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Racing Industry Act 2020

Betting and TAB venues - Betting - General provisions

89: Offences relating to underage betting

You could also call this:

“It's illegal for under-18s to bet or for others to help them bet”

You are not allowed to bet if you are under 18 years old. You also can’t make bets for someone else who is under 18. If you do, you might have to pay a fine of up to $500 if you bet for yourself, or up to $1,000 if you bet for someone else who is under 18.

If you work for a racing club, TAB NZ, or an agent of TAB NZ, you can’t accept bets from people under 18. You also can’t let others accept these bets. If you do, you might have to pay a fine of up to $5,000. You also can’t offer or give credit to anyone if you know they want to use it for betting. If you do this, you might have to pay a fine of up to $10,000.

If you work for these organisations and you’re accused of taking a bet from someone under 18, you can defend yourself if you can show you had good reasons to think the person was 18 or older. One good reason is if you saw an official document that showed the person’s age as 18 or over.

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This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS292154.

Topics:
Money and consumer rights > Gambling Business > Industry rules
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Part 4 Betting and TAB venues
Betting: General provisions

89Offences relating to underage betting

  1. A person commits an offence if the person,—

  2. being under 18 years, makes a bet, whether on the person’s own behalf or on behalf of another person; or
    1. makes a bet on behalf of any person under 18 years.

      1. A member, officer, agent or employee of a racing club, or of TAB NZ, or of an agent of TAB NZ, commits an offence if the person—

      2. receives, registers, or takes into account a bet by a person under 18 years, whether the bet is made by that person on their own behalf or on behalf of any other person; or
        1. permits to be received, registered, or taken into account a bet by a person under 18 years, whether the bet is made by that person on their own behalf or on behalf of any other person; or
          1. offers or provides credit to any person if they know, or ought to know, that the credit is intended to be used to make a bet.

            1. It is a defence to a charge under subsection (2)(a) or (b) if the defendant proves that the defendant had reasonable grounds to believe the person to whom the charge relates was 18 years or over.

            2. Without limiting subsection (3), reasonable grounds exist if the defendant proves that the defendant had sighted an evidence of age document of the person to whom the charge relates, indicating that the person was 18 years or over.

            3. A person who commits an offence against this section is liable on conviction to,—

            4. for an offence against subsection (1)(a), a fine not exceeding $500:
              1. for an offence against subsection (1)(b), a fine not exceeding $1,000:
                1. for an offence against subsection (2)(a) or (b), a fine not exceeding $5,000:
                  1. for an offence against subsection (2)(c), a fine not exceeding $10,000.

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