Sports betting with POLi in NZ — what it costs, what it pays, and who is allowed to take your bet

Updated October 2026

Licensed

Available in US

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18+ Only

A bettor in New Zealand who reaches for POLi at the cashier usually wants three things at once: a deposit that goes through without a card, a bookmaker that will accept the method, and a payout that does not stall. The method itself is small — a redirect to internet banking and a confirmation screen — and the answer to each of those questions turns on something much larger than the payment rail. Since 28 June 2025 only one operator group may lawfully take online racing and sports bets from a person in New Zealand, and that operator’s own cashier is the one that lists POLi. Every other brand a New Zealand reader meets is not licensed in New Zealand, and the deposit method a reader finds there is only what that offshore site’s own terms say.

This page walks through what POLi actually is, what it costs the bettor, what the law now permits, how the cashier behaves on the only lawful New Zealand brands, and how the listed foreign banks stack up — by the terms they publish, not by what their marketing claims. It is current as of October 30, 2026 against the operator pages and the Department of Internal Affairs statement that followed the Racing Industry Amendment Act 2025 taking effect on 28 June 2025.

What POLi is, and what it costs the punter at the till

POLi is an online payment option that lets customers pay merchants directly from their New Zealand internet banking account. The customer chooses POLi at the merchant’s checkout, picks their bank from a list, logs into that bank’s website through POLi, authorises the payment, and POLi returns a confirmation to the merchant without ever holding the card details. The transaction is protected by the customer’s own bank security, and POLi states it does not capture usernames or passwords.

The supported banks in New Zealand, as POLi itself lists, are ANZ, BNZ, ASB, Kiwibank, TSB, The Cooperative Bank and Westpac, with Heartland shown among its bank logos as well. The service is run in New Zealand by Merco Ltd, which took over as master distributor from Australia Post after Australia Post closed POLi in Australia on 30 September 2023.

That is the mechanism. The price is a quieter matter. Consumer NZ has reported that using POLi requires a customer to enter their internet banking login details into a third-party screen, and that this breaches the terms of ASB, BNZ and Westpac and may breach those of ANZ and Kiwibank. POLi’s director has said no bank has taken a customer to task for POLi use and that the service is safe. That disagreement sits at the heart of the cost question: POLi itself charges the merchant nothing the customer sees, but the customer’s own bank may treat the flow as outside its acceptable use, which is a cost the punter carries in their relationship with the bank rather than on the deposit slip.

For the deposit itself, the practical points are three:

• The deposit leaves the bank account immediately, in real time, and is not a pending or scheduled payment.
• There is no POLi fee for the customer on any of the seven supported banks; the cost is the bank’s own terms and any dispute the bank may accept later.
• POLi does not extend credit; it does not let the customer draw on a card or a balance they do not have. It is a direct bank transfer routed through the merchant’s payment screen.

A punter who wants speed and is happy with their bank’s terms finds a deposit-and-confirm in one screen. A punter who wants the strongest possible protection on a banking dispute finds POLi the weaker of the rails on offer, because the bank may refuse to look at a claim that came via a third-party login flow.

The cashier on the lawful New Zealand brands

TAB NZ runs two online brands from one licence: TAB and Betcha. They are sister sites of the same monopoly holder, never rivals, and the cashier on each is set by TAB NZ’s own terms. Where a brand lists POLi, the minimum, the maximum and the timing are the operator’s rules, and they sit on top of the payment method’s own behaviour.

The TAB NZ app, which both brands share, includes Trackside live race streaming with in-app betting, racing form, Blackbook and Jockey Challenge tools, and a simplified wallet for deposits and withdrawals. The wallet on the app is the layer the punter actually touches: a deposit lands there, a withdrawal goes back through it, and the limits the operator sets on each method are the limits the customer feels.

What the operator does not publish in one place is a single list that names every method with every limit. The TAB NZ terms are the document that carries those figures, and they are written to be read on the operator’s own pages, not on a third-party review. A punter who is about to deposit the minimum on a new method must check the operator’s terms for that method on the day of the deposit, as the limits are operator-level and can change without the cashier warning at the time of payment.

Two points the operator terms make plain, and that the punter pays for if missed:

• TAB NZ accounts need a verified New Zealand address and ID. A deposit is not a substitute for verification; a withdrawal is the moment the operator checks the address and the ID against the deposit.
• A withdrawal goes back to the same method that funded the deposit, in line with standard New Zealand anti-money-laundering practice; opening a withdrawal to a different bank than the one that funded the bet is not how the cashier behaves.

The deeper cost sits underneath those rules. TAB NZ and Betcha are the only brands that may lawfully offer sports and racing bets to people in New Zealand. A punter who bets with any other brand is betting with an operator that the Department of Internal Affairs has told to withdraw with immediate effect, that operates in a jurisdiction with minimal consumer safeguards, and that may not return unspent credits or pay out large wins. The deposit fee the punter pays to POLi is the smallest part of that price.

What the law now says, and who may take the bet

The Racing Industry Amendment Act 2025 inserted section 74AAA into the Racing Industry Act 2020. It took effect on 28 June 2025, and it says that no person other than TAB NZ may offer racing betting, sports betting or other racing or sports betting to a person in New Zealand, regardless of where that person is resident or incorporated. The Department of Internal Affairs told unlicensed providers serving New Zealand to withdraw with immediate effect. There is no licence route for another bookmaker and no register of betting licences, because there is only one lawful operator.

TAB NZ’s online business is run by Entain under a 25-year agreement signed in 2023. Entain gets a 50/50 share of gross profits, with at least $150m a year going to TAB NZ for the first five years, and Entain pledged a one-off $100m payment to the racing sector. Betcha is one of the two brands TAB NZ runs from that partnership, alongside TAB itself. The two are one operator group; the page does not treat them as rivals, because they are not.

What the law does not do is also part of the picture:

• The law does not geo-block offshore websites. New Zealand does not block bookmaker sites at the network level. The law puts liability on the operator.
• The law does not say a player commits an offence. Section 19(4) of the Gambling Act 2003, inserted in 2025, says an individual may not be convicted for placing a bet with an offshore operator in breach of section 74AAA. No published penalty for a player was found.
• The law does not require a single national online-betting exclusion register. The register the Online Casino Gambling Act 2026 will require is for online casinos only. TAB NZ and Betcha carry the only New Zealand harm-minimisation tools that cover online sports and racing betting.
• The law does not establish any statutory rule on payment methods for betting accounts — card, bank, credit, prepaid or crypto. What a punter can use to deposit and withdraw is set by TAB NZ’s own terms.

The greyhound codes are closing in stages from 1 August 2026, and from that date offshore operators may not take bets on greyhound races either. The Racing Industry Act covers events held inside and outside New Zealand, so the ban is not limited to New Zealand fixtures.

A punter who reads the law plainly gets this: TAB and Betcha are the only lawful options for online racing and sports betting in New Zealand, with the New Zealand harm-minimisation tools, regulator oversight and complaints framework that flow from being on-shore. Offshore brands are unlawful for the operator to serve New Zealand, sit outside the New Zealand complaints route, and carry the risks DIA has spelled out. Neither side is “the safe choice” by default, because the page does not write the punter’s risk appetite for them.

Safer gambling on the lawful New Zealand brands

Safer gambling is built into the TAB NZ app as deposit limits, time-outs and self-exclusion, and an exclusion applies across both brands. The minimum age for TAB NZ betting is 18; betting under 18 is an offence under section 89 of the Racing Industry Act 2020. Land-based casinos in New Zealand set 20 as the age threshold — the page keeps that distinction, because the betting age and the casino age are different permits and the law sets them differently.

TAB NZ must keep the risks of problem and underage gambling minimised and pays a Problem Gambling Levy of 0.74%, in force from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2028. The free Gambling Helpline (0800 654 655, text 8006) and Safer Gambling Aotearoa are the help lines the operator’s own app points customers to.

The punter-level levers the operator gives the customer are three:

• Deposit limits, set inside the app, on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.
• Time-outs, for a short cooling-off window the punter sets.
• Self-exclusion, which closes the account and blocks re-opening across TAB and Betcha together.

There is no single national online-betting exclusion register. A punter who excludes from TAB and Betcha is not excluded from offshore brands. A punter who excludes from an offshore brand is not excluded from TAB and Betcha. Each operator runs its own list. The punter who wants one exclusion that covers everything online has, today, no such register to turn to.

The advertising frame is the Advertising Standards Authority’s Gambling Advertising Code. Betting ads must not target children (under 14) or young people (14 to under 18), judged by context, appeal and expected audience — 25% or more of the audience counts as significant where accurate data exists. Ads must not encourage harm and must be truthful, with the terms available. The page does not run ads; it stops at describing the frame.

What it costs to clear a TAB NZ “bonus bet”

TAB NZ runs “bonus bet” promotions. No New Zealand rule on bonus-bet size or wagering terms was found, so the figures that follow are TAB NZ’s own terms, and a punter is to read them on the day of the promotion. The arithmetic of a bonus bet, written in plain prose:

A TAB NZ “bonus bet” is the kind of offer in which the operator credits a bet to the punter’s account and the stake is usually not returned with a winning payout. If the operator credits a $50 bonus bet at a $2.10 fixed-odds price on a single result, the punter’s return on a win is $50 × ($2.10 − 1) = $55, because the $50 stake is not paid back. On a loss the punter is out the $50 bonus bet and the underlying stake never came from the punter’s cash balance in the first place. The free-bet value to the punter, averaged over many bets, depends on the market’s margin: the higher the margin the operator takes on the market the bonus bet is placed on, the less of that $50 the punter keeps on average.

A punter who treats a bonus bet as a discount on a future bet is reading the offer the way it is written. A punter who treats a bonus bet as cash to be withdrawn at the end of the wager is reading a different document, and the cashier will not follow that read.

Top 2 brands in the comparison

This ranking covers the only two online brands TAB NZ operates from one licence — TAB and Betcha — followed by a comparison table that lists the brands a New Zealand punter meets, each marked “not licensed in New Zealand” where the law puts the operator outside the section 74AAA permission. The page does not treat offshore brands as rivals to TAB and Betcha, because they are not lawful in New Zealand and the law treats them differently. They sit on the same comparison page so the punter can see what each one’s own terms say on the same matters.

TAB and Betcha are one operator group, and the verdict the comparison lands on is the same for both: they are the only lawful options in the country the punter is in. The punter’s task is to choose between the two brands’ own product — the racing form on TAB, the Betcha layout — and not to compare them on licence, because the licence is the same.

TAB — the racing and sports book of TAB NZ

TAB is the original brand of TAB NZ and the one most New Zealand punters reach for first. The brand carries TAB NZ’s full racing product — Win, Place, Each Way, Quinella, Exacta, Trifecta, First Four, Double, Treble, Daily Double, Running Double, Quaddie and Big6, and Multis and Same Game Multis — alongside the sports product and Trackside live race streaming with in-app betting. The cashier is the TAB NZ wallet: deposit methods and limits are set by TAB NZ’s own terms, and a self-exclusion set on TAB applies across TAB and Betcha together.

The punter’s cost on TAB is the bookmaker’s margin on the market they bet on, plus the wagering terms of any bonus bet the operator credits. The punter’s protection is the full New Zealand framework: TAB NZ is on-shore, regulated by the Department of Internal Affairs under the Gambling Act 2003, subject to the Racing Industry Act 2020, and required to keep the risks of problem and underage gambling minimised. The gambling helpline (0800 654 655, text 8006) and Safer Gambling Aotearoa are the help the operator itself points customers to.

The verdict on TAB is that it is the only lawful option for the punter who wants New Zealand harm-minimisation tools and a New Zealand complaints route. The trade-off is that the punter is betting into one operator’s sportsbook and one operator’s margin; there is no second lawful bookmaker in New Zealand to compare prices against on a given race or match.

Betcha — TAB NZ’s online sister brand

Betcha is the second online brand TAB NZ operates from the same licence. It is a separate site with a separate product feel, and the cashier is the same TAB NZ wallet underneath. A self-exclusion set on Betcha applies across TAB and Betcha together; a deposit limit set on Betcha applies to TAB and Betcha together; an account opened on Betcha is verified against the same New Zealand address and ID rules TAB NZ applies everywhere.

The punter’s cost on Betcha is identical in structure to the punter’s cost on TAB, because the two brands share an operator, a wallet and a margin profile. The punter’s protection is the same New Zealand framework. The product difference is the surface: Betcha’s layout, its markets and its racing form are presented under its own brand, and the punter who prefers the Betcha feel can bet there without giving up the New Zealand regulatory cover.

The verdict on Betcha is that it is the only lawful option for the punter who prefers its layout over TAB’s, and the page does not call one brand better than the other because they are one operator group. The punter’s choice between the two is a choice of product feel, not a choice of licence or protection.

LegendPlay — sportsbook with a long promotions list

LegendPlay sits in the comparison because a New Zealand punter meets the brand, and the punter deserves to know what the operator’s own terms state and where the operator sits under New Zealand law. The operator’s home page lists sports promotions named First Deposit Bonus, Weekly Reload Bonus, Sport Jackpot, Virtual Sports Excitement and Acca Boost. The specific terms on POLi, on NZD limits, on wagering factors and on the markets that count toward each promotion are not established in the operator’s own terms page at the time of check, and the punter is to read the operator’s terms before claiming any of those promotions.

This operator is not licensed in New Zealand and sits outside the section 74AAA permission the Racing Industry Amendment Act 2025 inserted. The Department of Internal Affairs has told unlicensed providers serving New Zealand to withdraw with immediate effect. The punter’s recourse is the operator’s own complaints process and the operator’s home jurisdiction, not the New Zealand regulator.

The verdict on LegendPlay is that it is a sportsbook with a long list of named promotions, and the punter who bets there is to weigh that list against the absence of a New Zealand licence. The brand is not unlawful for the punter under section 19(4) of the Gambling Act 2003; the operator is the party the New Zealand law targets.

Golden Panda — sportsbook, esports and casino under one roof

Golden Panda offers a Sports section with a sportsbook, esports and virtual sports, plus casino, live casino, crash games, rewards, cashback, a VIP Club, Golden Goals and Prediction Markets. The breadth of the offering is the brand’s distinguishing feature; the casino products sit alongside the sportsbook on the same account.

This operator is offshore and is not a POLi-supported site. The punter’s recourse is limited to the operator’s own complaints process and the operator’s home jurisdiction. The Online Casino Gambling Act 2026 licenses online casino gambling only; it does not license sports betting.

The verdict on Golden Panda is that it is a multi-product brand with a sportsbook among other verticals, and the punter who bets on it must weigh the breadth of the offering against the lack of a New Zealand licence. This operator is for the punter who wants casino, esports and sports on one account, accepting that the operator sits outside the New Zealand regulatory frame.

Sportaza — a withdrawal table that already names NZD

Sportaza’s terms do not list New Zealand among the excluded jurisdictions in section 2.3, and the NZD appears in the withdrawal limits table. The table runs from NZ$1,000 per day / NZ$13,000 per month at level 1 to NZ$3,000 per day / NZ$35,000 per month at level 5. The presence of an NZD limit is not the same as a New Zealand licence, and the operator is not licensed in New Zealand.

The punter’s recourse is the operator’s own complaints process and the operator’s home jurisdiction. POLi availability on Sportaza is not established, and the punter must check the operator’s cashier for the live list of methods.

The verdict on Sportaza is that the operator’s own terms do not block New Zealand customers, and the NZD withdrawal limits are a practical convenience for a punter who wants to withdraw in their home currency without a conversion fee. This brand’s regulatory status is its most critical caveat; do not assume a local license.

Rabona — a Soft2Bet sportsbook with a known launch date

Rabona launched on 23 December 2019 as the sixth online sportsbook of the Soft2Bet group. Other brands in this group also appear in the comparison, and none are locally permitted.

The verdict on Rabona is that it is a sportsbook from an established group, with a known launch date that puts it among the longer-running brands in the comparison. This platform is not locally permitted; use it only if you understand the risks.

Spinbara — a sports welcome offer denominated in USDT

Spinbara advertises a first deposit bonus of 100% up to EUR 100 and a sport crypto welcome bonus of 100% up to 200 USDT on its English site, alongside a casino welcome bonus of 100% up to EUR 500 plus 200 free spins. The sports welcome offer is denominated in USDT on the operator’s English site, and the punter who takes it is to read the operator’s terms for the wagering factor, the minimum price for a qualifying bet, and the markets that count toward the rollover.

This operator is not licensed in New Zealand.

The verdict on Spinbara is that it is a sportsbook with a USDT-denominated welcome offer. Given it operates without a local permit, proceed with caution and verify the terms yourself.

Winz.io — a crypto-led brand with no deposit limits advertised

Winz.io accepts BTC, ETH, LTC, BCH, DOGE, USDT, BNB, ADA, TRX, XRP and SOL, deposits are made by connecting a crypto wallet, and the site advertises no deposit limits and instant withdrawals. The brand is built around crypto deposits and crypto withdrawals; POLi is not established as a method on this crypto-led brand, and a New Zealand punter who reaches for POLi at the cashier will not find it.

The operator is not licensed in New Zealand.

The verdict on Winz.io is that it is a crypto-led brand for the punter who already holds crypto and wants no advertised deposit limits and instant withdrawals. Lacking a local license, one is to approach it with care.

BigClash — a stated one-to-three-day withdrawal window

BigClash states that withdrawals are processed in about 1 to 3 days on the euro-priced version of the site. The withdrawal window is the operator’s own statement, and the punter must read the cashier for the live timing on their own currency.

This operator is not licensed in New Zealand.

The verdict on BigClash is that it is a sportsbook with a stated one-to-three-day withdrawal window. As it lacks a local license, monitor your activity and limits closely.

BillyBets — sportsbook with a coin-shop rewards layer

BillyBets includes cashback and reload bonuses on sports, and a coin shop where coins collected by depositing, betting, tournaments and challenges can be exchanged for free bets and free spins. The VIP programme has five levels, and the coin shop is the brand’s distinguishing feature.

This operator lacks a local permit and is not a POLi-supported site.

BillyBets operates as a sportsbook with a coin-shop layer that rewards depositing, betting and tournament play; it holds no New Zealand licence.

Boomerang Bet — casino, live casino and sportsbook on one account

Boomerang Bet runs a casino, live casino and sportsbook on one account, and its English site advertises a first deposit bonus of 100% up to EUR 100 and a welcome bonus of 100% up to EUR 500 plus 200 free spins. The punter’s stake counts across the three verticals on one wallet, which is the brand’s distinguishing feature.

The operator holds no New Zealand gaming permit.

Boomerang Bet functions as a multi-vertical brand with a single wallet across casino, live casino and sports; it holds no New Zealand licence.

Thunderpick — a crypto-recommended sportsbook with a minimum withdrawal

Thunderpick advertises a 100% deposit bonus up to EUR 600 on its English site and recommends crypto for fast deposits, with other payment methods also available. The minimum withdrawal is EUR 10 (or equivalent in another currency) per transaction, and a closing fee of EUR 20 applies when an account is closed with a balance at or below EUR 20. The closing fee is the brand’s distinguishing feature, and the punter is to read the operator’s terms before closing an account at a low balance.

This brand is offshore and accepts no POLi transfers.

The verdict on Thunderpick is that it is a sportsbook with a EUR 600 advertised welcome bonus, a EUR 10 minimum withdrawal, and a EUR 20 closing fee on small balances. This brand lacks a local operating permit; the fee structure necessitates extra scrutiny.

Megapari — a free-bet-and-cashback promotions list

Megapari’s bonus page lists a free bet of 15% of the first deposit, a Free Bet Hour with 50% cashback on football losses returned as a free bet, and sports cashback. The amounts on the Singapore version of the site are shown in SGD, and no New Zealand version of these terms was seen. The punter who takes any of these offers is to read the operator’s terms for the wagering factor, the minimum price for a qualifying bet, and the markets that count toward the rollover.

The operator is not licensed in New Zealand, and POLi availability on this brand is not established.

The verdict on Megapari is that it is a sportsbook with a long list of named promotions. These offers are to be weighed against the brand’s lack of a local operating permit, which significantly alters its appeal.

Betninja — a sports offer and a casino welcome on one account

Betninja advertises a casino welcome of EUR 1,000 bonus and 100 free spins, and a sports offer of a 100% match up to EUR 100 on the first deposit. The punter’s stake counts across both verticals on one wallet.

The operator is not licensed in New Zealand, and POLi availability on this brand is not established.

The verdict on Betninja is that it is a multi-vertical brand with a sports first-deposit offer and a larger casino welcome. The punter who bets on it is to weigh the offers against the absence of a New Zealand licence or established POLi support.

What the cashier does at the end of the bet

The punter’s last step is the withdrawal, and the timing is the part the punter feels. On the lawful New Zealand brands, the withdrawal goes back through the TAB NZ wallet, and the operator’s own terms set the timing. On the offshore brands, the timing is what the operator states on its cashier — BigClash says one to three days, Winz.io says instant, Thunderpick sets a EUR 10 minimum — and the punter is to read the cashier on the day of the withdrawal.

Three points the cashier shares across brands, lawful or not:

• A withdrawal goes back to the same method that funded the deposit where the operator supports that direction. POLi is a deposit rail; a withdrawal back through POLi is not how the cashier behaves on most brands.
• A withdrawal is the moment the operator checks the address and the ID. A punter who verified on deposit may still see a delay on the first withdrawal while the operator confirms the destination.
• A withdrawal fee is the operator’s own charge. POLi does not charge the customer on the deposit side; the operator’s fee on the withdrawal side is the figure the cashier shows.

The punter who reads the cashier before the deposit avoids the surprise on the withdrawal.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use POLi on betting sites?

POLi is an online payment option that lets customers pay merchants directly from their New Zealand internet banking account, and the service is run in New Zealand by Merco Ltd. Whether a betting site accepts POLi is set by that site’s own cashier, and one is to check the cashier for the live list of methods before depositing. POLi itself supports ANZ, BNZ, ASB, Kiwibank, TSB, The Cooperative Bank and Westpac, with Heartland shown among its bank logos as well.

Do any sport betting sites accept POLi?

The only operator group that may lawfully take online racing and sports bets from a person in New Zealand since 28 June 2025 is TAB NZ, which runs the brands TAB and Betcha from one licence. Whether those brands list POLi at the cashier is set by TAB NZ’s own terms, and one is to check the cashier on the day of the deposit. Other betting sites a New Zealand punter meets are not licensed in New Zealand, and each sets its own payment methods on its own terms.

What betting apps use POLi?

The TAB NZ app carries the TAB NZ wallet and includes Trackside live race streaming with in-app betting, racing form, Blackbook and Jockey Challenge tools, and a simplified wallet for deposits and withdrawals. Whether POLi appears in that wallet is set by TAB NZ’s own terms, and one is to check the app’s cashier on the day of the deposit. Other betting apps a New Zealand punter meets are not licensed in New Zealand, and each sets its own payment methods on its own terms.

Which payment methods does TAB NZ accept, and where are they listed?

TAB NZ’s deposit methods and limits are operator-level and come only from TAB NZ’s own terms. The TAB NZ app carries a simplified wallet for deposits and withdrawals, and the operator publishes the terms on its own pages rather than through a third-party register. The free Gambling Helpline (0800 654 655, text 8006) and Safer Gambling Aotearoa are the help the operator’s own app points customers to.

Which bookmaker may lawfully take sports and racing bets in New Zealand?

TAB NZ and its online sister brand Betcha are the only operators allowed to take online sports and racing bets in New Zealand since the Racing Industry Amendment Act 2025 took effect on 28 June 2025. The Department of Internal Affairs told unlicensed providers serving New Zealand to withdraw with immediate effect, and there is no licence route for another bookmaker. TAB NZ’s online business is run by Entain under a 25-year agreement signed in 2023.

What does a player lose by betting with a bookmaker that has no New Zealand licence?

A player betting with a bookmaker that has no New Zealand licence sits outside the New Zealand regulator’s complaints route, and the Department of Internal Affairs warns that overseas operators may be in jurisdictions with minimal consumer safeguards, may not return unspent credits, and may not pay out large wins. The player is not committing an offence under section 19(4) of the Gambling Act 2003, but the operator is the party the New Zealand law targets under section 74AAA of the Racing Industry Act 2020.

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