Online gambling in Papua New Guinea: regulation, licence and market guide

Is online gambling legal in Papua New Guinea?

The Gaming Control Act 2007 created the National Gaming Control Board (NGCB) to license casinos, gaming machines (pokies), bookmakers and lotteries, and it lets the Board approve overseas lottery and gaming products, including by internet, with ministerial sign-off. In practice the NGCB has licensed land-based pokies venues, bookmakers and lotteries only; no online licence has ever been issued, so internet gambling by residents sits in an unregulated space. An exclusive casino licence attached to the Paga Hill Special Economic Zone in Port Moresby led to the Pacific Pearl casino, which was recruiting staff in August 2026 and still needed its operating licence before opening. A Gaming Control Bill 2025 with a dedicated online gaming part (licensing, player registration, identity checks and wagering limits) went through agency consultation in August 2025 and had not been enacted as of September 2026.

Restricted: Online gambling is prohibited for operators or licensing is closed; enforcement varies.

Who regulates gambling in Papua New Guinea?

• National Gaming Control Board (NGCB) — Licenses and supervises casinos, gaming machines, bookmakers and lotteries under the Gaming Control Act 2007 and administers the Community Benefit Fund
• Internal Revenue Commission (IRC) — Collects gaming machine betting tax and bookmakers' turnover tax
• Bank of Papua New Guinea (Financial Analysis and Supervision Unit) (BPNG) — AML/CFT supervision and payment-system oversight relevant to gaming operators and mobile money

Papua New Guinea gambling licence: how it works

Land-based licences are available from the NGCB: gaming machine operator licences and site permits, bookmaker licences under the Act's betting provisions, lottery approvals, and casino licences that the Board may invite at the Minister's direction. For online gaming the Act gives the Board power to approve overseas lottery or gaming products offered by internet subject to prescribed conditions and ministerial approval, but no conditions have been prescribed and no approval has been granted, so there is no working online licence. The Gaming Control Bill 2025, developed by the NGCB with NICTA, the Internal Revenue Commission, Treasury, the Bank of PNG and the Department of Justice, would introduce a formal online gaming licensing regime with technical, financial and player-protection standards; it was at drafting-instruction stage after the August 2025 consultation. Until it passes, whether an internationally licensed operator may accept residents is a question for the operator's counsel.

What an applicant needs

• Land-based casino: public invitation by the Board at the Minister's direction, probity of applicant and close associates, exclusive terms attached to the Paga Hill SEZ licence
• Gaming machines: operator licence and site permits, gaming proceeds trust accounts and monthly distribution of gross profit
• Bookmakers: NGCB licence with weekly turnover-tax returns to the Internal Revenue Commission
• Online gaming: Board approval and ministerial sign-off under the current Act (never granted); a licensing regime is proposed in the Gaming Control Bill 2025
• Minimum age 18 for gaming venues

Gambling taxes in Papua New Guinea

• Operators: Under the Gaming Control Act 2007 as consolidated, gaming machine gross profit is split monthly: 46% betting tax, 14% Community Benefit Fund, 5% to the Board, 10% to the operator and 25% to the site permit holder; bookmakers pay a 4% turnover tax on gross bets. Trade sources report later budget increases (a 15% bookmakers' turnover tax and a higher state share of machine profits); confirm current rates with the NGCB and IRC.
• Players: None specified; bookmaker turnover tax is levied on the bet.
• Also: Casino licences carry a casino duty plus a community benefit levy of 5% of taxable gross profit and a gaming levy. Corporate income tax applies to all operators.

Advertising, player protection, KYC and payments

Advertising

The Act restricts advertising of gaming machines and unlicensed gaming; casino and bookmaker marketing is subject to licence conditions. Churches and community groups opposed casino development in 2021, and the government has framed the Paga Hill casino as a members-only venue for high-income residents and visitors.

Responsible gaming

The Community Benefit Fund receives a share of machine profits for social programs, venues must exclude minors, and the Gaming Control Bill 2025 proposes player registration, wagering limits and protections for vulnerable people for online products.

Identity and age verification

Casino entry will require identification and membership; bookmakers and pokies venues apply age checks. Gaming operators are reporting entities under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorist Financing Act supervised by the Bank of PNG's FASU.

Payments

Cash dominates land-based gaming. Mobile money (bank wallets and telecom wallets) and bank transfers are the common digital rails, and the Bank of PNG monitors outbound payments to foreign gambling sites, which policymakers cite as a reason to regulate online gaming.

Notable restrictions

• No online gaming approval has been issued under the Act; online licensing awaits the Gaming Control Bill 2025
• Casino gaming is limited to the licensed Paga Hill SEZ venue, which had not opened as of September 2026
• Gaming machines only in licensed sites with monthly profit distribution to the state and Community Benefit Fund
• Persons under 18 may not gamble

Papua New Guinea iGaming market: size, players and payments

No reliable public estimate for online gambling. Land-based gaming machines are the largest licensed sector; the NGCB does not publish consolidated turnover, and the casino has yet to open.

Mobile penetration is rising but internet access remains uneven outside Port Moresby and provincial centers; mobile money is the main digital payment rail.

Licensed pokies operators and bookmakers serve the land-based market; Pacific Pearl (Paga Hill SEZ, managed by Fortuna Investments) is set to be the first casino once licensed. No licensed online operators exist.

Timeline: how Papua New Guinea got here

1. 1993Gaming Machine Act regulates pokies ahead of the consolidated 2007 law
2. 2007Gaming Control Act establishes the National Gaming Control Board and provides for casino, machine, bookmaker, lottery and internet gaming approvals
3. 2020Paga Hill Special Economic Zone granted its first SEZ licence, including the country's first casino licence
4. 2021First casino proposal draws opposition from churches and community groups
5. 2024Construction of the Pacific Pearl satellite casino begins at Paga Hill
6. 2025-08NGCB consultation workshop in Goroka on the Gaming Control Bill 2025, including an online gaming part
7. 2026-01Paga Hill Paradise apartments open; the minister says the casino will follow
8. 2026-08Pacific Pearl recruits staff and awaits its NGCB operating licence

Outlook

Two decisions will define the next two years: whether the NGCB grants Pacific Pearl its operating licence, making it the country's first casino, and whether Parliament passes the Gaming Control Bill 2025 with its online gaming part. If enacted, the Bill would create the first route to a PNG online licence with player registration, identity verification and wagering limits, and a proposed tax on online gross profit. Until then online gambling stays unlicensed and outbound payments to foreign sites remain a policy concern.

Launching in Papua New Guinea with GameBridge

Model decided with counsel. Papua New Guinea has no working online licence and the legal position for internationally licensed operators serving residents is unsettled, so the right model depends on counsel's view today and on whether the Gaming Control Bill 2025 becomes law.

GameBridge treats Papua New Guinea as a market to be assessed case by case with the operator's counsel rather than served by default. Geo-controls keep the country excluded unless a brand's legal review admits it, in which case the platform provides the compliance tooling: country and age gates, identity verification, deposit and loss limits, self-exclusion and audit logs, with an English site language and a PGK or USD wallet. Payment methods such as mobile money are added on request through the operator's providers. If the 2025 Bill passes, a licensed PNG brand would move to the turnkey model with the operator holding the NGCB licence.

• Country exclusion by default with per-brand admission after legal review
• Age and identity verification with document checks
• Deposit, loss and session limits and self-exclusion
• English site language with PGK or USD wallet options
• Compliance audit log for regulator or partner review

If a brand is admitted, sports content leads: rugby league and Australian racing through the GameBridge sportsbook, with aggregated casino titles curated to the operator's legal advice.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and review

Reviewed against the sources below on 11 September 2026. Regulation changes; confirm the current position with local counsel before launch.

• Gaming Control Act 2007 (consolidated) — Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute, accessed 2026-09-11
• Consultation workshop – Gaming Control Bill 2025 — National Information and Communications Technology Authority, accessed 2026-09-11
• Papua New Guinea advances toward launch of Pacific Pearl, its first land-based casino — Yogonet, accessed 2026-09-11
• Minister Maru thanks investors of Paga Hill Paradise Apartments — PNG Business News, accessed 2026-09-11
• Paga Hill Estate SEZ information memorandum 2024 — Paga Hill Development Company, accessed 2026-09-11
• Papua New Guinea iGaming market research report — iGamingToday, accessed 2026-09-11

Regulatory summaries are provided for orientation only and are not legal advice. Licensing requirements change; we validate them with you during scoping.