Sportsbet NZ: What It Is and the 2026 Legal Status

Sportsbet is one of the biggest names in Australian bookmaking, and for years New Zealand punters signed up, deposited in their own dollars and followed live racing through it. That picture changed in 2025. This guide explains what Sportsbet actually is, who owns and regulates it, and what it offers — and, most importantly, where it now stands under New Zealand law, so you see the current position rather than the outdated advice still circulating online.

What Is Sportsbet?

Sportsbet is an online bookmaker — a company that sets prices (odds) on sporting and other events and accepts bets on the outcomes. It began in Darwin in 1993 and is today headquartered in Melbourne. It is best known in Australia for its racing markets, its coverage of football codes such as the AFL and NRL, and a long list of other sports and novelty markets.

The platform offers fixed-odds betting, where the price is locked in when you place the bet, alongside features such as same-game multis (combining several outcomes from one match into a single wager) and cash-out (settling a bet early for a figure the bookmaker offers before the event finishes). It is a mainstream commercial sportsbook rather than a small or novelty operator, and it advertises heavily across Australian media.

Who Owns and Regulates Sportsbet

Sportsbet is owned by Flutter Entertainment, one of the world’s largest listed gambling groups, whose brands also include Paddy Power, Betfair and (in the United States) FanDuel. Flutter acquired full control of Sportsbet in 2011, and the brand has operated under the group ever since.

Its licence sits with a single regulator: Sportsbet is licensed as a corporate bookmaker in Australia’s Northern Territory under the Racing and Betting Act 1993. That licence governs how it must handle customer funds, advertising and complaints in Australia. It is important to be clear about what this does and does not mean for Kiwis: a Northern Territory licence authorises Sportsbet to take bets within Australia’s framework. It does not give the company any authority to operate in New Zealand, which runs its own, very different system.

Can New Zealanders Legally Use Sportsbet?

As of 2026, the answer is no. Offshore bookmakers — operators licensed outside New Zealand, which includes Sportsbet — are not permitted to take bets from people located in New Zealand. Older reviews that say Sportsbet is “fully accessible” to Kiwis, that you can sign up in New Zealand dollars, or that you should switch your app store to Australia to download the app reflect the situation before mid-2025 and are now out of date.

The change came from the Racing Industry Amendment Act 2025, which received Royal Assent on 27 June 2025 and took effect the following day. It made TAB NZ the only operator legally allowed to provide online sports and racing betting to people in New Zealand, and it tasked the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) — the government body that regulates gambling — with enforcement. The DIA has since issued notices requiring unlicensed offshore operators to withdraw from the New Zealand market. For a fuller explanation, see our guide to how New Zealand regulates offshore sportsbooks and whether online sports betting is legal in New Zealand.

How New Zealand’s Betting Law Changed in 2025

Before the amendment, many New Zealanders used overseas sites because the law did not stop them, and roughly NZ$180–200 million a year was estimated to flow to offshore operators. The 2025 reform closed that gap by making it an offence for those operators to accept New Zealand bets, rather than by technically blocking the websites. In practice that means:

• TAB NZ is the sole legal provider of online sports and racing wagering for people in New Zealand.
• Offshore bookmakers, including Sportsbet, are no longer allowed to take bets from within the country.
• The law also extended harm-minimisation requirements from physical venues to online platforms.
• Online casino gaming is handled under a separate reform and licensing timetable, distinct from this sports and racing change.

If you want the detail on how the rules fit together, our overview of sports betting laws in New Zealand walks through the monopoly, taxes and player protections in plain English. The licensed alternative is covered on our TAB NZ page.

What Sportsbet Offers: Markets and Features

Understanding what Sportsbet provides in its home market helps explain why it became popular with Kiwis in the first place, even though it cannot serve them now. Its product set is typical of a large modern bookmaker:

• Breadth of markets: thoroughbred, harness and greyhound racing, the major football codes, cricket, basketball, tennis, motorsport and a range of international events, plus novelty markets such as politics and entertainment.
• Same-game multis: the ability to combine several results from one fixture — for example, a team to win and a player to score — into one bet at longer odds.
• Cash-out: an option to close a bet before the event ends, taking a smaller guaranteed return or cutting a loss, at a price the bookmaker calculates live.
• Live streaming and in-play betting: watching selected events and betting while they are under way.

These are features, not advantages unique to one brand; most large sportsbooks offer similar tools. Understanding how a price turns into an implied chance and a potential return matters more than any single feature when you weigh up a bet.

Payments, Verification and Withdrawals

In its Australian operation, Sportsbet supports common deposit methods such as debit and credit cards, PayPal, POLi, BPAY, Apple Pay and bank transfer, and it requires identity verification — known as KYC, or “know your customer” — before withdrawals can be processed. Withdrawals typically take a few business days to reach a bank account.

This matters for New Zealanders mainly as a caution. Because Sportsbet is not licensed to serve people in New Zealand, any funds held with an offshore operator are not protected by New Zealand’s regulator, and there is no local authority to escalate a dispute to if a withdrawal is delayed or an account is restricted. That is one of the practical reasons the law now channels New Zealand wagering through a single licensed operator. For a wider look at verifying accounts, payment safety and dispute options, see our guide to betting online safely in New Zealand.

The App and Mobile Experience

Sportsbet runs a well-regarded mobile app and mobile website in Australia. Older guides advised New Zealanders to change their app-store country to Australia to install it. We do not recommend that: it is a workaround designed to access a service that is not lawfully available to people in New Zealand, and it exposes you to the fund-protection and dispute risks noted above. The licensed route for mobile betting in New Zealand is TAB NZ’s own app and website.

Sportsbet vs the Legal New Zealand Option

The simplest way to see where Sportsbet fits is to compare it with the operator Kiwis can actually use. The table below sets out the key factual differences rather than scoring either brand.

Weighing the Risks of Offshore Betting

Beyond legality, there are concrete reasons the rules point New Zealanders to a licensed operator. With an offshore site you have no local complaints path, no guarantee your balance is ring-fenced, and no New Zealand harm-minimisation protections such as nationally recognised self-exclusion. Promotions and bonuses advertised overseas may not apply to anyone outside that market, so they are not a reason to seek out an offshore account.

If you choose to bet, the safer approach is to use the licensed operator, set deposit and time limits before you start, and treat any money staked as entertainment spending you can afford to lose. Our guide to responsible gambling tools for NZ bettors explains the limits, blocks and self-exclusion options available.

Responsible Gambling and Legal Information

This article is general information, not betting, financial or legal advice, and it does not encourage you to gamble. Betting carries a real risk of financial loss, and the odds always favour the operator over time. The legal age to bet in New Zealand is 18.

As set out above, offshore bookmakers such as Sportsbet are not licensed to take bets from people located in New Zealand; TAB NZ is the only operator legally able to do so. If gambling is causing you or someone you know harm, free, confidential support is available 24/7 from the Gambling Helpline Aotearoa on 0800 654 655, and you can block your own access to betting through self-exclusion with the licensed operator and nationwide blocking tools.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Can I bet with Sportsbet in New Zealand in 2026?

No. Under the Racing Industry Amendment Act 2025, which took effect on 28 June 2025, offshore bookmakers are not permitted to take bets from people located in New Zealand. Sportsbet holds only an Australian Northern Territory licence, so it cannot legally serve New Zealand customers. TAB NZ is the only operator allowed to offer online sports and racing betting to people in New Zealand.

Who owns Sportsbet?

Sportsbet is owned by Flutter Entertainment, a large listed gambling group whose other brands include Paddy Power, Betfair and FanDuel. Flutter took full control of Sportsbet in 2011. The brand itself started in Darwin in 1993 and is now based in Melbourne.

Is my money safe if I use an offshore bookmaker from New Zealand?

Using an offshore operator carries extra risk. Because it is not licensed in New Zealand, your funds are not protected by New Zealand’s regulator, and there is no local authority to handle a dispute if a withdrawal is delayed or an account is restricted. That lack of protection is one reason the law now channels New Zealand wagering through a single licensed operator.

What is the legal alternative to Sportsbet for Kiwis?

TAB NZ is the only legal provider of online sports and racing betting for people in New Zealand. It is overseen by the Department of Internal Affairs, operates in New Zealand dollars and applies New Zealand harm-minimisation rules, including deposit limits and self-exclusion.

Why do some older guides say Sportsbet accepts New Zealand customers?

Those guides describe the situation before mid-2025, when the law did not stop New Zealanders from using overseas sites. The 2025 reform changed that by making it an offence for offshore operators to accept bets from within New Zealand, so advice about signing up in NZD or downloading the app via the Australian store is no longer accurate.