How to bet on sports in New Zealand in 2026: what every punter pays, and what the law lets them do

Updated October 2026

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18+ Only

Current as of 26 October 2026, checked against the Racing Industry Act 2020 (as amended in 2025), the Gambling Act 2003, and TAB NZ’s published terms.

Since 28 June 2025, TAB NZ and its online sister brand Betcha have been the only brands allowed to take racing and sports bets from people in New Zealand. That single fact reshapes what “how to bet on sports in New Zealand” means in 2026: it is less a search for a new bookmaker and more a search for what the one legal option costs the punter, what its rules allow, and what the offshore alternatives actually are under the new law. This article walks through the walkthrough, the ranking, the statute, the harm-minimisation framework, the bet types and the calendar of sports the page’s reader is most likely to bet on. The angle is cost: not the headline price, but what that price already contains.

How betting works in New Zealand: the walkthrough

Betting in New Zealand now begins with a choice that looks like a choice and is not. A punter who wants to bet on a sport or a race in 2026 opens an account with TAB NZ (the retail and online brand TAB) or Betcha (TAB NZ’s online-only sister brand); both are run by Entain New Zealand under a 25-year partnership signed in 2023. There is no licensed competitor. What follows is the practical order: account, deposit, bet, settle, withdraw.

Opening an account

TAB NZ accounts need a verified New Zealand address and identity document. The TAB and Betcha apps both run on this rule. Offshore brands do not, because offshore brands are not entitled to take bets from people in New Zealand; section 74AAA of the Racing Industry Act 2020, in force since 28 June 2025, makes doing so a breach of New Zealand law by the operator. A New Zealand punter who opens an offshore account is not committing an offence under the law as published — 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 — but the operator is. DIA told unlicensed providers to withdraw with immediate effect when the change took effect.

The practical walkthrough at TAB: download the app or visit the website, enter a New Zealand address, upload ID, set a deposit limit, and the wallet is live. Betcha uses the same identity check under the same TAB NZ operator. Once verified, the punter can move money in, place a bet, and settle or withdraw.

Deposits and the wallet

TAB NZ’s app carries a “simplified wallet” for deposits and withdrawals — a single balance that powers racing and sports bets across both TAB and Betcha. The exact methods and limits are operator-level: they come from TAB NZ’s own terms, not from statute. A reader who needs the live list — card types, minimum deposit, processing time — finds it on TAB NZ’s terms page, because the rules that govern a wallet here are the rules TAB NZ chooses to publish.

There is no statutory rule on payment methods for betting in New Zealand — no card ban, no credit ban, no crypto ban, no bank-block order was found. The Online Casino Gambling Act 2026 regulates online casino gambling only and does not change how a TAB NZ account is funded.

Picking a market and placing a bet

The TAB NZ app covers horse and harness racing, rugby union, rugby league, and a wider set of sports that runs from rugby and NRL to NBA, NFL, tennis, cricket, football, motorsports and esports. Betcha covers horse, greyhound and harness racing, plus rugby, NRL, MMA/UFC, NBA, NFL, tennis, cricket, football, motorsports and esports. Pre-match and live betting are both available on the TAB app; Trackside live race streaming sits inside the app with in-app betting.

A bet is placed in three steps: pick the event, pick the market (Win, Place, Each Way, head-to-head, line, total, multi, Same Game Multi), enter the stake, and confirm. The bet slip holds the stake, the price, the potential return and the market. Once confirmed, the bet is on — TAB NZ does not let a punter cancel a fixed-odds bet after it is placed, because the price has moved the moment the bet is taken.

Settling and the weight of the odds

TAB NZ settles fixed-odds bets at the price the punter took. Tote and pool bets settle at the dividend declared after the race. The return on a fixed-odds bet is the stake multiplied by the decimal odds: a $10 bet at odds of 2.10 returns $21, of which $10 is the stake returned and $11 is the profit. A multi’s odds are the legs multiplied together, and the stake is multiplied by the combined price.

The weight of the odds is the margin inside them, which is the cost every punter pays for the chance to bet. A two-way market at decimal odds of 1.90 and 1.90 — say, head-to-head on a tennis match where the two players are priced evenly — pays back roughly 95.1 cents of every dollar staked across both outcomes, with the remaining 4.9% kept by the bookmaker. That band is illustrative, not a quoted price; real TAB NZ margins move with the market and the sport. The arithmetic uses the formula payout share = 1 ÷ (1/odds₁ + … + 1/oddsₙ) and margin = 1 − payout share. A two-way market at 1.85 / 1.85 yields a payout share of about 92.6%, a margin of 7.4%. A three-way 1X2 market at 2.10 / 3.40 / 3.60 yields a payout share of about 94.3%, a margin of 5.7%. The number tells the punter what the bookmaker keeps of every unit bet on the market, on average, before any operator fee or levy is taken on top.

Withdrawing

Withdrawals return to the same method a punter used to deposit, where the method supports it. Processing times are TAB NZ’s own; nothing in statute forces a particular window. The wagering requirements and bonus restrictions that often complicate withdrawals at offshore brands do not apply at TAB NZ in the same form, because TAB NZ runs no offshore-style bonus structure. “Bonus bets” promotions at TAB NZ are TAB NZ’s own product and are governed by TAB NZ’s terms.

The reviewed bookmakers: what each one is worth, and what each one costs

The set is built around the law. TAB and Betcha are the only two brands that may lawfully take online sports and racing bets from people in New Zealand since 28 June 2025; they are one operator group, run by Entain NZ under a 25-year partnership, and never rivals. The remaining brands in the table are reference points: real brands a New Zealand punter meets online, each marked “not licensed in New Zealand” because only TAB NZ may offer betting here. A reader who opens an account with any of them is using a brand that is prohibited from serving New Zealand. The comparison still has value, because the punter who pays the tabs wants to see what the market looks like beyond the monopoly.

TAB

TAB is the retail and online brand of TAB NZ, the only provider lawfully offering racing and sports betting to people in New Zealand under section 74AAA of the Racing Industry Act 2020. Its app covers horse and harness racing, rugby union and rugby league, plus a wider set of sports pre-match and live; Trackside live race streaming sits inside the app, and the betting rules define Win, Place, Each Way, Quinella, Exacta, Trifecta, First Four, Double, Treble, Daily Double, Running Double, Quaddie and Big6, and Multis and Same Game Multis. Safer-gambling tools — deposit limits, time-outs, self-exclusion — are built in, and an exclusion applies across TAB and Betcha because they are one operator. TAB NZ pays a Problem Gambling Levy of 0.74% of its betting revenue, the levy being in force from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2028.

The cost is the margin inside every price and the levy that sits on top of it. TAB NZ runs “bonus bets” promotions, but a punter who only reads the marketing sees “bonus bets” and not the wagering terms, expiry, or market restrictions that come with them — those come only from TAB NZ’s own published terms, and a punter is advised to read them before claiming. TAB NZ’s minimum age is 18; betting under 18 is an offence under section 89 of the Racing Industry Act 2020. The app carries a 17+ App Store age rating while stating that customers must be 18 or over to bet.

For a punter who wants to bet on a New Zealand race, an All Blacks test, a Super Rugby Pacific match or a NRL round, TAB is the lawful choice and the only one that carries New Zealand harm-minimisation tools, regulator oversight and a complaints framework. The price inside the odds is the published cost, and the published cost is what the punter pays.

Betcha

Betcha is TAB NZ’s online-only sister brand, run by Entain NZ under the same partnership, and one of two brands — with TAB NZ — that may lawfully take online sports and racing bets from people in New Zealand since 28 June 2025. The app covers horse, greyhound and harness racing, plus rugby, NRL, MMA/UFC, NBA, NFL, tennis, cricket, football, motorsports and esports. The app was first released on 6 August 2024.

Because Betcha and TAB are one operator group, the wallet, the identity check, the safer-gambling tools and the exclusion register work across both. A punter who opens Betcha is using the same legal operator as a punter who opens TAB, just on a different app. The platform’s market coverage is broader on the esports and international-sport side, and Betcha’s design is mobile-first.

The catch is that Betcha is not a separate regulator-approved brand with different consumer protection; it is the same operator group as TAB, with the same oversight and the same tools. A punter who thinks Betcha is “a different bookmaker” has misread the structure. For a punter who wants a mobile-first sports-and-esports product under New Zealand oversight, Betcha fits. The cost is the standard margin inside the price, plus the wagering terms of any “bonus bets” the punter may claim.

Thunderpick

Thunderpick is an esports-first brand, covering CS2, League of Legends, Dota 2 and Valorant; its sportsbook offers a cash-out feature and markets from the Champions League to the NFL. This brand is not licensed in New Zealand, where only TAB NZ provides legal racing and sports betting. It relies on a Curaçao licence (OGL/2024/677/0722) held by Paloma Media B.V., providing no New Zealand complaints route or harm-minimisation framework.

For a New Zealand punter, Thunderpick is what an offshore esports book looks like: deeper esports market coverage than TAB NZ or Betcha, and zero New Zealand consumer protection. A punter who plays on Thunderpick from a New Zealand address is using an operator that is prohibited from serving New Zealand residents, and whose Curaçao framework is the only recourse if a payout stalls.

BigClash

BigClash offers pre-match and live sports betting across international and local leagues, plus virtual sports and esports betting on FPS and MOBA titles. It is not licensed here; TAB NZ remains the only lawful provider for racing and sports bets. It operates under a Curaçao licence (8048/JAZ), lacking any New Zealand consumer protection or complaints pathway.

BigClash is the shape of an offshore one-account sports-and-casino brand: one wallet, one login, a sportsbook that covers the leagues a casual punter follows and a casino tab that runs beside it. A punter here operates without New Zealand consumer protections, leaving the operator’s own Curaçao framework as the only path for any payout dispute.

Telbet

Telbet describes itself as a crypto casino and sportsbook, with a welcome offer of 200% up to 1 BTC plus 50 free spins and a 5 USDT free bet on its Russian-language site. The English site offers in-play betting and a My Bets page, and publishes separate sports betting rules, bonus terms, and responsible-gambling and AML policies.

The crypto-first pitch is the selling point and the risk. A New Zealand punter using Telbet is depositing in crypto, settling in crypto, and hoping the operator’s terms — written by the operator, not by a New Zealand regulator — are honoured. The wagering terms behind that 200% headline are the actual cost, and they are Telbet’s terms, not New Zealand law.

RTbet

RTbet’s sportsbook covers football, tennis, table tennis, basketball, ice hockey, American football and baseball, with live betting and virtual sports. The brand names a Curaçao licence, which gives no right to take bets from people in New Zealand, and no New Zealand complaints route or harm-minimisation framework reaches it.

For a punter whose weekly bet is on a Premier League fixture, an NBA tip-off or a Champions League night, RTbet carries a familiar shape — multi-league coverage, live betting, a virtual sports tab to fill the gaps — at the cost of no New Zealand oversight. A payout complaint has only the Curaçao framework to fall back on.

22Bet

22Bet offers over 30 market types per event, including 1X2, Double Chance, totals, both teams to score, correct score and HT-FT, plus tennis game, set and handicap markets. The brand names a Curaçao licence (8048/JAZ), held by TechSolutions Group N.V., which gives no right to take bets from people in New Zealand, and no New Zealand complaints route or harm-minimisation framework reaches it.

The 30-market menu is the genuine edge. A punter who wants a Both Teams To Score line on a Champions League group fixture, a correct-score market on a Premier League game, or a handicap line on a tennis match will find them at 22Bet. Operating without a local licence, the brand offers no path to a New Zealand regulator or complaints framework.

Roobet

Roobet’s sportsbook covers soccer, basketball, tennis, Counter-Strike, FIFA, baseball, ice hockey, MMA and table tennis, and its terms require players to be 18 or older. The brand names a Curaçao licence (OGL/2024/687/0427), held by Raw Entertainment B.V., which gives no right to take bets from people in New Zealand, and no New Zealand complaints route or harm-minimisation framework reaches it.

Roobet is the shape of a crypto-friendly sportsbook with a wider game lobby than a TAB NZ. A New Zealand punter using it is doing so without New Zealand oversight, and a complaint has only the Curaçao framework as a path.

Spinbara

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. It is not licensed in New Zealand — only TAB NZ may offer racing and sports betting to people in New Zealand — and the brand names no licence that applies in New Zealand. No New Zealand complaints route or harm-minimisation framework reaches it.

The bonus-first pitch is the cost in plain sight. A punter who reads “100% up to EUR 100” and not the wagering terms behind it has misread the price; the bonus is the headline, the turnover is the cost. Spinbara’s own terms define that cost, and a New Zealand punter has no New Zealand regulator to read those terms with.

Alawin

Alawin’s sportsbook covers football, tennis, table tennis, basketball, ice hockey, American football and baseball, with Live Betting, Virtual Sports and esports also offered. It is not licensed in New Zealand — only TAB NZ may offer racing and sports betting to people in New Zealand — and the brand names no licence that applies in New Zealand. No New Zealand complaints route or harm-minimisation framework reaches it.

Alawin sits in the same family as RTbet: a multi-league sportsbook with a casino tab, run under a Curaçao framework that gives no right to take bets from people in New Zealand. For a New Zealand punter, the price is the same as for every offshore brand on the page: the margin inside the odds, with no New Zealand regulator reading the operator’s terms.

Comparison at a glance

The table below names each reviewed bookmaker, its New Zealand status under section 74AAA of the Racing Industry Act 2020, and what the operator’s own terms state on the cost-side subject of this page — the price of a bet and the rules that govern how it is paid out. Operators not licensed in New Zealand carry a Curaçao licence that gives no right to take bets from people in New Zealand.

The cost of a bet is what the punter pays after the marketing has worn off. TAB NZ publishes no headline “100% bonus” — its promotions are its own product, governed by its own terms. Offshore brands in the table publish a headline number and ask the punter to read the terms afterwards; the cost is what the terms say. None of those headline numbers is a price, and none of them changes the law on who may take a New Zealand punter’s bet.

Overview and core of betting in New Zealand

The fundamentals have changed once in the last decade. Before the Racing Industry Amendment Act 2025 took effect on 28 June 2025, New Zealand ran a duopoly between TAB NZ and the Lotto NZ Commission; offshore bookmakers served New Zealand residents in a legally grey space, and the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) tolerated them. The 2025 amendment rewrote section 92A of the Racing Industry Act 2020 and inserted section 74AAA: 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 change is statutory, not contractual. There is no licence to apply for and no licence register for bookmakers; the register simply does not exist because there is only one lawful operator.

TAB NZ runs the betting monopoly and shares the gross profit with Entain NZ. Entain runs the TAB business under a 25-year agreement signed in 2023, taking 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 a second TAB NZ online brand — one operator group, two apps.

A punter who searches “how to bet on sports in New Zealand” in 2026 is not searching for a bookmaker; they are searching for a route. The route is TAB NZ or Betcha. The page that follows walks through what the route looks like and what it costs.

Legality and regulation: who may take a New Zealand punter’s bet

The statute is the Racing Industry Act 2020, amended by the Racing Industry Amendment Act 2025, which inserted section 74AAA. The Gambling Act 2003 governs gambling more broadly. The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) is the regulator. The Racing Industry Act 2020 establishes TAB NZ as the sole betting provider for racing and sports in New Zealand. Section 74AAA, in force since 28 June 2025, makes offering racing or sports betting to a person in New Zealand by anyone other than TAB NZ a breach of New Zealand law by the operator. DIA told unlicensed providers to withdraw with immediate effect.

There is no licensing route for another bookmaker and no licence register for betting, because there is only one lawful operator. The law does not geo-block offshore websites; it puts liability on the offshore operator. TAB and Betcha are the two lawful online brands of TAB NZ, run by Entain under the 25-year partnership signed in 2023. The Online Casino Gambling Act 2026 licenses online casino gambling only and does not license sports betting; TAB New Zealand winning the right to apply for a casino licence does not extend the betting monopoly.

What may be bet on at TAB NZ: racing and sports betting, fixed-odds and tote. The published betting rules define bets such as Win, Place, Each Way, Quinella, Exacta, Trifecta, First Four, Double, Treble, Daily Double, Running Double, Quaddie and Big6, and Multis and Same Game Multis (a multi whose legs come from one event). Live betting is listed in the TAB NZ apps; any statutory restriction on in-play markets is not established. There is no statutory per-bet cap; limits are TAB NZ’s own terms. The ban covers events held inside and outside New Zealand. Greyhound racing is closing in stages from 1 August 2026, and from that date offshore operators may not take bets on greyhound races either.

What the law does not cover is as important as what it does. No lawful New Zealand betting exchange exists and spread betting is outside TAB NZ’s sports-betting definition; a reader who sees a “New Zealand betting exchange” pitched by an offshore brand is looking at an offshore platform, not a New Zealand one. Bets on politics and novelty markets are not established under the statute. Virtual (computer-simulated) sport is treated by the 2026 online casino law as casino gambling; whether esports betting is “sports betting” under the Racing Industry Act is not established.

Player protection

The 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 are 20 — never merge the two. TAB NZ accounts need a verified New Zealand address and ID. TAB NZ lists deposit limits, time-outs and self-exclusion in its apps, and an exclusion applies across both TAB and Betcha because they are one operator. There is no single national online-betting exclusion register; the register the casino law will require is for online casinos only. TAB NZ pays a Problem Gambling Levy of 0.74% of its betting revenue (in force from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2028). Help: the free Gambling Helpline (0800 654 655, text 8006) and Safer Gambling Aotearoa.

Tax and the operator

For the player, Inland Revenue guidance says recreational gambling winnings are generally not taxable and prize money from TAB horse, dog and trotting races is not taxable; a person who bets as a business is a different case, and the Inland Revenue rules are the source to check directly. Operator side: TAB NZ pays the Problem Gambling Levy (0.74%); overseas operators supplying New Zealand residents pay online gambling duty (12% of profits since 1 July 2024, 16% from 1 January 2027). A duty being payable does not make an offer lawful — never read tax payment as a sign of legality. The point-of-consumption charge on offshore racing and sports bets ceased on 30 June 2026.

Offshore

Since 28 June 2025 an overseas bookmaker taking sports or racing bets from a person in New Zealand is breaking New Zealand law (DIA’s statement); the penalty for breaching section 74AAA is not stated in the section and no prosecution of an offshore bookmaker was found. New Zealand does not block bookmaker sites. The player: 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 betting operator in breach of section 74AAA; no source states a penalty for a player. DIA 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 honest framing is: TAB NZ and Betcha are the only lawful option, with New Zealand harm-minimisation tools, regulator oversight and a complaints framework; offshore means unlawful for the operator to serve New Zealand, no New Zealand complaints route, DIA’s stated risks, and limits possible elsewhere. Neither is “the safe choice” by default.

Advertising

Because only TAB NZ may offer betting here, DIA reads the prohibition as covering promoting or taking such bets for another operator; how DIA treats betting affiliates is not established, so the page describes the monopoly and never invites readers to sign up with an offshore brand. The Advertising Standards Authority’s Gambling Advertising Code applies to betting advertisements: 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), must not encourage harm, and must be truthful with terms available. No New Zealand equivalent of a “whistle-to-whistle” ban for betting was found. TAB NZ runs “bonus bets” promotions; no New Zealand rule on bet-bonus size or wagering terms was found, so the wagering terms are TAB NZ’s own.

Responsible gambling and harm minimisation

TAB NZ lists deposit limits, time-outs and self-exclusion in its apps. A deposit limit caps how much can move into the wallet over a chosen window; a time-out pauses the account for a chosen period; a self-exclusion closes the account for a longer period, and an exclusion applies across TAB and Betcha because they are one operator. The tools sit in the account settings; setting them up is part of opening an account, not a later task.

The Problem Gambling Levy funds harm-minimisation work. TAB NZ pays 0.74% of its betting revenue into the levy, in force from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2028. The Helpline (0800 654 655, text 8006) is free and run for New Zealand residents; Safer Gambling Aotearoa is the public-facing service. A punter who notices the bet slipping — chasing losses, betting more than planned, hiding the stake — can set a tighter limit at TAB NZ, take a time-out, or self-exclude. A punter using an offshore brand has none of those tools, because the offshore brand is not bound by TAB NZ’s terms.

The offshore gap is the rule, not the exception. New Zealand’s harm-minimisation framework reaches TAB NZ because TAB NZ is in New Zealand. An offshore brand under a Curaçao licence has its own rules, and those rules are not the New Zealand Gambling Commission’s. A punter who bets offshore has no New Zealand complaints route; the only path back is the operator’s own dispute process and, in some cases, the Curaçao framework.

Bet types and odds: how the price is built

A bet is a contract: the punter risks a stake on the outcome of an event at a price set by the operator. The price is the decimal odds. The return on a winning bet is the stake multiplied by the odds; the stake is returned with the profit. A $10 bet at odds of 2.10 returns $21: $10 stake back, $11 profit. A bet at odds of 1.50 returns $15: $10 stake back, $5 profit. A multi’s odds are the legs multiplied together — a three-leg multi at 2.10, 1.85 and 1.95 has combined odds of about 7.58 — and the stake is multiplied by the combined price.

The market is the type of bet. Win, Place and Each Way are racing markets; head-to-head, line, total, 1X2, Both Teams To Score and Same Game Multi are sports markets; Quinella, Exacta, Trifecta, First Four, Double, Treble, Quaddie and Big6 are exotic racing markets. TAB NZ’s published betting rules define each market and how it settles — what counts as a win, when a bet is void, how a dead heat is paid. A punter who reads the market rules before betting knows what counts; a punter who does not reads them only when a bet settles and the result is not what they expected.

The margin is the cost inside every price. The arithmetic is payout share = 1 ÷ (1/odds₁ + … + 1/oddsₙ) over all outcomes of one market, and margin = 1 − payout share. A two-way market at 1.90 / 1.90 yields a payout share of about 95.1%, a margin of 4.9%. The same market at 1.85 / 1.85 yields 92.6% and 7.4%. A three-way 1X2 market at 2.10 / 3.40 / 3.60 yields 94.3% and 5.7%. The band a punter sees depends on the sport and the market: head-to-head tennis sits near the tight end, exotic racing and small-field events sit wider, and a Same Game Multi carries a margin on every leg and on the combined price.

The band on this page is illustrative, not a quoted price. A specific price or margin goes on the page only with a snapshot date, and TAB NZ’s live prices change constantly. A punter who wants to see the margin of a real market reads the prices on both sides and runs the formula; the result is what the bookmaker keeps of every dollar on that market, on average.

Bonus bets change the arithmetic, because the stake is usually not paid back with a win. A “bonus bet” of $10 at odds of 3.00 pays $20 if it wins — $10 × (3.00 − 1) — not $30, because the $10 stake is not returned. A punter who reads “bonus bet $10” and imagines $30 back has misread the price. TAB NZ’s own terms set the wagering rules, expiry, and market restrictions; a punter is advised to read them before claiming. The wider rule is that a “bonus bet” is worth the stake multiplied by (odds − 1), on average, and the bonus bet offers no guarantee of a winning payout.

Sports and tournaments the New Zealand punter bets on

The calendar of a New Zealand punter in 2026 runs through the codes the TAB NZ and Betcha apps cover, plus the codes that air on Trackside. Racing runs daily in thoroughbred and harness; greyhound racing closes in stages from 1 August 2026. Rugby runs in Super Rugby Pacific, test rugby with the All Blacks, NPC and NPC Heartland, Rugby League with the NRL. Cricket runs in Black Caps fixtures, Plunket Shield, Super Smash, and the international calendar. Football runs in the A-League Men and Women, the English Premier League, the Champions League, and the OFC qualifying pathway. Basketball runs in the NBL and the NBA. The NFL and MLB run in their northern-hemisphere seasons. Tennis runs through the ATP, WTA and the four Grand Slams. Motorsport runs in Formula 1, MotoGP and Supercars. MMA/UFC runs on its own calendar. Esports runs through CS2, League of Legends, Dota 2 and Valorant, and TAB NZ and Betcha cover the main titles.

The Melbourne Cup is the single day that breaks the calendar: a New Zealand punter who has not had a bet all year finds one on Cup Day, and the TAB NZ tote and fixed-odds markets take the volume. Cup Day is the test of a TAB wallet in its busiest hour.

How to bet on a single game

A single-game bet is a bet on one outcome of one event: head-to-head, line, total, Both Teams To Score, correct score, or a player market. The punter picks the market, picks the selection, sets the stake, and confirms. The bet slip shows the price and the return. A single-game bet settles when the event ends; a Same Game Multi settles when the last leg settles.

The cost is the margin inside the price. A head-to-head market on a balanced All Blacks test sits near 1.90 / 1.90 — a 4.9% margin, illustrative — while a NRL line market at even money sits closer to 5.5%. A punter who bets on head-to-head markets pays the narrowest margin, while correct score and exotic markets carry wider margins for the extra outcomes.

How to bet on football accumulators

An accumulator is a multi whose legs come from different events. The punter picks two or more selections, and the odds multiply together: a four-leg multi at 1.80, 2.20, 1.95 and 1.70 has combined odds of about 13.13. The stake multiplies by the combined odds. A punter who bets $5 on the multi wins $65.65 if all four legs win, and loses the $5 if any leg loses. A Same Game Multi is a multi whose legs come from one event — Both Teams To Score, total goals, first goalscorer, correct score, player markets — and the combined price carries a margin on every leg.

The cost is the margin on every leg, compounded. A four-leg multi of markets with a 5% margin each does not have a 5% margin overall; the margin on the multi is closer to 5% × the number of legs, all else equal. The punter who chases a long-odds multi is paying the bookmaker on every leg.

How to bet on horse racing odds

A racing bet is a bet on the outcome of a race at a price set by the operator. TAB NZ takes Win (the horse finishes first), Place (the horse finishes in the place positions, which depend on the field size), Each Way (a combination of Win and Place), and exotic markets like Quinella (the first two in any order), Exacta (the first two in order), Trifecta (the first three in order), First Four (the first four in order), Double, Treble, Quaddie (the winners of four nominated races), and Big6. The odds are decimal; a Win bet at $2.10 pays $21 on a $10 stake.

The dividend is what the tote pays. TAB NZ’s tote and pool bets settle at the dividend declared after the race, not at a fixed price. A punter who takes a fixed-odds Win bet and a tote Win bet on the same horse will see two different returns if the horse wins, because the tote dividend depends on the pool. The published betting rules define each market and how it settles, including dead heats, scratchings, and void bets.

How to bet on the NFL, NBA and MLB

The NFL, NBA and MLB run on their northern-hemisphere calendars, and TAB NZ and Betcha carry markets on all three. The bet types are the same as for any sport: head-to-head, line (the spread), total (over/under), and player markets. The margin on a balanced NFL line sits near 4.5-5%, illustrative; NBA and MLB sit in the same band.

A New Zealand punter who bets on the NFL is awake at odd hours: an Auckland kickoff at 1pm local time is a 4pm New Zealand time Monday morning game, a Sunday Night Football game is a 1pm Monday start, and the Super Bowl is the longest night of the year. The punter who bets on the NBA lives in a 7pm tip-off window, which is the morning in New Zealand. MLB is the most local-friendly: a 1pm Eastern start is a 6am New Zealand start, but a West Coast game is a 10am start. The code a punter follows decides what the wallet looks like on a Tuesday morning.

How to bet on boxing fights and MMA

Boxing and MMA fights are head-to-head markets, with method-of-victory markets on the bigger fights. TAB NZ and Betcha carry MMA/UFC markets; boxing is on the wider sports menu. The margin on a method-of-victory market is wider than the margin on a head-to-head market, because there are more outcomes. A punter choosing a method-of-victory market pays for the additional outcomes available.

How to bet on basketball online

Basketball online at TAB NZ and Betcha means NBA, NBL, and the international calendar. The market menu is the standard menu: head-to-head, line, total, and player props. The process for betting on the NBA matches other sports, covering the full calendar from the regular season through to the Finals.

How to bet on Counter-Strike and esports

Esports at TAB NZ and Betcha covers CS2, League of Legends, Dota 2 and Valorant. Offshore brands go deeper: Thunderpick’s esports menu runs CS2, League of Legends, Dota 2 and Valorant as its core, and the sportsbook offers a cash-out feature. Whether esports betting is “sports betting” under the Racing Industry Act is not established in statute; the practical answer is that TAB NZ and Betcha take bets on esports, and the offshore brands take bets on esports, and the law says only TAB NZ may do so for people in New Zealand.

How to bet on a CFL or baseball game

The CFL (Canadian Football League) is a small market; TAB NZ’s coverage of it is not established. Baseball (MLB) is covered. A punter who follows the CFL is advised to check TAB NZ’s betting menu before assuming the league is on the card; if it is not, the CFL bettor is advised to check TAB NZ’s betting menu, as the NFL is the closer relative.

Frequently asked questions

How to bet at horse races odds?

Horse racing odds at TAB NZ are decimal. A Win bet pays the stake multiplied by the odds; an Each Way bet combines Win and Place. The tote settles at the dividend declared after the race; the fixed-odds price is taken at the time of the bet. TAB NZ’s published betting rules define market definitions, settlement procedures, and conditions for void bets or scratchings. The cost is the margin inside the fixed-odds price and the takeout in the tote.

How to bet football matches correctly?

Football matches are settled at full time unless the market says otherwise. A 1X2 market picks home (1), draw (X) or away (2); a Both Teams To Score market settles yes or no on whether both teams score; a correct-score market picks the exact score. The margin on a 1X2 market is wider than on a head-to-head market because there are three outcomes. A punter who reads the market definition before betting knows what counts as a win.

How to bet horse racing in Hong Kong?

Hong Kong racing runs through the Hong Kong Jockey Club, and TAB NZ carries the meetings on its racing schedule. A New Zealand punter betting on Hong Kong racing uses TAB NZ’s standard racing markets, which cover both fixed-odds and tote options. The odds are TAB NZ’s, not the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s. A punter who wants Hong Kong dividends takes a tote bet; a punter who wants a fixed price takes a fixed-odds bet.

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 28 June 2025, under section 74AAA of the Racing Industry Act 2020. TAB and Betcha are one operator group, run by Entain NZ under a 25-year agreement. There is no licence register for bookmakers because there is only one lawful operator. Offshore brands — Thunderpick, BigClash, Telbet, RTbet, 22Bet, Roobet, Spinbara, Alawin — are not licensed in New Zealand and may not lawfully serve a New Zealand punter.

How is the return on a bet worked out from the stake and the odds?

The return on a winning fixed-odds bet is the stake multiplied by the decimal odds. A $10 bet at odds of 2.10 returns $21: $10 stake back, $11 profit. A multi’s odds are the legs multiplied together. A tote bet returns the stake multiplied by the dividend declared after the race. A “bonus bet” usually does not return the stake with the win — a $10 bonus bet at odds of 3.00 returns $20, not $30. The wagering terms of any bonus are the operator’s own terms.

What is the bookmaker’s margin and how can it be seen in the odds?

The margin is the share of every dollar staked that the bookmaker keeps on average. The arithmetic is payout share = 1 ÷ (1/odds₁ + … + 1/oddsₙ) over all outcomes of one market, and margin = 1 − payout share. A two-way market at 1.90 / 1.90 yields a payout share of about 95.1% and a margin of about 4.9%. A three-way 1X2 market at 2.10 / 3.40 / 3.60 yields about 94.3% and 5.7%. The band varies by sport and market; a punter who reads both sides of a market and the formula sees the margin in the prices.

Published by the Nzgolfodds team.