Online Casino Beginners Guide
If you are new to the immersive and exciting world of online gambling, you are in for some serious fun! All of the online casinos we at the Gamblers.co.nz rate and review are legal for Kiwi players and cater for your NZD$.
Online pokies tend to be the most popular games with our players, so the sites that we recommend have a large selection of pokies across an even larger selection of categories, from your favourite TV show themes to classic poker, video poker, and popular progressive jackpots.
What’s more, the sites offer a good variety of deposit and withdrawal methods for our New Zealanders, great customer support, and all the casinos are safe and secure.
So, let’s get started with our online casino beginners guide.
Finding the right online casino
The first step to getting started with online gambling is to find the right casino for you. For most, this means choosing a site with their favourite games, flexible banking options, and enticing Welcome Bonuses. For others, it is all about security.
All the sites we review offer 128-bit SSL encryption for banking, which means your personal and banking data will always be kept private and secure. Also, all the sites have a stringent privacy policy that tells you what they do with your data, how it is stored, where, and for what purpose. If such information is not readily available at an online casino, we recommend not playing there.
Always play at a licensed and approved casino brand
With so many online casinos out there, it is a highly competitive industry. Online sites realize that if a player is unsatisfied, they are a click away from switching to another site. That is why major software providers ensure that the software they provide offers high-quality gaming and the best payouts. All the casinos we review have third-party agencies that provide monthly reports of payout percentages and the casino as a whole, and games are always regulated to ensure they are fair. Playing at a licensed and approved casino brand means you know that the games are regulated, fair, and your personal and banking data is safe and secure.
Understand how casino bonuses work
One of the most exciting things about registering a new player account at an online casino is handsome Welcome Bonus – the incentive that most sites offer our Kiwi players to get you to sign up and start playing. The Welcome Bonus comes in a range of forms and shapes, so be sure to choose the offer that works best for your gaming pleasure.
Most online gambling sites offer a variety of deposit match bonuses. With this type of bonus, the casino will match your initial deposit. Most are 100% matches, which are amazing for doubling your bankroll and getting you started, but in other instances, they can go as high as 200%! Sometimes, casinos offer matches on a series of deposits and not just the very first one.
There are those sites that also offer our New Zealand players a no deposit bonus just for signing up with a new account and without having to deposit your own New Zealand Dollars. A no deposit bonus comes in the form of free spins, and sometimes free play for a limited time period as well as a cap on the winnings you can walk away with. But, the winnings you make are credited to a bonus account and you can make use of them to play one you do make your first real money deposit.
Fund your casino account your way
Playing at an online casino is all about the fun and thrill of online gaming. A key to this is being able to effectively manage your bankroll and deciding how much money you are prepared to risk. All the casinos we at Gamblers.co.nz review offer a multitude of deposit options to suit your requirements. From traditional debit and credit card payments to e-wallets, vouchers, pre-paid cards, wire transfer, and PayPal, there is sure to be a deposit option for you. While some deposit options are instantaneous, others may take a day or two to clear. It is about choosing the option your most prefer, and the one you feel the safest using. Remember, online casinos use state of the art security technology to ensure your banking information, as well as your personal information, is kept safe and secure. If you need help with funding your casino account, reach out to the site’s 24/7/365 support team who are always ready and willing to assist.
Monitor your usage and play responsibly
Like we have said, playing online is about getting the most out of your gaming experience and being able to play all your favourite online games anywhere you want to, any time you want to. It’s also about getting as much game time for your bankroll as you can. Bankroll management and being able to set yourself limits on how long you want to play for, or how much of your NZD$ you are prepared to risk in any single session, and sticking to your limits, is important. It is also important to familiarize yourself with the rules of the games you decide to play, and the odds of the different bets those games offer. This will help you to be able to understand the type of risk and reward involved and how much value you will be getting each time you play online.
The best casino games to play
The number of incredible online casino games are increasing all the time, with new developers entering the market regularly, and online casinos becoming more accessible to Kiwi players through ever-developing technology. It’s a great time for online gambling, be it dice games, tables, cards, or online pokies, or the massive progressive jackpot games, the best games to play are the ones you are interested in at an online casino that suits your requirements. Take a look through our extensive casino reviews, checkout game ratings, and choose an online casino that offers a rich gaming experience and the top games from the best developers.
Understanding how a progressive pokie works
For many NZ players, progressive online pokies are the biggest draw at any online casino. Unlike most other casino games, where you can win and gradually build up your bankroll, progressive jackpots give you the opportunity to change your life and win a fortune in one, single spin. This is how it works: progressive jackpots pokies are networks, so every version of the game in every NZ online casino is linked, and a percentage of each losing spin goes into a central, massive, prize pool. That’s how the progressive jackpots are able to grow so rapidly and reach extraordinary amounts. Most online pokies have a minimum amount of the largest jackpot, with some starting at a staggering $1 million, with no limit placed on just how big they can grow. Check out our list of featured sites to find the best progressive jackpots to play.
Free play: all the thrills less risk
Free play is a brilliant way to get used to an online casino, figure out which games you like the most, and hone your online gambling skills. Most sites offer free spins, especially, and there are a few ways that you can pick up these spins. Some offer them as part of their no deposit bonus, and others award them to you as part of the signup offer. Other casinos allow you to play for free without having to sign up a new account. Many online casinos like to celebrate the release of a new game, a holiday, or even a major sporting event, by giving regular players free spins for online pokies as part of a limited time promotion. This means you can bet the max on every spin while trying out games you may otherwise have overlooked. Most sites also allow you to practice your hand at online pokies for free using the practice mode.
Often, free play bonuses also allow you to try out a selection of dice and table games for free before you are ready to play real money casino games. This is helpful if you want to learn a new game you have not played before, try out a new wagering strategy, or just have some free fun.
Online Gambling and New Zealand regulation
All the casinos we feature accept players from New Zealand, and there are no restrictions on playing at the casinos legally. In fact, most sites go out of their way to cater for our devoted Kiwi players and you can take a look at our list of recommended sites to find out which have the best offers.