The Department of Internal Affairs has come out strong against gambling advertisements being played by major broadcasters – but it has failed to enforce this interpretation before.

TV channels and radio stations operated by TVNZ, Three, NZME and MediaWorks have all broadcast ads for Jackpotcity.net, a free-to-play website in the style of an online casino – but if you search for Jackpotcity, the results are dominated by traditional offshore online casinos, unregulated in New Zealand.

Some broadcasters, such as Three, only play the adverts after 9pm, but some others don’t appear to be so scrupulous.