Entain has soft launched BlackRush Casino, an entirely new brand for New Zealand’s upcoming regulated iGaming market.
The site, which appeared to go live ahead of 1 May to coincide with the country’s new online casino law, is regulated through Entain’s ElectraWorks Gibraltar licence and requires a New Zealand VPN to access.
The site uses what appears to be a separate platform from the global Entain set-up, shared with another New Zealand-facing Entain site in FoxySpins, which looks to be riff on its existing FoxyBingo brand. They will sit alongside the operator’s local sports betting sites betcha and TAB.
At present, Entain is the only permitted operator in the New Zealand sports betting market through a 25-year strategic partnership with TAB NZ.
NEXT.io learned about the new brands one day after New Zealand began the auction for its 15 planned online casino approvals on 29 September, where the winners will be cleared to apply for a licence.
Entain eyes hat-trick in New Zealand
Each licence will have an initial three-year term with possibility for a five-year renewal, with the market set to fully launch at an unspecified date in 2027.
Each licence will only cover one brand, and an operator will be limited to a maximum of three total licences.
In Entain’s FY25 earnings call, chief executive Stella David highlighted the New Zealand opportunity and said the business was confident in getting all three licences.
She said: “I think the opportunity for us is significant because we’ll be the only player who will be able to do cross-sell.”
She added the Entain Australia and New Zealand division under the leadership of local CEO Andrew Vouris was leaning into the market and engaging with local partners.
In terms of numbers, David estimated the market was worth around £600m total per year, with the operator currently making approximately £200m of that, with the added iGaming brands having the potential to push that figure north of £300m.
Other operators to have reportedly submitted an expression of interest in a New Zealand licence include SkyCity, Super Group, DigiPlus, Stake and Dabble.
