In the fast-paced world that is the Asia-Pacific gaming industry, it’s easy to overlook the goings on of smaller jurisdictions such as New Zealand. But a couple of recent regulatory initiatives in the Land of the Long White Cloud have certainly caught my attention for the fact that they are bold and politically risky but also the right thing to do.
The first of these is the government’s decision to legalize and regulate online casino gaming.
In November, the nation’s Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden revealed that a new Online Gambling Bill to be drafted in the coming months will offer up to 15 licenses to online gaming operators with a view to minimizing the proliferation of illegal offshore gambling across the country.
“My goal is not to increase the amount of gambling that is happening online, but to enable New Zealanders who wish to play casino games online to do so more safely than they can today,” van Velden said.
“Currently, New Zealanders can and do gamble on thousands of offshore gambling websites. By introducing a regulatory system my intention is to channel customers towards up to 15 licensed operators.”
Unsurprisingly the plan has its critics, but the fact is it represents a refreshingly honest recognition by the New Zealand government that simply banning gambling in any of its various forms does not make the “problem” go away. As I’ve said many times before, if people want to gamble, which many do, they will find a way.
Most impressive, however, is the fact that New Zealand’s stance in regulating online gambling is in stark contrast to the approach taken across the majority of the Asia-Pacific region, and most notably neighboring Australia, which should also consider regulation rather than prohibition but won’t for fear of the vocal anti-gambling brigade. Better to be seen as doing the right thing than to actually do the right thing.
But that’s not the only brave decision taken in Kiwi land. On 10 November, the New Zealand government announced it would ban greyhound racing due to ongoing animal welfare concerns. Specifically, racing minister Winston Peters said that although the greyhound racing industry had worked hard to make progress around animal welfare in recent years, the sheer number of animals continuing to suffer injuries had forced the government to make a call that was in the best interest of the animals.
Many will disagree with me here, but this is undeniably the right decision given all we’ve come to learn about what many of these poor racing dogs go through. I’m generally against prohibition, but I’m also an animal lover, and it’s about time we start considering more seriously the clear ethical issues that come with using any animals for sport.
It’s a message I expect will take a long time to be heard around the rest of Asia, but it’s great to see our friends in New Zealand taking it upon their shoulders to show the rest how it should be done.
