They can be trusted, but only if you’re sensible and pick a licensed new casino in New Zealand. There are still fraudulent new casinos out there that will operate without a licence. Joining one of these is not safe, and you shouldn’t trust an unlicensed site. Only play at an online casino that holds a licence.
Yes, all new NZ online casinos offer casino bonuses. This is similar to established online casinos, which also typically all give bonuses. It’s a great way to advertise the platform, stand out from the competition, and encourage new players to join the casino. As such, you’re very rarely going to find a new casino that doesn’t have a bonus available.
If they are to be seen as reputable, then yes, new NZ casinos will have a licence. This is especially the case if the casino is to operate from within New Zealand. In cases like these, the casino must hold an NZ Gambling Commission licence. But, these are often hard to get. New casinos holding licences from the UK or Malta can accept NZ players and Kiwis can join these sites even though they’re offshore.
Absolutely, you can. In fact, many new NZ casinos opt for a mobile-first policy. This means that they will actually design the website with mobile users in mind. Only then will they make a desktop version available. In some cases, the new casino will be a mobile-only site as well.
Typically, yes, new online casinos in New Zealand have more gamification features in place. This is because they’re able to spot trends in social media or player gaming and design an entire website from scratch, catering to these needs. This makes it a lot of fun for players as they can often claim more rewards and benefits simply by playing.
Yes, very often you can. In fact, one of the perks of a new casino is the very fact that it will offer much bigger bonuses. These offers can really make playing at a new casino worth it. As long as you check the terms and conditions and find them fair, this is a very good option.
| # | Casino | Benefits | Bonus |
| 1 | Spinsy Casino | 15% Weekly Cashback | $1000 Bonus |
| 2 | Wonaco Casino | Casino & Sports | 200 Free spins |
| 3 | Punterz Casino | Lots of Promos | 10% Daily Cashback |
| 4 | Lucky Circus Casino | Reload Bonuses | $10.000 Bonus |
| 5 | Ritzo Casino | $500 Weekend Bonus | $200 Wednesday Bonus |
| 6 | RoyalGame Casino | New NZ Casino | 15% Cashback up to $6000 |
| 7 | Betovo Casino | Multiple Payment Methods | Reload bonus $450 |
| 8 | Lemon Casino | Treasure Boxes | $600 Bonus + 7% Cashback |
| 9 | Shotz Casino | Shotz Booster | $500 Live Casino Bonus |
| 10 | Betzard Casino | VIP-Club | $1200 Bonus + 300 Free spins |
One of the best things about new casinos, whether they’re operating in New Zealand or elsewhere in the world, is the gaming platform they offer. New casinos have the benefit of moving with the current trends, making use of the latest software and technology and, of course, piggybacking off what others have done before. This means that you’ll often find some of the best features out there at a new casino. Let’s have a look at some of the top features you can find on new sites.
Without a doubt, this is one of the biggest draws when it comes to a new casino. New sites have the benefit of seeing what’s popular and what’s not. They can also get access to an impressive number of casino games. Knowing that players like to have access to many games, as well as a diverse selection, is key to success.
New casinos also have access to a wider array of game providers. Rather than just sticking to a few, like many of the older casinos do, they often have games from 80 or more providers on their platforms. This means that the game selection can be enormous, with new casinos boasting libraries of 4000 to 8000 casino games. Not only that, but the games are diverse with different types of games available.
While many older sites focus on pokies, some virtual table games and a live casino, new casinos do better. They offer all this and more. Often, they incorporate more arcade games, instant win games, crash games, bingo, keno and more into their site. As such, they can often cater to a much broader spectrum of players. Some of these new online casinos will even add a sportsbook section so that players can enjoy some sports betting on the side as well.
Another area where new NZ casinos often outdo their older counterparts is when it comes to gamification features. These are additional features that help players earn more rewards and provide fun aspects outside of the games themselves. Often, these gamification features include fun themes within each casino that are carried over into the bonuses and the way game categories are described. This alone can make playing here a whole lot more fun.
Other gamification features are typically part of a VIP or loyalty program. Players can earn points and rewards for placing real money bets. They can then use those points toward rewards and bonuses. However, many new casinos go further than this, offering daily missions that change regularly, encouraging players to achieve specific goals.
Excitingly, many of these casinos also offer tournaments that can encourage players to play against one another. This adds an element of fun, especially when the casino advertises the latest big wins by players, which games they achieved them on, and how much the win was.
Some new casinos have taken gamification further still. In this increasingly social media-orientated world, many new sites have thought to make this another feature in their casinos. Increasingly, new casinos add chat options and community platforms, such as on Discord, for players to talk to each other, or even opt to put their casinos on platforms like Telegram. Doing so provides more of a communal atmosphere, something that is often lacking at online casinos when compared to their land-based counterparts.
Players always love bonuses and this is something that has become more apparent at online casinos. New casinos are able to capitalise on this from the outset, setting up and planning their sites with this in mind. By factoring in the need for big bonuses early on, new casinos can offer some really lucrative deals to new players.
In fact, it’s a necessity for them to do so, as they are competing with already established online casinos on the market. By having these huge offers in place, new players are more likely to give them a look and try them out. Not only that though, but new casinos often extend their welcome offers into welcome packages. This encourages players to make repeated deposits at the beginning, encouraging them to stay and play.
These offers often incorporate all the best features of a bonus. Many will include both free spins and a match deposit bonus. This means that players can enjoy both types of bonuses in one. And, with a wide deposit limit, players of all budgets can enjoy the offers. In fact, many new sites will also specifically cater to high rollers, offering extra large bonuses, something that is often lacking on more established sites.
Finally, new casinos will also have more ongoing bonuses and promotions. Typically, they are better at providing players with reload bonuses, free spins each week and more. As such, there are more reasons for players to stick around.
These days, everyone wants to be able to play games on their phones. As such, new casinos are beholden to provide such an option for their players. Depending on the new casino, they may simply opt to ensure their site is mobile-optimised. This can mean providing an app, or simply having the browser version optimised for use on mobiles. Crucially, the platform will be available across all mobile operating systems. But be aware, not all apps can be downloaded from the app store and some will only be found on the casino’s own page.
However, there are some new online casinos that opt to take the mobile-first route. This means that their entire design, from the get-go, is designed with mobile users in mind. Subsequently, the look and feel of the platform is geared toward the smaller screen, optimizing load times, minimizing slow-loading graphics and offering games that are scalable without too many buttons cluttering the screen.
These days, there are even some online casinos that are mobile-only. These sites only offer a mobile app version of the site, requiring players to download this in order to play their games. Verification is done via a mobile number, and payments can be made by mobile phone bill.
A common complaint at established online casinos relates to the payout times. Traditionally, online casinos are notorious for their slow withdrawal times and processing of any such payments. This is because they often use older payment methods such as card or bank transfers.
In this world of speedier payment options, new casinos have begun to take advantage of this. They have added newer payment methods such as e-wallets, prepaid cards, mobile payments and more, to speed up the process of paying out winnings. Additionally, many new casinos will speed up the internal time period needed for checking and processing a payment request in order to provide players with a much faster turnaround time when claiming their winnings.
One of the features that often slows players down is the verification process. New casinos often require players to verify their accounts right away. This helps to speed up the initial withdrawal process, which is typically very slow if you’ve not completed the verification already. Doing it early means getting a quick payout when you come to make your first withdrawal.
Another feature that players can find tedious is the sign-up process. Additionally, a growing number of players are not fans of having to provide all their personal details. Subsequently, a small subset of new online casinos available to Kiwi players caters to this need. Recently, there has been a rise in anonymous or speedy sign-up casinos that don’t require verification or ID. This means players can sign-up in less than a minute, and get playing right away.
Some of these casinos operate on platforms like Telegram. Here, players can simply log in using their phone number and Telegram account, accessing all that the casino has to offer from the Telegram app. It’s a fast, speedy and secure way to log in too.
Catering to a wide range of players is a must at online casinos. Many established sites typically have high minimum deposit limits, usually around NZ$20. However, many new casinos are opting to offer players a much better option. There has been a rise in low or minimum-deposit casinos arriving on the iGaming scene.
These casinos will have very low minimum deposits, often allowing players to deposit as little as NZ$1 into their accounts. This means that players can test out more casinos relatively risk-free. It’s a great way to let players check out a casino without worrying too much. And, it’s a good way to encourage newcomers or low-budget players to join in and have fun.
Importantly, many new casinos don’t just restrict this low limit to deposits but often have lower minimum withdrawal limits too. This means that players don’t have to wait until they win more money before a withdrawal can be made.
On the opposite end of the scale, some new casinos will go so far as to have no upper limit in place when it comes to making a withdrawal. This is very different to what was available before, with many established gaming sites having strict daily, weekly or monthly maximum withdrawal limits in place.
Following on from faster payouts and better limits is the fact that new casinos in New Zealand will often have far more payment methods available than older casinos do. This is because they can incorporate them into their site right from the outset. Additionally, some of the more popular methods may not even have been around initially when the established casino was actually set up.
New casinos often combine options like cards, prepaid cards, Apple Pay, bank transfer, e-wallets and even cryptocurrencies to make their site more user-friendly. In some cases, especially when it comes to cryptocurrencies, new casinos can have a vast array of different options for players to use when transacting on the site. This can be much more enticing to players of all types, who may have a specific, preferred payment method that is unavailable at other casinos.
It doesn’t matter how well a casino works, being able to get in touch with someone speedily is a necessity. New casinos take note of this and often have much better support options in place. Typically, they still focus on the live chat option, providing it in a sticky format so that players can find it, whichever page they are on.
The only downside commonly found with newer live chat support options is that it’s often operated by a virtual assistant rather than a real person. Now, this does have its benefits in that the new casino can be seen to be responding to queries and issues almost instantly. If it’s a generic question, then the chatbot is usually well-equipped to provide the right answers. However, for more complex issues, you will have to wait for a real person or simply use the email address.
That being said, newer online casinos in NZ, often have a range of social media platforms in place as well. It’s also possible for players to use these platforms to get in touch. Popular options include Facebook, Twitter (or X), Discord or Telegram. Not only that, but many of these platforms also offer help from other players in the form of player communities and groups.
Finally, many new casinos are actually taking the time to build their sites properly. This means catering to the changing needs of online players. Gone are the days where casinos online were massively overloaded with heavy graphics, or used acres of white space in their design.
Typically, these days, new casinos offer sleek designs with minimal graphics. They also tend to use darker colour schemes, which are easier on the eyes. Some even have dark mode options allowing players to toggle back and forth between the two, so they can choose which suits them better.
As you can imagine, all of these features really do help make new casinos stand out.
In just the same way as choosing an established or traditional online casino in New Zealand, there are some tips to follow when choosing a new casino. As with any online casino, there are some features that should always be in place no matter what.
Just like established casinos, some of the features found on new NZ casinos are exactly the same. For instance, licencing will always be of the utmost importance. New casinos are still required to get full licensing if they are to operate and be trusted by players. Having a licence shows that the casino is audited by a governing body and must abide by strict regulations and rules.
These regulations include providing SSL encryption protocols to protect player data. They also mean having trusted payment platforms in place to ensure all transactions are conducted in a safe, fair way.
New casinos also make sure that their security is top-notch when it comes to other areas of the site too. This means protecting players from themselves. If you feel that you are struggling with gambling, the best new NZ online casinos will have a wealth of responsible gambling tools in place These include loss and deposit limits, timeouts, self-exclusion and so on.
The huge bonuses that are prevalent at new online casinos in New Zealand also come with terms and conditions. As with any other online casino, these need to be fair and transparent. When it comes to bonus requirements, these should be achievable, and not ridiculous or insurmountably high. Additionally, any bet limits, withdrawal caps, game exclusions and so on, should be clearly outlined so that players know exactly what they are getting into when they accept the promotion.
On top of that, the fairness of these terms and conditions should also carry over into the general operation of the casino as a whole. Conditions regarding any fees for transactions should be outlined clearly, as should any requirements for which games can be played with bonuses and so on.
As everyone is all about playing on the go, any new casino should have a strong mobile platform in place. This can be a mobile app or simply a mobile browser-optimized version of the casino. Whichever option it is, all games should be available to access on a mobile device using any operating system. These days, thanks to HTML5 technology, this should not be hard at all, as this allows all games to be accessible on both Android and iOS devices.
In fact, despite apps being all the rage, it is common for online casinos, both new and old, not to offer one. This is because they’re not really needed when the mobile browser version of the site is up to scratch. Additionally, many apps are not permitted on the app stores making it harder for players to actually get hold of them unless they download them through the casino’s own website.
For players, being able to win regularly is essential. And this is why casinos should have high payout rates. This feature is important in relation to the games themselves. Each game has a return-to-player rate or RTP. The RTP refers to the percentage of money staked that the game is likely to give back over a period of time. Of course, this is entirely theoretical and has been calculated over tens of thousands of rounds on each game. This means that it doesn’t guarantee a win of any kind on the game.
However, casinos offering more games with a higher RTP are likely to pay out more in the long run, making them a good option for players. Typically, the better game RTPs will be 96% or above. So, casinos with many games at this level will have higher payout rates too, making them a more popular option to join.
Undeniably, games are what makes a casino. As we touched upon, new casinos are good at taking their collections and elevating them. But we have to emphasise here that games are the backbone of an online casino whether it’s new or old. As such, they need to be present on the site and cover a wide array of game types. Importantly, games should come from a variety of providers, ideally both well-known and smaller studios to ensure an eclectic mix is to be found.
Games should also cover all game categories and be laid out in a sensible way. This means there should be a search bar available as well as different filters. The best way to organise games is to allow players to search via provider, as well as game type. Comprehensive game menus are always a massive help and make the process easier when it comes to finding a game you want to play.
Finally, it’s always good for a new casino to have a loyalty or VIP program. Typically, these are provided to players automatically as soon as they make a real money bet. They work by offering players points, which they can earn whenever they spend a certain amount in real money. The more points that are earned, the higher the level the player can reach. Each level offers a series of different perks, and these only get better the higher-up players go. Usually, loyalty programs offer players cashback bonuses, free spins, lower wagering requirements, personalised account managers and a whole lot more.
At this point, we’ve gone through a lot of different features regarding new online casinos in NZ. However, you may still not be convinced that this is the best way to go. If you’re already at an established online casino, switching to a new one may seem hard or indeed pointless. These older casinos tend to keep up with technological changes and usually offer a pretty good platform because of this. So why should you change online casinos?
Let’s look at some of the pros and cons of the two.
