How to find the best online casinos in New Zealand in 2024
Online casinos have never been more popular. The world of iGaming has been steadily expanding as more countries license online gambling and as new casino brands are launched. It is an exciting time to be a game developer, iGaming business or casino fan.
As any rugby fan knows, competition is what keeps things interesting. If South Canterbury win the Meads Cup for the fourth time in a row this year, it’s not going to be as exciting as it would be if an underdog gave them some serious competition. The same premise is true with online casinos – competition between sites is what pushes them to be better and offer more to their players.
This competition between casino brands has generally been great for players. There is more selection, better games and bigger bonuses now that there are so many online casinos competing for customers. Unfortunately, there are some online casinos that take advantage of the growing market to offer poor services while scamming players out of their funds.
Avoiding the bad and playing at the good might seem like a big task for new players who are unfamiliar with the iGaming industry. In this article, we’ll give you everything you need to know to find the best online casinos in New Zealand. Then we’ll close out by giving some examples of top online casinos so that you can have an idea of what’s out there and what you should be able to expect from a casino site.
Consider what you want from an online casino
Your first step when choosing an online casino should always be to consider what it is that you’re looking for. Your preferences and style of play will determine whether or not a site is perfect for you.
There are some questions for you to consider. Do you want to play on a browser site or on an app? Do you want to bet on sports on the same platform? What kinds of games do you like playing? Do you want a huge variety of games or do you prefer to stick with a few favourites? How much time will you spend playing? What kind of bonuses would you get value from?
Reading the reviews for the best online casinos on a site like AskGamblers NZ can help you narrow down what each online casino has to offer. Casino guides like these are also a great tool for finding online casinos that are licensed to operate in New Zealand. There’s nothing more frustrating than finding the perfect casino, only to find out they only accept players from the UK or Australia!
Read reviews
Reviews are a great way to get some insight into an online casino before you create an account. Casino guides have professional reviews, usually written by one or more industry experts. These reviews give a complete overview of the site, their games, payment methods, customer support access and more. Comparing a few of these professional reviews can give you a great indication of whether an online casino is worth your time.
You should also read reviews from players. These can often be found on casino guides or on review sites such as Trustpilot. Individual player reviews may not always be entirely fair or accurate (we all know the temptation of leaving a bad review when we’re upset, even if the issue may be our fault). When you compare a number of player reviews, however, you can get a complete picture of what the site is really like.
Check the licenses
Licenses are essential in the iGaming industry. They determine where an online casino can legally operate. New Zealand is currently in the process of legislating its own online gambling licensing rules and regulations.
Until those are in place, the best option is to find online casinos that are licensed by a trusted international regulator. Some of the most widely respected regulators are the UK Gambling Commission, the Malta Gaming Authority and the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority.
Look at the games library
The best online casino for you will be the one that has the most games that you want to play. If you only play table games, it won’t do you any good to make an account with an online casino with just slots. The reverse is also true. Luckily, the top online casinos will typically give you a preview of their games libraries before you create an account.
If an online casino doesn’t let you look through the games library or give you any idea about what games, they have until after you’ve created an account, you may want to look elsewhere. There’s no good reason to keep a games library secret.
Continue reading for brief summaries of some of New Zealand’s best online casinos in 2024.
Mr.Play Casino
It’s not surprising that Mr.Play Casino has such a dedicated player base. Mr.Play Casino was launched in 2017 and is licensed by the UK Gambling Commission and the Malta Gaming Authority. Their game library is mainly made up of slots. They accept a wide variety of payment methods for both deposits and withdrawals. The withdrawal times can vary dramatically depending on the method you choose, so be aware of that fact.
Trada Casino
Trada Casino has a minimalistic aesthetic to go with their maximalist games library. Their huge library has both slots and table games, as well as plenty of others like keno, bingo and scratch card games. Customer support can be reached by live chat or email. Unfortunately, live chat is not available 24/7.
Casumo Casino
Casumo Casino has nearly 3,000 games in their library, plenty for every type of player. Players can enjoy Casumo on the optimised site or on the app, which is available for both iOS and Android. They accept a good selection of payment methods for deposits and withdrawals. They have a high monthly withdrawal limit but their accepted currency selection is quite limited.
