Best Online Gambling Sites

An Overview of Online Gambling in New Zealand

It might surprise many Kiwis to know you don’t need to go down to the TAB, the pub, or the casino in the big smoke to have a punt or a flutter. Kiwis actually have a lot more options when it comes to gambling once you look online. And yes, it’s all legit and legal. Here’s a quick breakdown of online gambling in NZ and how it works.

It’s a pretty widely-held opinion that gambling is heavily restricted in New Zealand. While that’s essentially true, Kiwis are in fact free (and legally allowed) to gamble online with websites that are outside of New Zealand. The New Zealand Gambling Act of 2003 made sure that casino, sports betting, and other gambling wouldn’t be able to grow any bigger than it was at the time. 

That means no more New Zealand-based casinos, betting agencies, and the like. However, the best sports betting sites and best online casinos can provide their services to Kiwis, as long as they don’t physically operate on NZ shores. 

So, enter Gambling.com. We are Kiwis that look out for other Kiwis when it comes to giving unbiased information and reviews for online gambling in New Zealand. Most of all, we just want to make sure that New Zealanders can gamble safely, and have fun online. We’re also able to offer some pretty sweet exclusive casino bonuses with just about every online gambling site we review. Visit us often, because we have news, reviews, and exclusive deals happening almost every day.
 

How to Sign up to Online Gambling Sites

We get it; you might be stepping out of your comfort zone a little bit by signing up to a gambling site that isn’t as well known in NZ as the TAB. Rest assured though, every site we review is legitimate, and while the sign-up process might vary a little from site to site, in our experience, it’ll basically look like this: 
 

Most of the time, this process only takes a few minutes, and you’ll be placing your bets in no time.

Casino Gambling Sites

The beauty of casino gambling sites in NZ is that you don’t need to put on your flash jeans, drive into town and deal with parking. Whether you’re on the couch or just have five minutes to spare, you have access to the world’s top casino games and the best new casino sites.

Top-tier online casino gambling sites will offer everything that a normal casino does — from pokies to table games, to bingo and even live game shows. The following links are our recommendations for the best overall casino experiences available to Kiwis. If you want to look for specific games like pokies or table games, keep scrolling and we’ll fill you in.

Online Pokies

In the last few years, online pokies have really taken off by coming up with different styles of games, bonuses and ways to win big. For that reason, pokies come in all shapes and sizes - so you might want to do a little bit of reading up to find the game style that will appeal to you the most.

The best real money online pokies have everything from themed blockbusters to classic pokies, magical genres and progressive slot jackpots.

Gambling.com’s Slot Game of the Month

Best Online Slots

Play online slots for real money on your laptop, PC or smartphone! At Gambling.com, we have the lowdown on the best online pokies from the most reputable developers.

Online Roulette

Roulette, in both American and European formats, is a classic casino game that also requires almost no learning curve. It’s such a popular game in real casinos and in the online world, many casinos are competing to be among the best online roulette sites.

It goes well beyond just the American and European versions of the game. There are a whole heap of other varieties, like live roulette, lightning roulette, and themed roulette. If you’re ready to have a spin, we absolutely recommend you click on one of the links below and claim a bonus offer.

Online Blackjack

Blackjack is a terrific game for those who don’t like a big risk. It’s also good if you don’t want to rely on just luck as it’s not that hard to develop your own blackjack strategy.

Any decent online casino needs to cater to all varieties of blackjack with versions from as many different software providers and game variations as possible, including live dealer options. A good online blackjack game will have clear buttons for splits, doubling down, and side bets, and there should also be help for gameplay if you need it.

We look for certain criteria when judging the top online blackjack sites that have a good range of stake limits per hand available, and special editions such as jackpot and blitz blackjack. If you’re ready to have a crack right now, just click on one of the links below, avail of a sign-up bonus, and have a go against the dealer.

Live Casino Sites

Arguably one of the biggest developments in online gambling over the last few years has been the introduction of live gaming. While there’s a place for having a punt at your own pace in a game against the computer, there is really nothing like playing online against real people who you can see and talk to. Honestly, it’s pretty much the same as going down to the casino yourself. 

Live dealer games have made their way into nearly all online casinos in NZ over the last few years, but many Kiwis are just starting to see how fun they are. A really good live game will have full HD streams from actual casino locations, and unique games with real-time player interaction. If you haven’t tried the best live casino sites, you’re absolutely missing out. You’ll never look at an online casino in the same way again. 

Online Bingo

Come on, admit it, having a game in a bingo hall is a ton of fun. These days you don’t have to go to the community hall or even the casino to play it — it’s all online so you can play it from your sofa. Online bingo is actually really big business, especially in the UK where they dedicate a lot of time and money into developing new and exciting online bingo games. That means Kiwis get to tag along and enjoy the fun too.

If you’re ready to get your virtual bingo dauber going, click on a link below to go through to one of the best online bingo sites and enjoy a free bonus on us.

Online Poker

Slip on your sunnies and your bluffing face, because we have some truly terrific poker games on hand to keep you entertained into the wee hours. Texas Hold’em is probably the most well-known form of poker, but there are heaps of other types of poker like straight up, Omaha High, Seven Card Stud, and Five Card Draw. There are even live games where you have a real-life dealer you can see and talk to in real time.

All of the best online poker sites we recommend will have a good mix of low and high stakes from a range of top-notch software providers. If you’re ready to put on your poker face, click on one of our links below to claim a bonus and get playing right away.

Online Lottery

Don’t bother going down to the dairy or supermarket to grab a lotto ticket — besides, NZ’s lotto jackpots are nothing compared to these international online lotteries. These online lotteries routinely offer prize pools of hundreds of millions of dollars. 

We’ve collected a good range of online lottery sites that will give you access to world-famous European and American lotteries. All you have to do is click on a link below to get playing.

Online Sports Betting

There’s no doubt that having a cheeky punt is a part of the Kiwi lifestyle — there’s no better feeling than beating the odds with a weekend flutter. In New Zealand, we’ve kind of been restricted to the TAB, but there are actually a whole heap of other options out there that are totally legit, and in most cases, a better option. The nz sports betting that cater to New Zealand generally have very competitive odds, more sports to bet on, and a whole heap of ways to win. 

If you’re ready to dive in and give it a nudge, click on one of the links below, and get a bonus.

Customer Support Services

As we mentioned earlier, having quick and reliable customer support is very important — especially for us Kiwis living on the other side of the world. When you read our gambling site reviews, make sure they have a good support setup that can take care of any problems, like finding something on the site, or following up on a bet. Support or help should also be really easy to find, not some small link three clicks into the process.

Being in New Zealand, we are on the other side of the world for many of these European gambling sites, so it’s important that they have 24/7 live chat support. At the very least, they will have email or perhaps even telephone support. For every NZ gambling site we review, we test the site’s support services to see how quickly they respond and how helpful they are. We also message them at awkward hours to make sure they are truly 24/7!

Guide to Mobile Gambling Sites & Apps

Sometimes you don’t want to be sitting at the computer, and it’s not like you carry a laptop around with you all the time. Over 70% of Kiwis visit online gambling sites from their phone or tablet, so the industry has made sure to make the mobile experience just as good as the desktop experience. The idea is that when you switch from playing on your computer to your phone or tablet, everything still looks familiar. The site should also remember what games you played last and keep a list of favourites between devices. When browsing gambling sites from a mobile device, it should be just as quick and snappy as the desktop experience, and you shouldn’t miss out on any features or information.

Then you have dedicated mobile sports betting apps. Some gambling sites do them, some don’t. Generally these are ever so slightly more polished than the browser versions. There might even be some pretty slick stuff like logging in with your fingerprint or face. If a gambling website doesn’t have a dedicated app, it’s no big deal though, as the mobile websites are very good these days.

How do we Review Online Gambling Sites?

First and foremost, to give Kiwis any decent advice at all, we need to know what we’re talking about when it comes to the New Zealand online gambling industry. We have a solid team of industry experts who work across the NZ online gambling scene, and work with all reputable operators to give you a good deal, a good time, and a safe experience.

At Gambling.com, we’ve spent years developing a system to fairly review the best online casinos and sports betting sites, and we’re stoked to be able to use that knowledge to help our New Zealand-based punting friends. There’s no doubt that there are thousands of online casinos and sportsbooks out there in internet-land, but only the best cut the mustard to make it into our review system. Rest assured, after spending some time reading our articles and reviews, there’ll be no pulling the wool over your eyes.Let’s take a look at the criteria we use to judge each and every NZ online gambling site on Gambling.com.

Licensing and Legislation for Online Casinos in New Zealand

Probably one of the most common doubts for Kiwi punters is worrying how legitimate these international gambling sites are. It’s completely understandable to worry about giving your money to some website that isn’t based in New Zealand. But in actual fact, every site that is allowed to offer their services to New Zealand must adhere to the laws set out by the New Zealand Gambling Commission, including the New Zealand Gambling Act of 2003.

Let’s take a look at how licensing and legislation is set up for New Zealand online gambling:

Online Gambling Laws in New Zealand

On most gambling websites, if you scroll down to the bottom, you’ll see that the Malta Gaming Authority licenses the website, which means it follows all of the rules for NZ gambling laws. If an online gambling site doesn’t hold a Malta Gaming Authority license, it will most likely have a license from either Alderney, Gibraltar, the Isle of Man, or the United Kingdom Gambling Commission. Again, all of these licenses mean the gambling website adheres to New Zealand law. These gaming authorities do the regulation for commercial gambling in New Zealand which includes casinos games, sports betting, bingo, pokie machines, and lotteries.

These licenses are extremely strict, which makes sense given that they look after a billion-dollar industry and its customers. They are so on to it, that their work is often used as a framework for a country changing or creating its own gambling regulations. So rest assured, all of our best online gaming sites are legit, and the NZ Government is sweet as with you having a crack on their websites.