Best Online Casinos in New Zealand & Gambling Regulations
If you’re one of the lucky ones residing in beautiful New Zealand, you’re going to be happy to discover that you also have a great selection of online casinos in New Zealand to visit! New Zealand regulates gambling, and within the country’s borders, online gambling is prohibited. This is why you won’t find any casinos online that are based in New Zealand. That said, there are no restrictions against international operators, so Kiwis, such as yourself, are fully allowed to join and play at casinos run by operators based outside the country. Even if there are plenty of casinos to choose from, it might sometimes seem like a hassle to find the best casino online in New Zealand, which is where GoodLuckMate comes in. We’ve collected the very best operators on the market that accept Kiwis, and we’ve assembled a handy list. Pick one, sign up, and get gamblin’!
Top Casinos Accepting Players In New Zealand
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Finding the best New Zealand casino online
Having plenty of choices is nice and all, but it does mean that there are more options to check out and more comparisons to make, which can make the hunt for a casino online in New Zealand into a tedious undertaking. Knowing what you want to get out of an operator is an excellent way to narrow the search. Finding casinos that offer tailored promotions and welcome offers to Kiwis is also a good sign that you may just have found one of the best online casinos in New Zealand!
There’s no need to scroll through and try out countless casinos to understand what makes a good one. Instead, you can find answers to this list of questions we’ve put together. Finding the answers to the questions on our checklist will give you a great indication of whether you’re looking at a kick-ass casino or not.
- What license are they using?
- Can you find an eCOGRA (or similar) certification of fairness?
- Does the casino offer the slots, tables or odds you’re looking for?
- Are you able to play using NZD as a currency?
- Is there a VIP-program for Kiwis?
- Can players from New Zealand use welcome offers, bonuses and promotions?
- Is their customer support available in your time zone? What contact options are offered?
- Are there easy and secure payment options available?
Of course, if you wanted to do all that work yourself, you wouldn’t be here in the first place! Our GoodLuckMate gaming experts have already reviewed all of the online casinos in New Zealand and have collected the results in our unique casino reviews. Want to find out more about a casino? Head on over to our reviews to get a complete picture of what’s on offer!
Gambling regulation – Gambling Act 2003
Regulation of gambling in NZ is based on the Gambling Act of 2003, and The Gambling Commission is the regulating body that’s in control of everything from laws to licenses. The Gambling Commission is part of the Department of Internal Affairs, and they’ve set up the current regulation that states that gambling is prohibited unless the operator has a license.
There are currently six licensed land-based casinos in the country. Still, the law clearly states that remote gambling, i.e., gambling using a device from outside casino premises, is completely prohibited. Licensed land-based casino operators all have to donate a portion of their profits to community improvement, which is one of the requirements that keeps gambling from being completely banned in the country.
As mentioned earlier, although local laws restrict players from finding and using local online casinos in New Zealand, this doesn’t restrict players in any way from playing at online casinos that are licensed elsewhere. Operators that are licensed in Europe, especially those with an MGA-license, are hugely popular amongst Kiwis, and there are plenty of these types of casinos to choose from.
Casinos in New Zealand
Of course, if you’re looking for some land-based live gambling, the six licensed brick-and-mortar casinos will allow you to play plenty of table games, in addition to slot machines. The minimum age at these casinos is 20, while sports betting is permitted for those 18 and up. The land-based casinos are evenly spread out across the country, which means that you’re never too far from one.
That said, New Zealand online casinos are the primary focus of this page, and you can just start playing at any casino you wish. Just make sure that the casino you’re interested in has a recognized gambling license, and that they do indeed accept players from NZ. Our casino reviews will give you all the relevant information about each casino to help you find the best online casino in New Zealand.
Dispute resolution – can I get help from a third party?
A gambling license is intended to protect players, and one of its main functions is to provide a mechanism for resolving disputes when they come up. If you have a dispute with a casino, and the casino is being unreasonable, the gambling authority will help you. For many licenses, this means you can contact the gambling authority to get help processing your withdrawals, claiming money the casino has debited from your account, or resolving other disputes that might arise. The likelihood that the gambling authority will help you in ways that are effective, however, depends on the procedures they have in place for this. This is yet another reason why choosing to play at a casino that has a safe license is important.
Getting help directly from the gambling authority is not always necessary, or even an option. A lot of regulators have now enforced third-party dispute resolution. This means casinos must have an agreement with an arbitrator who will look into disputes on the behalf of players from a particular casino. This ensures your dispute will be reviewed by an objective third party. All trusted online casinos have information about arbitration on their websites if they use this option, or they’ll have the contact information for the gambling authority you should consult. However, you should always try to resolve your issues with the casino first, and a lot of casinos have separate email addresses specifically for handling complaints.
Secure payments – can I trust a casino with my money?
If you’re worried about the security of the transactions you’re making at a casino, you should look for a logo with the acronym PCI DSS. This stands for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, and this is something the payment industry has created. If you see this logo, it means the casino can be trusted for safe money transactions since they follow all of the rules set by the payment industry. Information about this can also be found in an FAQ section on the casino’s website.
Another thing to look out for in terms of payments is where your money is kept while you play. Some gambling authorities, all of the best ones actually, regulate what the casino can do with your money while they are holding it. Your money shouldn’t go into a general bank account held by the casino; it should go into an account that is strictly for holding player funds. This means that as long as you have the money in your player account, it can’t be spent by the casino. Your deposit will be kept separate from the operating funds of the casino until your player account is empty, which will happen if you make a funds withdrawal or if you lose the money while playing.Fair gaming – do the games give me a fair chance to win?
The best known system tool for ensuring that a casino offers fair games is eCogra; however, there are other providers that also offer these kinds of systems. You want to make sure that the casino is using a certified third-party control system to ensure that the games of chance you’re playing are actually based on chance and not on other types of metrics. Rigged games are ones that have been set up to pay out less than they claim to or ones that give some players a greater chance of winning than others.
The eCogra logo can often be found in the footer of the casino’s website, but not all casinos choose to display it. If you can’t see this logo, go to the FAQs and see if you can find information about random number generators. If there are no FAQs on the site, check out their terms and conditions or contact the casino’s support and ask how they ensure their games are safe.
Encrypted website – how is my information kept safe?
An SSL-encrypted website should be mandatory for any casino, and very few casinos operate without this or similar safe encryption features. Always keep in mind that you are giving the casino quite a bit of sensitive information, including your payment details. When you’re uploading and sending documents to verify your identity, you want to make sure that no unauthorized third-party has access to them. Site security, therefore, doesn’t only include the website itself but also what the casino does on the backend. You should always look into a casino’s data security. You’ll normally find information about this in their terms and conditions and their privacy policy. If in doubt, contact their support and ask for more detailed information.
Most trustworthy casinos have information about site security in the website footer, so simply scroll down and look for the logo of a well-known security system.
Gambling license – can I play at a casino from my country?
The gambling license a casino operates under will have a big impact on your security. Not all licenses are equally safe for players for the simple reason that they are issued by different gambling authorities that work in different ways and have different rules. The rules and regulations may be quite similar, but the way they are enforced is a different story entirely. For example, if a casino doesn’t comply with the regulations, some gambling authorities may just issue a fine while others may revoke the casino’s license outright. How often gambling authorities show up for an unscheduled inspection or control will also vary.
The biggest differences between a safe, high quality gambling license and one that isn’t as good will usually show up in the areas of fair gaming, dispute resolution and the rules and systems for identifying and handling problem gamblers (responsible gambling). If your country of residence has its own gambling authority, playing at casinos that are licensed by them will be the safest option for you. Other international licenses that can be trusted are issued by the Malta Gambling Authority and the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority. Curacao eGaming is getting better at protecting players whereas licenses from Panama and Costa Rica, for instance, are considered less safe. The worst option is obviously a casino with no license whatsoever.
Our casino experts have tried and tested all aspects of each and every casino, so you can feel confident when signing up.
