✅ Strong License

New Zealand doesn’t offer any kind of online casino licence. You won’t get in trouble for gambling online in New Zealand, but the company you gamble with might.

Still, one way to ensure operators who take the risks is by their licence.

Just because a new online casino site chooses to allow Kiwi players, doesn’t automatically mean they’re unregulated.

There are plenty of international online casino licensers that genuinely monitor their licensees to ensure they stick to the rules.

These include:

• Gibraltar
• Malta
• Curacao
• Costa Rica

And a few more. Any one of these licences, while not a Gold Standard like a UKGC or US state licence, should still be good enough for most Kiwi players.

✅ Great Variety Of Pokies

We know Kiwis love pokies more than anyone else in the world. If you’re reading this, chances are you do too.

Whilst NZ online casinos may not have access to the biggest jackpot games in the world, there are still plenty of great pokies developers willing to serve. Literally, a hundred or more.

So, any new online casino worth your time should have a strong range of pokies games – covering everything from old school three-reel fruities to the latest blockbuster licenced Megaways games. Hitting the reels has never been easier!

✅ Known Owners With a Proven Track Record

The best way to ensure a new online casino is legit it is to look at who’s operating it.

Far fewer new online casinos than you might think are actually entirely new. Quite often they’re existing operators with a new venture, or even re-skinned white label sites.

For example, if you a new online site is run by an operator with 10 long-lived and highly-rated casinos on their books – you can be quite sure their new site will likely be great too.

Conversely, imagine an operator only has one casino and two others that have previously closed. In that case you can’t be so certain they’re going to be around for the long haul, apart from any other concerns.

✅ Near Instant Withdrawal Processing

Any of our recommended online casinos for Kiwis will process your withdrawals in 24-hours or less. That’s a fact.

Sadly, PayPal and other e-wallets aren’t quite as keen on the Kiwi market as they once were.

However, you can still find fast payment methods like PaySafe cards or even trusty VISAs – that will get any winnings you withdraw in 3 days or less.

Cryptocurrency friendly casinos are rising in popularity among NZ players too. Especially in Bitcoin, as they can get you your winnings basically instantly.

✅ Generous Bonuses for New Players

Any online casino worth their salt will have a great range of bonuses. This could include:

• Welcome offers
• Free spins on pokies games
• No deposit bonuses
• Loyalty Rewards
• Live casino promotions

This rule goes doubly for new online casinos, as they’re looking to build up a customer base.

What better way to attract new players than with generous or unique bonuses?

✅ More Valuable Welcome Bonuses

New online casinos are the best place for Kiwi players to find the most valuable bonuses and promotions.

New sites are more willing to offer you bonuses and promo deals that may result in them losing more in the short term.

The theory is this should be balanced out by the number of new players who will continue to gamble there after the bonus.

Although, you’re of course free to cash out any bonus winnings and never come back if you so wish!

You’re likely to find fairer terms and bigger cash values at new casinos too – although some will still try to rip you off. Check out our bonus page for a full rundown of what makes a good online casino bonus in Aus!

✅ Unique Branding or Ideas

Another area in which new casinos are willing to take risks is with the visual format and branding of their sites.

The big names have an existing look that people recognize and know. New casinos are trying to catch your eye, so they’re going to take more risks and be out there to do it.

You might find a casino with an extensive gamified loyalty programme for example. Or one themed entirely around a subject, like metal music, cars or even specific games like pokies or blackjack. The sky is the limit!

✅ The Latest Technology in Games and Payment

New casinos will also be willing to take a punt on the newest and most innovative banking systems too.

Whether that’s a new NZ-focused e-wallet or the very latest trending cryptocurrency, new online casinos will always be among the early up takers of any new payment system.

The same goes for games. When you’ve got thousands of pokies and live casino games to choose from, it’s the hottest new titles (as well as the popular classics) that will get a look in first.

This is especially true for the NZ market, as casinos look to find new developers to replace the traditional pokies makers that sadly no longer supply Kiwis.

No Proven Track Record

Without a proven track record, it’s harder to know if a casino is 100% trustworthy.

They very well could be perfectly reliable. In fact, most casinos are.

But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take some time to do your research.

Our reviews will usually point out if a casino is run by a larger operator that also provides other casinos.

You can also do a quick search of the registered operator’s name, to see if they have any other sites running.

No Loyalty/VIP Status

New online casinos can’t know how many customers they will have in a years’ time – let alone how much those customers will be spending.

It would be a waste of time for them to work on perks for VIP players, when they can’t know if any will actually visit their casino.

Thus, if you’re a high-rolling player, you should weigh up the outlined perks of a new casino against the fact you probably won’t get VIP status for a while.