Tether

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The previous version was built on a claim that does not hold for a New Zealand reader, and described the token in a way that is factually incorrect. Both corrections matter more than they might sound.

“Stable” against what?

Who issues it

A stablecoin is a claim on a company, not a bearer asset

Issuer	Tether Holdings Limited, incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, operating principally from El Salvador
Launched	2014 — the previous page’s date was correct
Scale	The largest stablecoin in circulation, roughly 60% of global stablecoin supply, issued across 15 or more blockchains
Reserves	Reported as spanning US Treasuries, cash and equivalents, secured loans, gold and Bitcoin
Verification	Quarterly attestations by an accounting firm. These are point-in-time confirmations, not full audits.
Peg record	Has held near one US dollar for over a decade, with one notable dip to around 95 cents in 2022 that recovered within hours

It is not decentralised, and that matters

The previous version listed “blockchain encryption and decentralization” as a security feature. A dollar stablecoin is issued and controlled by a company, which can freeze balances at particular addresses. Every centrally issued stablecoin works this way; only algorithmic or crypto-collateralised designs avoid it.

Whether that is good or bad depends on which side of a freeze you are on. What it is not is decentralisation.

The regulatory record, which the page called “some scrutiny”

In February 2021 the New York Attorney General settled an 18-month investigation for US$18.5 million, finding that reserve backing had been misrepresented and barring the companies from serving New York residents. Eight months later the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission imposed a further US$41 million penalty over untrue or misleading statements about reserves, finding that sufficient fiat reserves had been held for only part of the 26-month period examined.

No wrongdoing was admitted in either settlement. The quarterly reserve reporting that exists today began as a settlement requirement rather than a voluntary choice.

Reported fairly. Those matters concerned disclosure during 2016–2019 and predate the current reserve regime. The token has held its peg through a decade of market stress. But “some regulatory scrutiny” is not an accurate description of two settlements totalling nearly US$60 million.

This is the whole page in one point. A US dollar stablecoin is stable if you spend US dollars. If you live here, it is a foreign currency, and holding one is a foreign exchange position whether or not you think of it that way.

The improvement over Bitcoin is real — currency movements are far smaller than crypto price swings. But the previous page’s promise that deposits and withdrawals “hold their worth” is not something this method can deliver to a New Zealander.

Who issues it, and the record

Reference sources

Regulator orders, tax authority guidance, legislation and consumer resources used in this article. No link below goes to a gambling operator.

CFTC orders Tether to pay US$41 million over reserve statements
— US Commodity Futures Trading Commission
New York Attorney General settlement with Bitfinex and Tether
— Office of the New York State Attorney General
Tether transparency and quarterly reserve attestations
— the issuer’s own disclosures
Cryptoassets and tax
— Inland Revenue, Te Tari Taake
Exchange rates, including NZD/USD
— Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Te Pūtea Matua
Cryptocurrencies: what consumers should know
— Financial Markets Authority
Online Casino Gambling Act 2026
— New Zealand Legislation
Information for online casino customers
— Department of Internal Affairs
Gambling Helpline Aotearoa New Zealand
— free, confidential support service

Two things to take from that.

A stablecoin is a claim on a company. Bitcoin is a bearer asset — hold the keys and you hold the thing. A dollar stablecoin is a token representing a promise that an issuer holds reserves and will honour redemption. That is a different kind of risk, and it is the kind that regulation exists to address.
“Some regulatory scrutiny” was doing a lot of work. Two settlements totalling close to US$60 million, one of which barred the companies from serving an entire US state, is a matter of public record rather than scrutiny in the abstract.

I have set both out in proportion. The conduct concerned disclosure during 2016–2019, no wrongdoing was admitted, the peg has held through a decade of market stress, and the token remains by far the most used stablecoin in existence. It is still not “some scrutiny.”

The mistake that loses deposits

Start here

Four tools, strongest first

These work best stacked rather than chosen between. Each closes a different door, and the ones that do not depend on an operator’s cooperation are the ones that hold.

1. A gambling block at your own bank

Several New Zealand banks will decline transactions to merchants coded as gambling. It is free, it covers every operator at once, and it does not rely on any casino honouring anything. Many include a cooling-off delay before the block can be lifted, which is the part that matters at eleven at night.

Gap to know about: blocks read merchant category codes, so payments routed through an e-wallet, a prepaid voucher or a cryptocurrency exchange may not be caught.

2. Blocking software on your devices

Software that blocks gambling sites and apps across your phone, tablet and computer. BetBlocker is free and covers multiple devices. Paid options include Gamban and GamBlock. This closes the door the bank block cannot — it stops you reaching the site at all, rather than stopping the payment.

Install it on every device you use, not just the one you gamble on most.

3. Self-exclusion at each online casino

Useful, and weaker than it sounds. It applies only to the operator you set it with — it does nothing at any other site. There is no scheme covering offshore operators serving New Zealand, so it has to be done one account at a time.

How firmly it is enforced depends entirely on the operator. Treat it as one layer, not the answer.

4. Venue exclusion, if you also gamble in person

This one has genuine legal force in New Zealand, unlike anything online. Covered in detail below.

You do not have to arrange any of this alone. The Gambling Helpline will walk you through every step, including which banks offer blocks and how to apply exclusions across accounts. Free, confidential, 24 hours a day, on 0800 654 655 or text 8006.

Of everything in this section of the site, this is the most likely to save someone money. The previous page listed multi-chain support purely as a benefit and gave no warning at all.

The tax position

Unchanged from any other cryptoasset, and absent from the previous version.

Two separate questions. For a recreational player, gambling winnings in New Zealand are generally treated as a windfall and not taxed. Separately, Inland Revenue treats cryptoassets as property, not currency — so selling, swapping or spending them can be a taxable disposal on any profit, at your marginal rate.
Stablecoins are not exempt. A token pegged to the US dollar is still property in Inland Revenue’s terms, not currency. Swapping it for another cryptoasset is a disposal of the one given up. And because your gain or loss is measured in New Zealand dollars, exchange rate movement can itself produce a taxable result on a token that never left its peg.

Keep records: date, amount and New Zealand dollar value for every purchase, deposit, withdrawal and conversion. From 2027, participating overseas platforms will report New Zealand residents’ cryptoasset holdings and transfers to Inland Revenue under an international framework.

This is general information, not tax advice. Our Bitcoin deposits page covers the position in more detail, and our gambling tax page covers the general treatment of winnings.

What is genuinely good about it

Far less price movement than Bitcoin or Litecoin. For someone who wants crypto’s transfer characteristics without watching a balance swing 15% overnight, this is a real answer.
Low transfer costs on the cheaper networks, materially below what a card or bank transfer would cost internationally.
Fast settlement, usually minutes.
Wide acceptance at operators that take crypto at all.

Those are legitimate reasons to prefer it over other cryptoassets. They are reasons to choose it among crypto options, not reasons to choose crypto.

Where the New Zealand rules are going

For operators licensed here, credit card and buy-now-pay-later deposits will be prohibited, and daily, weekly and monthly deposit, spend and session limits become mandatory.

Whether cryptocurrency will be permitted at all is unresolved. Some overseas regulators prohibit it for their licensees, and stablecoins specifically are the subject of active regulatory work in several jurisdictions. If New Zealand takes a restrictive line, this method would be unavailable at licensed operators here from 2027.

The previous version said New Zealand “does not currently restrict” crypto for online gambling and that players should “use licensed casinos.” No online casino holds a New Zealand licence — the Department of Internal Affairs register opens from early 2027. Our New Zealand gambling laws guide sets out the timeline, and our casino deposit methods page covers the routes that work from here today.

One practical note carried from our other crypto pages: several New Zealand banks offer a free gambling block, but it works on merchant category codes and buying cryptocurrency is not coded as gambling. If you have set one up as a control, crypto is the route around it. Our responsible gaming page lists the free support services available here.

This page is general information about casino payments in New Zealand, not financial, legal or gambling advice. Fees, limits and availability change; confirm them with the operator and your provider before you deposit. Some links on this site earn CasinoChecking.nz a commission, which never affects what we publish. If gambling is causing harm, the Gambling Helpline is free and confidential on 0800 654 655.

The one with legal force

Venue exclusion in New Zealand, and how to cover many venues at once

If pokie venues or a land-based casino are part of the picture, New Zealand has a statutory scheme that works properly. It is the strongest exclusion tool available here and the previous version of this page did not mention it at all.

Self-exclusion from a venue

Under section 310 of the Gambling Act 2003 you can exclude yourself from the gambling area of a venue. Where a person tells a class 4 venue operator they are experiencing gambling problems, the operator is required to issue an exclusion order. This is an obligation on the venue, not a favour.

In practice it helps to do it in writing and provide a photograph. A face-to-face gambling counselling service will handle the mechanics with you.

Multi-Venue Exclusion — many venues, one process

Rather than visiting every venue individually, the MVE scheme lets you exclude from multiple venues at once. It has operated since 2011 and is now nationally administered, with venues managed through a shared exclusion database.

Your local gambling support service can tell you who coordinates it in your area, or start at multivenueexclusion.org.nz.

It carries penalties, on both sides

Once an exclusion order is in place, it is an offence for the venue to let you into the gambling area — and an offence for you to enter it. Both attract fines under the Act, with the larger penalty falling on the operator.

That asymmetry is deliberate. It gives the venue a real reason to enforce your exclusion, which is exactly what an online self-exclusion at an unlicensed operator lacks.

Also available

All six licensed New Zealand casinos run their own exclusion programmes. TAB NZ operates a separate scheme for racing and sports betting. Venue managers can also initiate an exclusion themselves where they have reasonable grounds to believe someone is experiencing harm.

Concerned about someone else? You can raise it with a venue operator directly. Bringing something concrete — unpaid bills, bank statements — helps. Support services are also there for whānau and friends, not only for the person gambling.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is USDT stable for a New Zealand player?

Only against the US dollar. Your money is measured in New Zealand dollars, so holding USDT is a foreign exchange position. If the New Zealand dollar strengthens before you cash out you receive less back, even with the peg intact and no gambling involved.

So is it better than Bitcoin for deposits?

On volatility, yes — currency movements are much smaller than crypto price swings. That is a genuine advantage. It is not the same as your money holding its worth.

Is Tether decentralised?

No. The previous version of this page said so and it is incorrect. USDT is issued and controlled by a company that can freeze balances at particular addresses. Every centrally issued stablecoin works this way.

Who issues it?

Tether Holdings Limited, incorporated in the British Virgin Islands and operating principally from El Salvador. Reserves are reported quarterly through attestations by an accounting firm — point-in-time confirmations rather than full audits.

What is the regulatory history?

In February 2021 the New York Attorney General settled for US$18.5 million over misrepresented reserve backing, barring the companies from serving New York residents. In October 2021 the CFTC imposed a further US$41 million penalty over untrue or misleading reserve statements. No wrongdoing was admitted in either. The quarterly reporting that exists today began as a settlement requirement.

What is the biggest practical risk?

Sending on the wrong network. The token exists on more than fifteen blockchains and a casino address works on only one. Match the network in your wallet to the one the cashier specifies, and send a small test amount first.

Do I pay tax on it?

Recreational gambling winnings are generally a non-taxable windfall. But cryptoassets are treated as property, so disposing of USDT can be taxable on any profit — and because gains are measured in New Zealand dollars, exchange rate movement alone can produce one. This is general information, not tax advice.

Where can I get help if gambling is causing problems?

The Gambling Helpline is free and available 24 hours a day on 0800 654 655, or by free text to 8006. PGF Services offers free counselling on 0800 664 262. Support is also available to whānau and friends.