Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) has been approved to provide independent testing services for New Zealand's newly regulated online casino market. The country is building out its framework under the Online Casino Gambling Act 2026. The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) has published Minimum Standards and draft Testing and Monitoring Requirements. Licences will be distributed competitively, with applications opening this month.
The approval gives operators and suppliers preparing to enter the market access to GLI's testing and compliance services. Without meeting the technical requirements of the new regime, no licence will be granted, so the list of accredited labs is a practical reference when choosing a contractor.
'New Zealand is an important step for regulated iGaming in APAC, and we are pleased that GLI has been approved to support this market,' said GLI APAC managing director Richard Howarth. His team is ready to help operators and suppliers navigate the technical requirements of the new regime.
Scale and prior accreditations
GLI provides testing, certification, cybersecurity and consulting services across more than 710 regulated gaming jurisdictions. Its Asia-Pacific labs are in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.
This is not the company's first market of this kind. In 2026 GLI became the first independent lab to receive PAGCOR accreditation for testing and certifying iGaming platforms in the Philippines. In August Uzbekistan's regulator added it to the list of labs whose reports are accepted.
For arbitrage buyers and affiliate managers, lab accreditation does not create offers. But it confirms the New Zealand launch is on schedule: licence applications, minimum standards, testing requirements. The question now is who gets access and how they will acquire traffic.
