Top Sites in New Zealand 2023
$5,000 Welcome Bonus
Are you looking to get started in online gambling? Or are you a veteran looking for a top-tier online casino to make your new go-to? Well, you’re in luck as we’re going to take a look at the best New Zealand online casino sites available to all the Kiwis out there and let you know which are the cream of the crop.
We’ll also cover what you can expect from the best online casino sites, our tips for making the most out of your online casino experience and demystifying some of the terms you might come across.
Best Online Casinos in NZ
Jackpot City Casino - Best Online Casino Overall
Spin Casino - Best Casino for Mobile Compatibility
Dolly Casino - Best Real Money Casino
LeoVegas Casino - Best Online Casino for Slots
888 Casino - Best Online Casino for Roulette
Hellspin Casino - Top NZ Live Casino
Royal Vegas Casino - Best Casino for Blackjack
Mr Bet Casino - Best NZ Casino Bonuses
18+ Please Gamble Responsibly.
How We Rank the Best NZ Online Casino
So, how exactly do we pick out the best online casino sites to recommend to our Kiwi gamblers? Here are some of the most important points we consider when ranking casinos.
Casino Bonuses
Online gambling just isn’t the same without some juicy bonuses to sink your teeth into. When looking for the best online casino, we want to see a range of exciting bonuses, not just a welcome bonus. The bonuses should be consistent to keep rewarding loyal players.
We also look for reasonable wagering requirements and other attached T&Cs. After all, what’s the point in a bonus you’ll never actually benefit from due to harsh wagering goals?
Software Providers
The best online casino will have a great spread of game developers in its library. While we like to know if any one developer is putting out good games, having that variety means the games don’t get stale or homogenous. Also, knowing an online casino is partnered up with lots of trusted casino game developers suggests an element of legitimacy and trustworthiness for that business.
Payment Methods
We want to see the best online casino sites providing a lot of payment methods, but we also want to know they’re safe. There’s a balance to strike between breadth of choice and knowing you’re making a transaction where your funds are secure.
However, too few payment methods will limit the players who can interact with the casino. We want to see our usual suspects like Visa, Mastercard, and direct bank transfers. We also want at least a few e-wallets like Skrill and Neteller, and it’s even better if we see something like PayPal or Apple Pay on there.
Bonus points still if the casino accepts obscure payment options like crypto, but not at the expense of security.
Safety & Licencing
The best New Zealand online casino must be a fully licenced and legitimate business. We won’t recommend online casinos to Kiwi gamblers if we aren’t confident they’re trustworthy businesses you can gamble at in peace.
This means we want a reputable licensing body behind the casino, like the UKGC, MGA or AGCC. We also want to know if the website employs safety measures across its website, which means full SSL encryption at the very least. While it’s not mandatory, we like to see that an online casino has been independently tested for game fairness by a body like e-COGRA.
Mobile Experience
The modern gambling market, like so many others, is seeing an increased shift to the mobile world. Players like the convenience of taking their services, including their eGaming, on the go. And many people have better access to mobile devices than desktops anyway.
As such, the best online casino in New Zealand has to have superb mobile optimisation. This means the website is fully functional on a mobile web browser — with the same standard of website design between the two — and most, if not all, the games should be mobile-friendly. Bonus points again for a dedicated mobile app on iOS and Android devices.
Customer Support
No casino will be perfect, even if we’re on the hunt for the closest we can get. So when those issues do arise, the best online casino NZ will have an accessible and responsive support service available to their customers.
Customer support must be easy to find on the website and quick to get back to you. We don’t want it hidden behind the FAQs or sequestered away in the small print at the bottom of the page. There should be contact options, too: 24/7 live chat or email at the very least. The best will also offer a telephone number or social media.
We also like to see an expansive and helpful FAQ page for those users who’d prefer to resolve issues independently.
Signup Process
Lastly, an online casino needs to ensure the signup process is hassle-free. Convenience is critical to bringing people into a business in the first place. Players want to get started on their pokies as soon as possible without faffing around with convoluted sign-up sheets and deposits. We want a streamlined process that’s clear about what information it wants and when.
Verification is the hiccough in this process because it’s necessary but often a little irritating. Therefore, the best online casino will have this process clearly laid out and swift to confirm so players can get it done quickly.
Jackpot City
Expert Rating: 4.9/5
Jackpot City is a fantastic online casino site that has been around since 1998. The site offers a wide variety of games, bonuses, promotions, payment methods, software providers, and so much more, all on an easy-to-use site or mobile app if preferred. With licensing from the Malta Gaming Authority, players can rest assured that they are playing at a trusted and heavily regulated casino.
Spin Casino
Expert Rating: 4.8/5
Established in 2001, Spin Casino (formerly Spin Palace) is a reputable casino site with hundreds of online casino games, including pokies, roulette, blackjack, video poker, baccarat, and live dealer titles, all from some of the best developers in the industry. Spin Casino is licensed and regulated by the MGA, so players can indulge in their favourite online casino games, knowing the site is safe and secure.
Dolly Casino
Expert Rating: 4.8/5
excellent reputation within the gambling world. The casino has a huge library of over 4,000 games from some of the best software providers around. Players can access all of these fantastic games via their 20’s themed website, which functions flawlessly on desktop and mobile. Dolly Casino completes the package with its enticing bonuses and a vast range of payment options, including crypto.
LeoVegas Casino
Expert Rating: 4.7/5
LeoVegas is best known for being the foremost mobile casino on the market. It was founded in 2012 exclusively as a mobile app, having since expanded onto desktops. It still provides the ultimate experience in mobile gambling. On top of their unmatched mobile app, LeoVegas boasts a vast gaming library, excellent customer support, plenty of payment options, plenty of bonuses to claim, and a licence from the UKGC.
888 Casino
Expert Rating: 4.7/5
888 is one of the best-known online casino sites worldwide and has been around since 1997. With that much experience and a reputation to back it up, it’s unsurprising to find us recommending 888 as one of the best online casino sites. 888 has a library of over 2000 games, including slots, roulette, video poker, blackjack, and live dealer titles, all of which are e-COGRA certified for fairness. Pair that up with their licence from the MGA and you know you’re playing at a legit casino.
Top Tips for Playing at an Online Casino
So, what if you’re new to online casinos? You’re here to find the best online casino to get started with, but what about once you’re through the gates? Well, here are our best tips for playing at online casinos.
Pick the right casino for you
While we’ve provided you with a list of our favourite online casinos for Kiwis, there are a lot of different online casinos out there, all with different strengths and weaknesses. Before signing up, do some research to make sure you’ve found the best online casino for your specific needs.
Get verified quickly
Once you’ve made your account, don’t forget to verify it as soon as possible. If you don’t, you could get held up when withdrawing your winnings. Reputable online casinos only pay out to legally playing customers — the casino wants to know you’re as legit as they are.
You’ll find a verification email in your inbox after registering, and you’ll need to provide some form of legal ID and proof of income. Get this done ASAP so you can play without worrying about it later.
Don’t forget your bonuses!
You were probably brought to your casino of choice partly by the welcome bonus, so don’t forget to properly claim and meet the requirements. This could involve using a bonus code or making a qualifying wager. You will also need to hit a wagering requirement before withdrawing any winnings from bonus funds.
Always check the T&Cs
This may seem like a boring process, and it is, but with online casinos you should at least give them a skim. Going through the sections regarding payments and bonuses should be enough, as those are terms you’re most likely to run into.
Popular Casino Bonuses
You'll come across many different bonuses when looking for the best online casino nz. They can throw around a lot of jargon that could trip you up if you don’t know what they’re talking about. So, we’ve provided some brief definitions of your most common promotions.
- Free spins no deposit — free spins are slot wagers you don’t have to put money down for. They’re usually specific to certain pokies. While they are often attached to deposit bonuses, no-deposit ones don’t require you to pay anything.
- Deposit match bonuses — Casinos will match your deposit a certain amount up to a specified maximum. So, for a 200% match bonus, a $100 deposit will have $200 of bonus funds.
- Reload bonuses — Reload bonuses are a form of match bonuses that reward loyal players for continuing to make deposits. They tend to have smaller match percentages and easier wagering requirements.
- Cashback bonuses — We don’t always win when we play, and cashback bonuses help you out when you lose. Usually weekly or monthly, cashback bonuses will refund you a percentage of your losings.
- VIP promos — VIP programs incentivise users to keep playing with their chosen casino. VIP promos are exclusive promotions for VIPs. These are usually enhanced versions of the other bonuses on this list.
Popular Casino Payment Methods
The best online casino in New Zealandwill offer you all sorts of payment methods, so you have complete control over your funds. But you can encounter so many names and methods that it can get overwhelming. So here’s a list of some of the most popular payment methods available.
Visa and Mastercard
Probably the most popular payment method in New Zealand. Just about everyone has a card with either of these companies. What makes these so convenient is that you can usually conduct withdrawals through them as well, which you can’t say for every method.
Skrill
Skrill is the most convenient e-wallet payment method at New Zealand online casinos. It’s an available method at almost every online casino, which can’t be said of its more popular competitors like PayPal. Net transfers also have notoriously quick withdrawal times.
Apple Pay
With the rise of mobile gaming, we’re also seeing a surge in mobile payment methods like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay. These are super convenient and are becoming widely available at our favourite casinos.
Cryptocurrencies
You don’t see crypto options everywhere yet, but popular crypto tokens like Bitcoin and Ethereum are finding their way into more and more online casinos. You can even find a handful of crypto-exclusive casinos on the market if that’s your cup of tea.
Direct bank transfer
The ol’ reliable classic of direct bank transfer. The only reason I single this method out is because it has a reputation for taking longer than the other methods you see. While it’s very reliable, direct bank transfers can have withdrawal times of up to a week.
Benefits of Online Casinos
The best online casino sites provide a high-class service with huge advantages over their brick-and-mortar counterparts, beyond just the convenience of playing from home. Here are our favourites.
Welcome Bonuses
The best online casino sites will offer you generous welcome bonuses to get you to sign up in the first place. Every online casino worth its salt will have an eye-catching welcome bonus plastered across its front page, and the best will have reasonable wagering requirements attached.
After you’ve claimed your welcome bonus though, the promotions don’t stop there. Free spins, cashback bonuses and VIP schemes will be there to keep the fun going.
Variety of Games & Markets
Online casinos can have incredible libraries of games to offer their players, the titles even numbering in the thousands. It’s no secret that most of those will be pokies, but you’ll also find a whole range of different gambling activities to have fun with.
You’ll find table games like blackjack, baccarat and roulette at most online casinos, as well as live dealer games. The best online casino sites also offer lottery options like bingo and scratch cards.
Budget-Friendly
Thanks to the flexibility of using a casino from your home computer, you can play at an online casino with pretty much any budget. Deposit minimums can get as low as $10 (you can find $1 minimums if you look hard enough), allowing you to play without forking over an arm and a leg.
Some games are even free to play, with free spins and demo modes letting you play even if you don’t want to put any money down at all — although, don’t expect to win any actual money unless you put something in first.
Drawbacks of Online Casinos
Unfortunately, even the cream of the crop casinos will have one or two drawbacks. And this is our most notable:
Restrictions & T&Cs
When a business exposes itself to the internet, it has to put up safeguards to protect its business from being taken advantage of. This means restrictions are put in place to keep players using the website the way it’s intended to be used.
This can also lead to some steep conditions attached to bonuses, like wagering requirements, limited withdrawals and a restriction on which games you can use funds on.
You can work around this easily by ensuring you understand the T&Cs before claiming bonuses or making deposits, but it can be a drag.
Many online casino sites provide fast and secure sign-up processes that are stress-free. For an extra helping hand, our team of experts have created a step-by-step guide below:
Step 1: Locate the sign-up page.
Step 2:
Step 3: Create a username and password that is memorable to you.
Step 4: Verify the above via the email you used to create your account.
Step 5: Make your first deposit — don’t forget your bonus codes!
Step 6:Play all of your favourite online casino games.
Please note you must be over the age of 19 to be eligible to sign up and open an account with casinos in New Zealand.
What to Do if You Have A Problem With Gambling
Participating in online gambling in the country of New Zealand is legal, however, you must be aged 18 or over. It is recommended that you should enjoy gambling online in moderation, and it should always be for fun. If you believe you or someone you know has lost control and the fun has stopped, you should seek professional help and advice from one of the following resources:
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the Best Online Casino in New Zealand?
The best online casino in New Zealand will ultimately come down to personal preference, but our favourites are Jackpot City, Spin Casino, Dolly Casino, LeoVegas Casino and 888 Casino.
Are online casinos legal in NZ?
Yes. While it is illegal to base an online casino in New Zealand, no law prohibits New Zealand citizens from accessing off-shore casino sites.
Is it safe to play at online casinos in New Zealand?
Yes. As long as you’re playing at a reputable casino, online gambling can be completely safe. You should always research a casino before signing up and be aware of responsible gambling guidelines just as you would with physical casinos.
This article is a paid publication and does not have journalistic/ editorial involvement of Hindustan Times. Hindustan Times does not endorse/ subscribe to the contents of the article/advertisement and/or views expressed herein. Before proceeding further and clicking the links provided in the article, the readers are advised to be well versed with the extant laws dealing with gambling. Further, online gambling is also a banned offence in many states/countries. The readers are also advised that gambling is addictive and involves an element of financial risk and reader’s discretion is advisable. The article is intended for information only and nothing contained herein constitutes an advice or guarantee of winning, nor is there an intention to induce anyone into violating any law(s). Hindustan Times shall not in any manner, be responsible and/or liable in any manner whatsoever for all that is stated in the article and/or also with regard to the views, opinions, announcements, declarations, affirmations etc., stated/featured in same. The decision to read hereinafter is purely a matter of choice and shall be construed as an express undertaking/guarantee in favour of Hindustan Times of being absolved from any/ all potential legal action, or enforceable claims.
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