A New Zealand lawsuit against SkyCity has been expanded to include bet365 and Super Group, according to various media outlets, in what could be a major test for the country’s new iGaming legal framework.
According to New Zealand business news outlet Business Desk, the lawsuit names bet365 founder and co-Chief Executive Officer, Denise Coates, and Super Group CEO, Neal Menashe, as co-defendants in the case.
The lawsuit has been filed by an unnamed party, and accuses bet365, Super Group and SkyCity of illegally providing online gaming services in New Zealand. The suit was first launched against SkyCity last month.
A local firm based in Auckland, SkyCity Entertainment Group runs five casino properties across Australia and New Zealand. It also has an overseas asset, SkyCity Online, an online gaming platform operated by a Malta-based firm, Silvereye Entertainment, a subsidiary of Gaming Innovation Group (GiG).
This online operation is the subject of the March lawsuit, which has now been expanded to include bet365 and Super Group – the latter being the NYSE-listed operator of the Betway sportsbook and Spin online casino brands.
A SkyCity statement published in early March described the lawsuit as “seeking to test the lawfulness of the online gaming operations operated by Silverye on behalf of an overseas subsidy of SkyCity”.
New Zealand’s new dawn
The lawsuit comes amid an overhaul of New Zealand’s gambling framework.
New Zealand remains fairly tightly controlled, certainly in comparison to Oceana’s largest market, Australia, home to bet365, Entain’s Ladbrokes and Neds, Flutter Entertainment‘s Sportsbet, market leader Tabcorp, Crown Resorts-operated Betfair, PointsBet, and disrupter brands like betr.
In comparison, both retail and online betting in New Zealand can only be offered by the operator of the state-controlled TAB NZ. This position has been filled by Entain under a 25-year contract since May 2023, and was afforded further legal protectionvia June 2025 amendments to the Racing Industry Act 2020.
The law effectively banned offshore online betting operators from conducting business in New Zealand. Some companies quickly exited the market, such as Betfair Australia and NZ – which as stated above is owned and operated by Crown Resorts in Oceania, and not Flutter as in Europe.
Online casino, meanwhile, remains illegal. Gambling can be provided under the Gambling Act 2003, but so far no legal framework exists for online casinos – though one is in the pipeline, with a 15-licence online casino market due to be launched on 1 July 2027.
Both bet365 and Super Group’s Betway are reportedly interested in securing casino licences in the new market. Nonetheless, the unnamed claimants in the expanded lawsuit clearly take umbrage with any presence the two firms may currently have in the market.
