New Zealand’s relationship with gambling has historically been complex, fluctuating between strict regulations in the sixties and more permissive laws in the last few decades. The 1980s and 90s marked a significant shift as gambling activities such as land-based casinos, lotto, pokies, and TABs were legalised, allowing Kiwis to enjoy the excitement of gambling within a regulated framework.
Despite these favourable changes, many Kiwis have turned to international online gambling platforms which is due to limited local options and the lack of locally offered online casino brands. All of the available platforms are operated offshore as current legislation allows New Zealand citizens to register and play at online casinos if they meet the minimum age requirement of 18 years or older. This shift has turned out to be a significant one with New Zealanders known to love international online casinos. In this article we’ll cover why there are more and more Kiwis turning to online casinos to make their spin or place their bet.
Accessible Alternative
Gambling is known as a popular pastime in New Zealand, with a variety of options available. Auckland hosts our country’s biggest casino venue whilst community halls hosting bingo, and TAB gives players the chance to bet on sports. A total of 4 land-based online casinos are available in New Zealand with most of these options offered by gambling operator SkyCity. With brick and mortar casinos in Auckland, Hamilton, Queenstown and Christchurch both North Islanders and South Islanders have a few options to their disposal. This also means that heaps of Kiwis will need to travel quite a distance to get to one of these venues.
With the arrival of international online casino brands in New Zealand, there is a growing number of players who prefer to make their wagers in online lobby’s rather than travelling all the way to a land-based casino. Just to give you an idea: even Wellington doesn’t have a casino meaning that Wellingtonians need to travel to Hamilton or Queenstown on the southern island to be able to make their wagers. Online gambling sites, however, are available at any time with the benefit of not needing to leave your couch.
Large Game Portfolios
Whether it’s traditional pokies, table games, dice games, or other types of casino games, online casinos are known to offer thousands of casino games whereas offline casinos face a lot more restrictions explaining their limited assortments. Whereas offline casinos typically don’t offer more than a few hundred games, online casino lobby’s can offer up to 10 thousand games or even more. Most of these games are pokies but the number of games in live dealer lobby’s has also increased with space for more and more live game providers. The good thing about the pokies or table games is that you won’t have to worry about needing to wait for your turn if you want to spin on pokies whilst most live dealer games also have enough tables available so that every online visitor can join a table.
Even On The Go
Online casinos have shown to fill this gap with complete gambling platforms that typically range from online casino lobby’s to live dealer sections, sports betting, and other games of chance such as poker and bingo. Today, most of these brands have also made sure to optimise their platforms so that players can also enjoy their favourite casino games whilst they’re on the go. All you need to play online is a smartphone and an internet connection. Land-based casinos are of course great for players to feel the vibes and socialise in a thrilling environment, but online gambling the most practical alternative of the two. With the addition of interactive live dealer casinos, gambling operators have successfully managed to add some of the thrills associated with offline casinos to their game assortments.
Welcome Bonuses Arrival For New Players
Add a generous welcome pack to that and promotions for existing players and it is easy to see why one would opt for an online casino instead of a traditional casino, pub or gambling venue. Signing up at an online gambling platform isn’t only favourable as it saves time and money on transport, parking fees, drinks and bites, and sometimes even accommodation, it also lets players enjoy major financial rewards that are readily available from the very first spin. The best one can get at land-based casinos is probably free snacks and drinks, but don’t expect any bonus money, free spins, cashbacks, free bets, or referral bonuses.
Favourable Chances of Winning
Due to high operating costs, land-based casinos aren’t able to provide the same chances of winning as online casinos. We don’t blame them for working with theoretically lower chances of winning, typically referred to as the Return to Player (RTP) as they have all sorts of operational costs that online casinos don’t have to worry about. Whether it’s the personnel working at the bar, energy bills or rental costs, handling brick and mortar casinos is quite a challenge. All of these costs are non-existent or at least a lot less significant at online casinos. This gives online operators the flexibility to work with more favourable Return to Players. For players who are strictly after getting the most value for their money, online gambling sites are a lot more on the player’s side than their offline counterparts.
Offshore Brands Widely Available
Despite casino sites being widely available in our country, online gaming is theoretically prohibited in New Zealand due to the Gambling Act of 2003. This regulation’s primary focus is to ensure the control and minimisation of harm from these activities. These laws allow only state-owned enterprises to provide gambling services to Kiwis and restrict all online operations within the country, except for the government-owned and managed Lotto NZ and sports betting run by TAB. However, under the current law, it’s not illegal for Kiwis to access and use offshore online gambling services which is highly favourable for both players and offshore gambling operators. Mostly brought to the public from European of Carribean soil, it is important for players to inform themselves about the available online casinos via expert reviews.
Tailored To New Zealand
Many casino brands that have made their way to our country have made sure to adapt their product offer to the NZ market. This means that online casinos let users deposit in Kiwi dollars, pay out in Kiwi dollars, and announce bonuses in Kiwi dollars. This is particularly important as you don’t want to be caught up in currency conversion with every bet you make or every payout you request. With some casinos adapting their lexicon to our country they try to make players from New Zealand feel right at home when they scroll through the games lobby. The number of online casino brands tailoring their website to the NZ market has been on the rise and has shown to be very successful in reaching “Kiwi punters” who just love “pokies”.