside the country. It is an informational overview, not a review or a recommendation to sign up anywhere.

What Neds Is and Who Owns It

Neds launched in 2017, founded by Australian bookmaker Dean Shannon, who had previously run Ladbrokes’ Australian business. The brand grew quickly on the back of a mobile-first product and aggressive marketing, and it was absorbed into the portfolio of the global gambling group now known as Entain plc (the FTSE 100 company formerly called GVC Holdings). Entain operates both Neds and Ladbrokes in Australia.

In day-to-day terms, Neds is a sportsbook and racing bookmaker — a company that sets odds and accepts wagers on sporting events and horse, harness and greyhound racing. It is run from Queensland, Australia, and its product, pricing and account rules are built around the Australian market.

Where Neds Is Actually Licensed

Neds holds a bookmaker’s licence issued by the Northern Territory Racing Commission in Australia. The Northern Territory is the jurisdiction from which most of Australia’s large online corporate bookmakers are licensed. That licence governs how Neds must behave in Australia — including responsible-gambling rules, which the regulator has enforced against the brand with fines in the past.

The key point for readers here is what that licence is not: it is not a New Zealand licence. Neds is not regulated by any New Zealand authority, and an Australian Northern Territory licence does not authorise an operator to offer betting to people inside New Zealand. Understanding that distinction is essential before reading any claim that Neds is “available” to Kiwi customers.

Neds and New Zealand Law in 2026

This is the part that older articles get wrong, so it is worth being precise. New Zealand does not license private sports and racing bookmakers to compete for local customers. Instead, domestic betting on sport and racing is run as a statutory monopoly.

The 2025 Change to the Racing Industry Act

Amendments to the Racing Industry Act 2020 received Royal Assent on 27 June 2025 and took effect from 28 June 2025. They extended the statutory betting monopoly held by TAB NZ to cover online wagering. In practical terms, the law makes it illegal for unlicensed offshore operators to offer sports and racing betting to customers located in New Zealand. The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) is responsible for enforcement and has notified unlicensed overseas providers that they must stop taking New Zealand bets.

Entain — Neds’ own parent company — publicly described the change as a “legislative net” that prohibits unlicensed offshore operators from offering betting services to New Zealand customers. So this is not a grey area invented by commentators; it is how the operator’s own group characterises the law. New Zealanders exploring the rules in more depth can read our plain-English summary of whether online sports betting is legal in New Zealand and how New Zealand now regulates offshore sportsbooks.

What This Means for Kiwi Bettors

The law targets operators, not individual punters: the sources available do not describe penalties aimed at ordinary bettors, and playing or betting while genuinely overseas is a separate situation. But the practical consequences for anyone in New Zealand are clear:

• Offshore sports and racing betting is no longer lawful to offer here. An operator advertising or taking NZ bets without authorisation is breaking New Zealand law, and the DIA can issue takedown notices and pursue enforcement.
• No New Zealand consumer protection applies. If funds, a dispute or an account problem goes wrong with an unlicensed offshore operator, you are not covered by a New Zealand regulator and have very limited recourse.
• Currency and fees work against you. Neds accounts are denominated in Australian dollars, so a New Zealand customer typically faces currency-conversion costs on deposits and withdrawals — the opposite of the “no conversion fees” claim that circulates on affiliate pages.

A separate reform — New Zealand’s new regime for licensed online casino gambling — is sometimes confused with betting. That framework covers online pokies and casino games, is being rolled out through the Department of Internal Affairs, and does not open up private sports or racing betting. Sports and racing wagering remains with TAB NZ.

Products, Odds and the Mobile App

For context, and because readers often ask what Neds offers in its home market, here is a neutral summary. In Australia, Neds covers a broad range of sports — including rugby league, rugby union, cricket, football and tennis — alongside deep horse, harness and greyhound racing markets with form guides and fixed-odds pricing. It also books some novelty and esports markets.

Neds is known for a mobile-first app on iOS and Android, live (in-play) betting, and account tools such as deposit tracking. It does not offer live video streaming of events in the way some competitors do. None of this changes the legal position: product features are irrelevant if the operator is not licensed to serve New Zealand customers. If you want to understand how odds and markets actually work before comparing anything, our guide to reading betting lines in NZ is a better starting point than any operator’s marketing.

Payments and Currency

Accurate payment information matters, because older write-ups list New Zealand dollar accounts and methods such as PayPal and POLi that do not reflect how Neds is set up. The verifiable facts are narrower:

• Currency: Neds operates in Australian dollars (AUD), consistent with its Northern Territory licence. New Zealand customers would transact in a foreign currency, not NZD.
• Conversion costs: Because accounts are in AUD, a New Zealand card or bank account can incur conversion and, in some cases, administration fees — a real cost that erodes any perceived value.
• Method claims are unreliable: Specific method lists (for example PayPal, POLi or fixed NZD minimums) that appear on affiliate sites are not confirmed by the operator for New Zealand use and should not be relied on.

In short, the honest position is that Neds is not built to be a New Zealand-dollar bookmaker, and the convenience claims made in older reviews do not hold up.

Safety, Security and Responsible Gambling

Like most regulated Australian operators, Neds uses standard encryption to protect transactions and offers responsible-gambling tools in its home market, such as deposit limits and self-exclusion, overseen by the Northern Territory regulator and Australia’s national self-exclusion register. Those protections exist within the Australian system.

For someone in New Zealand, the relevant safeguards are the New Zealand ones. If betting ever stops feeling like entertainment, free and confidential help is available locally — see our overview of responsible gambling tools for NZ bettors. Using a New Zealand-based service means you are dealing with support and consumer protections designed for this country.

The Legal Option in New Zealand

Because the 2025 law reserves domestic sports and racing betting for a single provider, the only operator legally able to take those bets from within New Zealand is TAB NZ, which runs both tote (pool) and fixed-odds wagering under the Racing Industry Act. If your interest is horse and greyhound racing in particular, our explainer on how TAB racing works in New Zealand walks through the betting types, and our wider guide to betting in New Zealand covers the laws and safer-wagering basics. Choosing the licensed domestic option keeps you inside New Zealand’s legal and consumer-protection framework.

Responsible Gambling and Important Information

This article is provided for general information only. It is not betting, legal or financial advice, and nothing here encourages gambling. Betting carries real financial risk; no strategy, bonus or operator can change the house edge, and you should never wager money you cannot afford to lose. Domestic online betting on sport and racing in New Zealand is lawful only through TAB NZ; offshore operators are not licensed to offer these bets to people in New Zealand. If gambling is causing you or someone you know harm, free and confidential help is available 24/7 from Gambling Helpline Aotearoa on 0800 654 655. For regulatory information, consult the Department of Internal Affairs. You must be 18 or over to bet in New Zealand.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Neds legal to use in New Zealand?

No. Since amendments to the Racing Industry Act 2020 took effect on 28 June 2025, domestic online betting on sport and racing is reserved for TAB NZ, and it is illegal for unlicensed offshore operators to offer those bets to customers inside New Zealand. Neds is an Australian-licensed bookmaker, not a New Zealand-licensed one.

Who owns Neds and where is it licensed?

Neds was founded in 2017 by Dean Shannon and is now part of Entain plc, the global gambling group formerly called GVC Holdings. It holds a bookmaker’s licence from the Northern Territory Racing Commission in Australia and is run from Queensland. It does not hold a New Zealand licence.

Does Neds use New Zealand dollars?

No. Neds accounts are denominated in Australian dollars, in line with its Australian licence. A New Zealand customer would transact in a foreign currency and can face conversion and administration costs, contrary to older claims of fee-free NZD accounts.

Where can I legally bet on sport and racing in New Zealand?

TAB NZ is the only provider legally able to take online sports and racing bets from within New Zealand. It offers both tote (pool) and fixed-odds wagering under the Racing Industry Act and operates within New Zealand’s regulatory and consumer-protection framework.

What is the Department of Internal Affairs’ role?

The Department of Internal Affairs enforces New Zealand gambling law, including the ban on unlicensed offshore operators taking bets from New Zealand. It can issue takedown notices and pursue enforcement against operators that breach the rules.