Royal Panda in New Zealand: Status, History and How to Verify the Name

You cannot open a Royal Panda account from New Zealand. If you have landed here because you remember the brand, still hold an old account, or have come across a website trading under the name, the parts that matter are set out below — along with one correction, because the status of this casino is widely reported wrongly.

What actually happened to Royal Panda

Royal Panda withdrew from the British market on 31 January 2020, when its parent company ended the brand’s UK activity as part of a portfolio consolidation. It has not served British players since, and it does not serve New Zealand.

A great many pages online describe the brand as “permanently closed.” That describes the UK exit, not the brand. Royal Panda relaunched in Canada in 2022 as a locally regulated operator and continues to trade there today. So the honest position is narrower, and more useful, than “closed”: it is a live, licensed casino in at least one market that you specifically cannot join from New Zealand.

That distinction matters, because “permanently closed” and “not available where you are” call for completely different responses. The first suggests a name nobody can use. The second means any bonus, promotion or review you see for the brand is aimed at somebody in another country — and that a site using the name could still be live in front of you right now.

The UK closure itself was handled in an orderly way. Players were given about three weeks’ notice and told to withdraw: new sign-ups stopped on 8 January 2020, deposits on 20 January, and accounts closed on 31 January. Anyone who did not withdraw in time had their balance returned automatically to the payment method on record, and the operator kept trying to contact customers it could not pay directly. It was a commercial decision rather than a regulatory one — the brand had underperformed against its sister casinos and was retired as the group consolidated. No enforcement action caused it, and the brand did not vanish owing players money.

A short history of the brand

Royal Panda launched in 2014, operating out of Malta as an independent brand. It built a genuine following on the strength of a friendly, approachable identity built around its panda mascot, a well-curated library of slots and table games from major studios, and a reputation for bonus terms that were easier to read than most of its rivals’. At a time when many operators buried their conditions, that relative clarity was part of the appeal. It was successful enough that LeoVegas acquired it on 24 October 2017 for around €60 million, with further earn-out payments tied to performance — a sizeable price that reflected how much the brand was worth as a going concern.

Britain never worked out as hoped. By late 2019 the parent group had concluded that Royal Panda was losing ground to its own sister brands, and that running two overlapping casinos in the same regulated market made little commercial sense. In January 2020 the UK operation was wound down while the group kept its flagship name and the rest of its portfolio. Importantly, the decision was about where the group wanted to put its marketing and development money, not about anything the regulator had found — the brand left the market in good standing.

The brand itself survived. It returned in the Canadian province of Ontario in 2022, when that province opened one of North America’s first regulated online-gambling markets, operating under an agreement with iGaming Ontario as a LeoVegas brand. That relaunch is the clearest illustration of why “closed” is the wrong word: the same name that disappeared from Britain reappeared, fully licensed, a couple of years later in a different jurisdiction. Ownership then changed at the top: MGM Resorts International took control of LeoVegas through a tender offer that completed in 2022, with the remaining shares settled through a compulsory acquisition afterwards, so Royal Panda now sits inside the MGM group. Our LeoVegas review covers the parent brand and where it stands today.

None of this makes Royal Panda available in New Zealand. The brand is not licensed for this market, and a licence issued in Ontario has no application in Aotearoa. A Canadian regulator covers Canadian players; it says nothing about who may lawfully be served here.

Why “not available” is not the same as “closed”

When a well-known gambling brand leaves a market, its domain does not simply disappear. It keeps its search rankings and its inbound links for years, which makes it genuinely valuable. Two things tend to happen to a name like this one, and neither is something you can tell apart by looking at a logo.

The first is that a retired gambling domain gets bought and put back into service by an unrelated operator, trading entirely on the memory of the old site. The second is that the original owner keeps the name in service for a completely different market — which is exactly what happened with Royal Panda and Ontario. In both cases the familiar name is doing a lot of work and telling you very little. This is the same pattern we cover in our guide to spotting and avoiding fake casino sites, where repurposed domains are a recurring theme.

The practical upshot is simple: a name you recognise is not evidence of anything. The only thing that tells you who you are actually dealing with is the regulator’s own register. Brands in this industry close, get sold, relaunch in new markets and get revived by unrelated companies more often than in almost any other sector, so the gap between “a site I remember” and “a site I can trust” can be wide. A few minutes of checking closes it — and the same checks work for any casino name you remember from years ago, not just this one.

If you find a website using the Royal Panda name

If you come across a live gambling site using this name, do not assume it is the casino you remember, and do not assume it is safe or unsafe on sight. Run three quick checks instead. They take about two minutes and they work on any casino, not just this one.

Two ways a familiar name can mislead

It may be a different business now. A repurposed domain trades on the reputation of the old one, but none of the licensing, ownership or track record described in an older review carries over to it. Everything you think you know about the brand may belong to a company that no longer runs the site.

Or it may be the same business, licensed for somewhere else. A casino operating lawfully in one country under a local licence is not thereby available, lawful or protected where you are. The only licence you can rely on is one that covers your own jurisdiction — and for New Zealand, no online casino holds one yet. Until the first local licences are issued, a familiar name is not reassurance; the register is.

If you had a Royal Panda account

If you used Royal Panda in the past, there are two things worth knowing, and the second matters far more than the first.

Old balances

Balances were returned automatically to the payment method on record at the time of the UK market closure, so in most cases there is nothing outstanding. The operator continued trying to reach customers it could not pay directly for a period afterwards. If you believe yours was not returned, contact the parent group rather than the brand. The operating company still exists and still runs casinos, including Royal Panda in other markets, so there is a real party to write to. Have your account email address, any transaction records you still hold, and the approximate closing balance ready — and do it in writing, so there is a record of the request and a clear timeline if you need to escalate it later.

If you self-excluded, do not assume it still protects you

This is the part that matters most. If you self-excluded from Royal Panda, do not assume that exclusion still protects you today. An exclusion held on one brand’s systems in one market may not carry to the same brand in another market, may not carry to the group’s other casinos, and certainly does not extend to any unrelated operator using a similar name. An exclusion that has quietly stopped working is worse than no exclusion at all, because you may be relying on protection that is not there. Our self-exclusion guide explains how the tools available in New Zealand actually work.

Protections that do not depend on any one casino

Because a single casino’s exclusion can fail when the brand moves or changes hands, the stronger protections are the ones that sit above any individual operator:

• A gambling block through your bank. Most major New Zealand banks can decline gambling transactions across your accounts. It applies to every merchant at once, it survives any casino closing or relaunching, and it usually takes only a couple of taps in your banking app. Most build in a delay before the block can be lifted, which is the point of it.
• Blocking software on your devices. Free tools run by registered charities block thousands of gambling sites across every device you install them on, including newly launched and repurposed domains. That is the only protection that also covers a site nobody has heard of yet.

If gambling has become difficult to manage, our page on responsible gambling in New Zealand sets out the full range of support.

Where New Zealand’s online casino rules stand in 2026

Online casino gambling in New Zealand is now governed by the Online Casino Gambling Act 2026. The Act received royal assent on 27 April 2026 and came into force on 1 May 2026, with the first regulations — the Online Casino Gambling Regulations 2026 — following on 3 July 2026. The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) is the regulator, and the market is capped at 15 licences, with each operator allowed a maximum of three and one brand per licence.

The licensing process moved quickly through 2026. Expressions of interest opened on 17 July 2026 with a NZ$19,000 fee and a requirement to demonstrate access to capital, followed by a competitive auction for the right to apply. On 13 October 2026 the DIA named 11 entities that had secured the right to apply for a licence, after an auction that drew 32 bidders and ran to ten rounds. Super Group’s Baytree Interactive took the maximum of three rights; Entain’s Playvia Gaming and Rock Swift Group took two each; and SkyCity, Stake New Zealand, TAB New Zealand, Skill On Net and others made up the rest. Winning the right to apply is not the same as holding a licence — each applicant still has to pass the DIA’s assessment of its business plan and compliance arrangements.

Full applications were due around 23 October 2026, and the government expects to begin issuing licences from early 2027. In the meantime, operators that did not secure the right to apply must stop serving New Zealanders by 1 December 2026, with penalties of up to NZ$5 million, while those still in the process may continue until their application is decided. Advertising to New Zealanders is restricted throughout, and licensed operators will also pay an ongoing regulatory levy on their New Zealand gambling profits, with changes to online gambling duty taking effect from 1 January 2027.

A public register of licensed operators is expected once licences are issued, which will make a question like “is this casino licensed for New Zealand?” answerable in a single search. Royal Panda does not appear among the entities that secured the right to apply, so even if the first licences are issued on schedule, the brand is not on a path to being available here in the near term. Until that register exists, the footer-and-register check above remains the only reliable method of confirming who is actually licensed. Our New Zealand gambling laws guide sets out the full timetable, and our best online casinos page covers what is available here now.

Getting help in New Zealand

Free, confidential support is available in New Zealand at any hour. The Gambling Helpline is on 0800 654 655 or free text 8006, and PGF Services on 0800 664 262. Neither requires you to be in crisis, and both will talk through practical options, including exclusions and blocks. You must be 18 or older to gamble online in New Zealand.

Disclaimer

This page is published for information only. It is not financial, legal or gambling advice, and nothing on it is a recommendation to gamble or an endorsement of any operator.

Royal Panda is not available to New Zealand players, and nothing here is an invitation to seek a way around that. The page exists so that anyone who remembers the brand, holds an old account, or encounters a site using the name has accurate information about its status.

Market availability, ownership, licensing and domain control all change over time. A brand’s status in one country says nothing about its status in another, and a licence that covers one market does not extend to New Zealand. Confirm the operating company and licence in the footer of any site you are actually looking at, on the relevant regulator’s own register, before doing anything else. Gambling costs money over time by design; free, confidential support is available 24 hours a day on 0800 654 655, or by free text to 8006.

Frequently asked questions

Is Royal Panda closed?

Not entirely. It withdrew from the British market on 31 January 2020 and relaunched in the Canadian province of Ontario in 2022 under provincial regulation. Many sources describe it as permanently closed, which reflects the UK exit rather than the brand as a whole.

Can I play Royal Panda from New Zealand?

No. It is not licensed for, or available to, New Zealand players, and a licence it holds in another market does not apply here.

Who owns Royal Panda now?

MGM Resorts International, through LeoVegas. LeoVegas acquired the brand in October 2017, and MGM took control of LeoVegas through a tender offer completed in 2022.

I found a site using the Royal Panda name. Is it the same casino?

Check rather than assume. It may be the same brand licensed for another market, or an unrelated operator on a repurposed domain. Read the footer for the operating company and licence number, then verify that company on the regulator’s own register and confirm the licence covers your country.

I self-excluded from Royal Panda. Am I still protected?

Do not assume so. An exclusion in one market may not carry to the same brand elsewhere, to former sister casinos, or to any new operator using the name. A bank gambling block or blocking software covers every site at once and does not depend on any single casino.