Racing Industry (Closure of Greyhound Racing Industry) Amendment Bill
This bill ends commercial greyhound racing in New Zealand from 1 August 2026. It sets up a new government body called the Greyhound Racing Transition Agency to manage the shutdown. That agency will help rehome racing greyhounds, wind up the main greyhound racing organisation and its clubs, and support people leaving the industry. TAB NZ (the national betting agency) will keep taking bets on greyhound races held overseas, but will stop taking bets on races in New Zealand. Overseas betting companies will be blocked from taking bets from New Zealanders on any greyhound races.
What this affects
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The bill shuts down the greyhound racing industry, affecting around 1,000 full-time equivalent jobs, and sets up a process to wind up industry organisations and distribute remaining assets to former participants.
The bill would establish roles, responsibilities, and processes for closing the industry.
any remaining assets should go to industry participants... distributed to participants registered with GRNZ immediately before the 1 August 2026 closure date
TAB NZ must provide an amount of funding approved by the Minister to enable the Agency to perform its functions under this Act efficiently and effectively.
Progress through Parliament
Have your say
This bill is open for public submissions to the Primary Production Committee. Anyone can tell the committee what they think, and you don’t need to be an expert. Submissions close 8 January 2026.
Bill text sourced from legislation.govt.nz (Parliamentary Counsel Office). Arapono’s summary and breakdown are drafted with AI grounded in that official text and reviewed by an Arapono editor for accuracy and neutrality before publishing. Arapono is non-partisan and takes no position on this bill.