Fake .nz gambling domains operating in New Zealand

A constantly increasing phenomenon has hit the gambling landscape in New Zealand. A lot of international sportsbook and casino sites are operating under .nz domains, appearing as they are located in New Zealand when they are not. There have been found more than 13 of such operations, that don't necessarily comply with the legislation framework of the region, which of course poses huge risks to unsuspected players that decide to play on those sites.

 The case has gone to such an extent that one of those sites was found to be using the New Zealand coat of arms to become even more convincing to local gamblers. The Department for Internal Affairs (DIA) has already commenced the process of battling such cases by communicating with the owners of the websites demanding that they are taken down immediately.

After careful examination of the sites, the authorities found that most of them were international, while only one was probably located in New Zealand. The latter could be facing huge legal consequences if that's the case. It seems that for the international sites though there are few things the government can do, the most effective being to shut down the sites.

According to the legal framework of New Zealand it's not illegal per se to play on such sites. However, just because these sites are not under the full legal monitoring of the government that means that they can work in dodgy ways and deceive players stealing their money. As the situation stands now, it's not that hard to buy a .nz domain, so the risk to players is much higher. There have been talks though regarding a transition towards a more Australian model in that sense, demanding proof of physical address to get a New Zealand domain.