While the New Zealand gambling industry is replete with various online games, the online Pokies stands out as the most popular form of online game in NZ; online pokies account for about 46.1% of the total online casino industry in New Zealand. The reason for this popularity is not far-fetched: online pokies games are by far the simplest form of internet casino game; they require zero skills, which makes them the perfect choice for beginners and amateur players.
And with the convenience that online gambling offers, NZ players can play online pokies anytime and anywhere using their computers, tablets, and mobile devices. The online pokies are also readily available in web versions, allowing players to enjoy the games directly from their web browsers — Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge — without downloading or installing additional software.
Interestingly, there are thousands of online pokies in New Zealand. While this may sound exciting, it makes it harder for NZ online pokies to choose the online pokies casino that is best for them. Hence, it is important to consider various essential factors when choosing an online poker casino. So, if you are looking for the best online pokies to play for real money, you are at the right place.
Here at bestnewzealandcasinos, we are committed to helping New Zealand players to find the most reputable online pokies to play for real money. Therefore, we offer the best guides to New Zealand players who are looking to sign up with any of the online pokies in New Zealand. To do that, we compile a list of the most trustworthy online pokies and evaluate their honest customer reviews to help you choose rightly.
How We Choose Our Best Online Pokies in NZ
Our team of online casino review experts comprises online pokies enthusiasts and expert gamblers. And as such, they know what it takes to rate online pokies among the best online pokies in New Zealand. All the online pokie brands which we review undergo rigorous verification procedures to ensure they are truly the best. Some of the factors we consider when creating our list include the following:
Payout Percentage
Most NZ online pokies are focused on making real money from their games. As a result, it is essential to always consider the payout percentage offered by the online pokies. Many pokie enthusiasts are already familiar with pokie payout percentages, which are more commonly referred to as RTP’s (Return to Player) percentages.
Players must consider the payout percentages as it explains the percentage of any wagered money to be paid back to the player over a while during gameplay. For most online pokies in NZ, the payout percentage is around 95% or higher. Overall, it is best to choose an online poker casino with the most favorable payout percentage.
Payout Time
As a player who is in it for the money, you want to make sure that the casino will pay you quickly and easily. Therefore, in addition to checking out the payout percentage offered by the online poker casino, you should also find out how quickly the online pokies pay their players. You can easily check for this relevant information by carefully studying the terms and conditions document, examining their payment policies, and more.
Some casinos don’t give their players all their winnings at once but spread out the withdrawals over many years. In other casinos, the payout time is uncertain but often occurs within a time bracket. For instance, some online pokies require players to at least unlock a bonus stage or hit a few winning combinations before getting their payouts.
Entertainment
In addition to playing online pokies for the sole aim of winning real money, many online pokies enthusiasts enjoy online poker games for the fun and entertainment they derive from the game. Therefore, when rating online pokies in NZ, we also consider the features that are available in the pokies for entertainment purposes. These exciting features include gameplay, graphics, themes, and the bonus features such as the bonus games.
Security and SSL encryption
Your security should be a top priority when you gamble at online pokies. You should ensure that your online casino of choice offers full protection of privacy and personal information. The best way to determine this is to only sign up with an online casino that offers SSL encryption.
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) digital encryption technology is essential when playing at real money online casinos. This encryption technology keeps internet connections secure and prevents criminals from reading or modifying information transferred between two systems. In the absence of such SSL encryption technology, any data, including login details, personal information, and transaction details, can easily be accessed by third parties.
Poker game collection
Casino players love variety. Choosing an online poker site with a rich selection of casino games helps to enhance the overall gambling experience for players. Therefore, when looking to sign up with real money pokies in NZ, you should consider the game collection and only sign up with an online poker site with a generous game collection. Some casino players are always searching for a particular casino game, so choosing a poker site with various games offers them a higher chance of finding the poker game of their choice.
Interestingly, most online poker sites on our list of the best online pokies in New Zealand have a comprehensive game library that allows players to easily filter and choose the casino game of their choice.
Customer Support
When signing up with an online poker site, it is essential to check out whether or not the poker casino offers a knowledgeable client support team. The importance of a responsive customer support team cannot be over-emphasized. Players often get stuck when making essential transactions, such as deposits and withdrawals. Hence, the need for the customer support team. In most online pokies, the client support team can be reached through various contact channels, including telephone, email, Live Chat function, and social media.
Licensing
It is very risky to gamble on an unregulated casino site. Licensing is one of the essential factors we consider when rating an online poker site in NZ. Dealing with a licensed online poker casino offers a significant level of security and peace of mind. Licensed casinos often operate in compliance with the strict regulatory laws of the regulatory authorities. It also ensures that the internet casino meets the predetermined guidelines, minimum standards, and specific requirements needed to verify their players’ identities and keep those sensitive data safe and secure.
You can easily determine whether your online poker site is licensed by navigating through their website and thoroughly looking at their terms and conditions document. Signing up with a licensed casino comes with several perks. All licensed casinos adhere to fairness and ethical practices such as unbiased game allocation, equal RTP for each player, and faster payouts.
Therefore, you should only sign up with an online poker site that is duly licensed and accredited by a reputable regulatory agency, such as the eCommerce Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance (eCOGRA) agency. Other approved regulatory agencies include the Malta Gaming Commission, Canadian Gaming Association, UK Gambling Commission, and more.
Secure Payment Options
Since most NZ online casinos require players to fund their accounts before starting to win real money, you should only sign up with an online poker site that offers various secure payment options. It is important to consider the various payment options available at your internet casino of choice. Many of the best New Zealand online casinos offer various safe and secure payment methods to ensure the ease of depositing and withdrawing funds to and from clients’ online gaming accounts. The available payment options in most NZ online pokies include credit cards, bank transfers, online payment processors, cryptocurrency, and more. However, it is best to choose the payment method that is the most convenient for you.
Fair Terms and Conditions
The terms and conditions document is another important feature to consider when choosing an online poker casino in New Zealand. The document details how the casino operates, what they offer, rules and regulations. Read these essential documents carefully before signing up with the online poker site. You should only click on the agreement clause when you have read the terms and conditions document with optimal understanding.
Intuitive Interface
When choosing an online poker casino, you must check out the website to ensure that it is built with a user-friendly interface. Players often get discouraged when they struggle with an unresponsive online poker site. Therefore, the best online pokies in New Zealand should have an intuitive user interface to make it easy for players of all experiences to navigate the website with ease. The markers of an intuitive interface include various exciting graphics and well-structured features, allowing you to locate the essential icons easily.
Bonuses
Bonuses are one of the best ways to get an enhanced gambling experience at any online poker casino. Most times, New Zealand online pokies use these bonus funds to attract new players and reward the existing members. The bonus funds allow players to try out various poker games without risking their funds. Therefore, you should look out for the various pokies bonuses offered by your online poker casino of choice. The bonuses are available in various forms, such as welcome bonus, bonus spins, match bonus, no deposit bonus, and more. However, you should always ensure that you read and understand the terms and conditions clearly before accepting any bonus offer.
Easy Signup Process
Sometimes, the signup process in online casinos can become overly long and stressful. This can be a huge turn-off to most online poker game enthusiasts who are always eager to sign up quickly and start playing their favorite online poker games. As a result, dealing with an online poker site with a complicated signup process can become frustrating. Therefore, you should ensure that you only sign up with a poker casino that has an easy signup process.
Support for gambling addiction
Since online poker games are so fun to play, they can become addictive. Getting addicted to gambling is not a responsible way to gamble. Every player is expected to play in a way that keeps them safe from financial strife by playing with only the funds they could afford to lose. But due to the ease with which players can get addicted to poker games, it is best to sign up with an online poker casino that offers proper support for gambling addiction. They can do this by imposing restrictions on the maximum amount of deposits, the maximum number of wagers or spins, and even restrictions on time.
Best Online Pokies for New Zealanders
To help players make the right decision when choosing online pokies in NZ, we have developed a comprehensive list of the best online pokies for New Zealanders. Our team of casino review experts here at bestnewzealandcasinos have carefully handpicked best online pokie sites in NZ into this list. To compile the list, we performed extensive research and compared the features against the factors we discussed above to ensure they are fit to be rated among the best. So, according to our review experts, the best online pokies in NZ are as follows:
Casino Lab
Casino Lab is an online gaming platform that was introduced into the NZ market in 2020. The online poker casino offers an impressive selection of over 1,600 pokies, including mobile pokies, video poker games, classic pokies, progressive slots, free pokies, 3D pokies, and more. The wide variety of individual titles provides players with a superb number of options to start their gaming experience. Their game providers include industry-leading software providers, such as Microgaming, PlaynGo, Yggdrasil, and more.
The poker casino strives to become the leading digital casino operator in NZ, as is demonstrated by their fresh, new and very enticing overall design aesthetic, as well as their highly competitive welcome bonus package for new players. Their clients also enjoy massive bonus offers, such as a $1500 and 300 free spins bonus. A knowledgeable client support team is available to assist players. The online poker casino provides players with an intuitive interface that is replete with various amazing graphics, visually appealing designs, and a classic feel to ensure a seamless gambling process.
Casino Lab is properly licensed and regulated by the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) to ensure clients’ safety and offers instant payouts to winners. There are multiple payment methods — ecoPayz, Mastercard, Neteller, Paysafe card, Skrill, visa, and more — to choose from. The online poker casino is available in desktop, web, and mobile versions. The mobile apps are compatible with Android and iOS smartphone devices and can be downloaded from the respective app stores.
Lucky Days
Launched in 2019, Lucky Days is one of the newer online casinos operating in NZ. The casino is headquartered in Sweden and is focused on becoming an international gambling brand. This trendy online poker casino that is popular among the Gen Z casino players in .
The gaming platform is built with exciting graphics that give it a modern look and feel. The casino also offers over 1,100 poker games from top software providers, such as Microgaming, NetEnt, Evolution Gaming, Play’ n Go and many others. Due to the high demand by NZ casino players, Lucky days offers a mobile app that is compatible with Android and iOS devices. This allows players to get easy access to their gambling accounts even while on the go, provided that there is an internet connection.
The casino provides players with exciting bonus offers, including a welcome bonus that is worth up to $1,000 in cash plus 100 bonus spins to play NetEnt’s Starburst slot. The bonus is divided over several of your initial deposits with the casino. In addition to the already generous welcome bonus, Lucky Days offers an exclusive no deposit free spins offer for first-time NZ players, allowing players to sign up and receive 20 no deposit free spins on the popular pokie: Book of Dead.
Another exciting feature of Lucky Days is the wide variety of amazing poker games to choose from. The poker casino offers multiple poker games, including mobile pokies, video slots, classic pokies, progressive slots, free pokies, 3D pokies, and more.
The casino provides players with multiple payment options — ecoPayz, Mastercard, Neteller, Paysafe card, Skrill, visa, and more — to ensure the ease of depositing and withdrawing funds to and from clients’ gambling accounts. Lucky Days Casino features multiple currency support. A responsive client support team is also available to respond to all clients’ technical, general, and account-related inquiries.
SkyCity Online Casino
SkyCity is an internet gambling site that was launched in 2019. The online pokies site has since grown to become one of the choicest pokies sites in NZ. SkyCity is developed with players’ optimal security in mind, and as such, it has several security features that guarantee a safe gambling environment for online poker players in NZ.
SkyCity is operated by Gaming Innovation Group, an established online gaming company that is licensed and regulated by the Malta Gaming Authority. The casino provides NZ casino players with a wide selection of over 2000 exciting casino games to enhance their gambling experience. The available games include slot games, table games, and various online pokies: mobile pokies, video pokies, classic pokies, progressive slots, free pokies, 3D pokies, and more. Most of the available games are provided by various industry-leading software providers, including Microgaming, NetEnt, and more.
Interestingly, the online pokie site is available as a desktop application for Windows and Mac computers, a web version, and a mobile app that is compatible with Android and iOS mobile devices. SkyCity casino’s mobile compatibility is a huge advantage as it allows NZ players to easily play their favorite poker games from the convenience of their mobile handheld devices. Whether you play on the computer or your Android, iOS, or other mobile devices, you would be impressed by the exciting graphics and animations that are supported by beautiful sound effects.
Various payment methods are available for account deposits and withdrawals at SkyCity casino, giving players the liberty to choose the payment option that is the most suitable for them. Additionally, the casino offers a knowledgeable client support team to respond instantly to clients’ inquiries. The support team can be reached through various contact channels, including telephone, email, Live Chat, and social media.
Jackpot City casino
Owned and operated by Digimedia Limited, Jackpot City is one of the most popular online pokies sites in New Zealand. The internet casino was launched in 1998 and has continued to provide NZ pokies players with exciting online pokies games to enjoy. The online gaming site is licensed and regulated by the Malta Gaming Authority and holds a prestigious independent certification for fairness and safety from eCOGRA.
At Jackpot City, players get to play over 500 pokies across different forms of poker games, including mobile pokies, video pokies, classic pokies, progressive slots, free pokies, 3D pokies, and more. The casino allows players to deposit and withdraw funds to and from their gambling accounts using the following payment options: Mastercard, Neteller, Paypal, Paysafe Card, Poli, Skrill, Visa, Wire transfer, and more.
To ensure the ease of accessing the gambling platform, Jackpot City Casino is available as a desktop application for Windows and Mac computers, a web version that runs directly on modern web browsers, and a mobile app that is compatible with Android and iOS devices. Interestingly, the casino presents an intuitive user interface across all devices. The gambling website is replete with exciting graphics and themes to enhance the entire gambling experience.
The casino is also generous with its bonus offers, providing players with multiple casino bonuses to help the most out of their internet gambling. Most types of bonuses in jackpot City include welcome bonuses, free spins, and more.
Additionally, a knowledgeable client support team is available at Jackpot City casino; the support team can respond promptly to clients’ inquiries via various channels.
Spin Casino
Operating since 2001, Spin casino is one of the most reputable online gambling sites in NZ. Thanks to its long-existing partnership, the online casino provides New Zealand online casino players with over 250 poker games from Microgaming. The available titles include mobile pokies, video pokies, classic pokies, progressive slots, free pokies, 3D pokies, and other games.
Since its launch in 2001, Spin Casino has remained a top choice for pokies game enthusiasts in NZ. The spin casino is a member of the prestigious Palace Group and is owned and operated by Bayton Limited. The internet casino offers a mobile app that is compatible with Android and iOS devices. This allows players to get easy access to their gambling accounts even while on the go, provided that there is an internet connection. In addition to the mobile app, Spin Casino is also available as a desktop application for Windows and Mac computers and a web version that runs directly on modern web browsers — Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge — without needing to download or install additional software.
Spin Casino conforms to strict regulatory standards as it is strictly regulated and licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority, and it is independently certified by eCOGRA for safety and fairness. The trusted banking options include iDebit, Visa, MasterCard and EcoPayz. The spin casino offers a knowledgeable client support team that players can reach via various channels: telephone, email, Live Chat, and more.
What are the different types of online pokie games in New Zealand?
Thanks to huge demand for online pokies games in New Zealand, many online casinos in the country often strive to offer as many varieties of the game as they can find. The different types of online pokie games in New Zealand include the following:
Video poker
Video poker is also known as poker slots or 5-reel pokies. This amazing online casino game is based on five-card draw poker. It is played on a computerized console similar in size to a slot machine in a land-based casino; hence, it is true that video poker combines the fun of poker and slot games. Video poker has many variants, but all are based on one of poker’s simplest varieties, which is known as the five-card draw.
During the game, the player is offered the five-card poker hand and allowed to keep the cards they wish to keep and discard the ones they don’t wish to retain, receiving new cards in return. Some casino poker games use two, three, or five cards. But for a game to be recognized as casino poker, it must at least use the standard ranking of poker hands to determine winners and losers.
Video poker offers an amazing way to use your most strategies and win much cash in the process. However, it is not entirely a game of chance as it requires a good level of skills to succeed in it. To play mobile pokies on your Android device, you are required the mobile app from the relevant app stores, whether Android or iOS.
Themed poker machines can feature characters for popular movie, television or comics franchises, including actual video and sound clips. They also tend to include multiple bonus features, including some that allow players to interact with the screen to reveal prizes.
Jackpot Pokies
Jackpot gaming is fondly used to describe gambling games that allow players to win a huge jackpot prize. The jackpot pokies are one of the most commonly played poker games on the internet. In New Zealand, the jackpot pokies are developed by top game providers in the industry, and they offer exciting casino poker games. The main advantage of the jackpot pokies is that they provide players with the opportunity to win huge jackpots. These poker machines utilize progressive jackpots to achieve multimillion-dollar prizes while playing popular games like Mega Moolah, Mega Fortune, and Spamalot.
Classic Pokies
Also known as 3-reel pokies, the classic pokies are designed with the model of the trading poker game. It features three reels and one pay-line, with six to 12 winning combinations. The classic pokies have higher RTP (RTP). Since there are fewer places for symbols on the reels, there are fewer winning combinations and paylines, and the maximum jackpots tend to be smaller. But the classic pokies also have a good selection of casino bonuses. Some of the most popular pokies ever created are 3 reel games with exciting bonuses that allow players to win big jackpots.
3D Pokies
3D pokies are some of the most advanced video pokies on the market today. Manufacturers like Betsoft have used 3D graphics to create pokies with complete storylines and engaging characters that can make playing a poker machine feel a lot like watching a movie. These games have some of the most interesting features of any poker machine.
Top Pokies Providers in New Zealand
The responsibility to develop exciting casino games is placed on various third-party software providers in the online gambling industry. The quality of an online casino game is dependent on the software provider. This mirrors how essential these game providers are in the gambling industry. Our team has evaluated some of the top online pokies developers in New Zealand. They include the following:
- Microgaming: This is one of the oldest software providers in the online gambling industry. It has the most extensive collection of casino games for all types of casino platforms.
- NetEnt: Net Entertainment is reputed for offering high-quality casino games. They also offer various table games and live casino games.
- Play’n Go: launched in 2004, Play’n Go is an experienced game provider that offers various instant-play games and real money online casino games that are available in multiple languages.
- Playtech: with a full range of casino products, including instant-play, download, mobile, and live dealer, Playtech is arguably one of the most popular game providers in 2022.
- Betsoft: Since its launch in 2006, Betsoft has grown significantly with over 150 online casino games in its portfolio. Their titles offer mobile compatibility.
- Novomatic: This game provider has grown from a land-based developer to one of the most innovative software providers in the industry. They offer slot machines and various casino games.
- Aristocrat: This game provider is top-rated among slot enthusiasts. Some of their popular titles include Queen of the Nile, Where is the Gold, and 50 Dragons.
- IGT: This is dubbed the world’s largest slot machine and land-based casino software provider. Their portfolio is replete with exciting games.
- EGT: With a portfolio covering top-notch online gambling games with 2D and 3D graphics, the EGT is one of the choicest game providers in New Zealand in 2022. It was established in 2002.
FAQs
Can you play online pokies in NZ?
Yes. You can play various online pokie games in NZ.
Are online pokies legal in New Zealand?
Yes. Online pokies are legal in New Zealand. However, players are advised to gamble responsibly without addiction.
What are the best online pokies?
The best online pokies in New Zealand should be properly licensed and regulated by the appropriate regulatory authority. Also, they should offer a good selection of poker games, payment options, bonuses, and a responsive client support team.
Are online pokies safe?
Yes. Online pokies are safe as long as they are licensed and regulated by a reputable regulatory authority.
How can I play pokies games in NZ?
To play pokies game online in NZ, you should create a gambling account with a reputable
internet casino, choose the pokie game of your choice, fund your account, and start playing.
