How We Rate

Licensing and Regulation

The best way to properly assess these qualities and ensure our readers get the experience they deserve is to thoroughly analyse casinos’ licensing details.

We check the validity and jurisdiction of each casino’s gambling licence. We’ve been surprised far too many times by casinos that advertise non-existent licences. Our goal is to improve our readers’ chances of choosing a reliable, trustworthy casino.я

Our experts carefully review licensing details, including regulatory standards and requirements. For example, MGA and UKGC licences are known to be far stricter and offer better player protection than those from Curaçao.

Game Selection

Not everyone wants to play the same 10 games over and over again. That’s why we always ensure our recommended casinos have a healthy dose of available games.

That’s why we always ensure our recommended casinos offer a wide game variety and a smooth gaming experience. We evaluate the number of titles across slots, table games, progressive jackpots, bingo, poker, RNG games, and live dealer tables.

We take into account the featured RTP values and make sure there are plenty of games with RTPs of 95% and above.

Software Developers

Our team assesses the reputation of the top game providers on each platform. We take the most popular names and see whether or not they had any issues with fairness, independent audits, and similar. If they had no prior issues, we give them flying marks and proceed to the next step.

Independent audits confirm the software developed by a specific developer matches the data from its technical specs/details. Third-party auditors like eCOGRA and iTechLabs have a history of working at the highest level in iGaming and continuously monitor game providers and casino operators to ensure fair play and transparency on both ends.

Our best casino game providers are Microgaming, Evolution, Playtech, Play’N Go, and NetEnt. These five game providers combined make up the vast majority of the most popular online slots over the last few years.

Bonuses and Promotions

Next up, bonuses and promos! First, we check the casino to see whether a NZ$1 deposit offer is currently available. If it’s not, we assess the welcome bonuses, VIP programs, and other ongoing promotions before finalising our decision.

When writing casino reviews, our main goal is to evaluate how the casino balances bonus value with wagering requirements. We carefully analyse the fine print of bonus terms. If we notice anything questionable, we always disclose it in our reviews.

Payment Method

We’re happy that New Zealanders are becoming increasingly more picky regarding payment methods. To keep up with the trends, casinos have started accepting far more payment methods than they did a few years ago. But, with a wider variety of payment methods, they need to optimise their internal processing systems and keep tabs on the ever-changing regulations.

When it comes to payment methods, the first thing we check is the number of available payment methods. We test both sides of the camp, deposits and withdrawals. Plus, we also look at the fine print and see if there are some payment methods that aren’t eligible for the welcome bonus.

Cryptocurrencies

Cryptocurrencies are still somewhat of a taboo in the gambling market. Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum made their way into some of the biggest gambling sites out there. Players love them for their simplicity, speed, and privacy. But, regulators still aren’t sure how to deal with the crypto market.

Customer Support

Customer support is something players never appreciate until they absolutely need it. So, learn from other people’s mistakes and find yourself a casino with adequate customer service. Poor CS is not exactly a deal-breaker (in most cases), but it does help improve the overall image of the casino.

When reviewing a casino, we put its customer support channels to the test. First, we find all available channels (contact form, live chat, email, phone) and use one of our “test issues” to test the responsiveness and efficiency.

User Experience

User safety comes first; user experience comes second. However, we’re not talking about the overall gambling experience here. Instead, we’re talking about the combination of website design and user interface. If the site looks good and is easy to navigate, then it will probably get flying marks in both departments.

Ease of use represents all important user interface characteristics combined into one single category. If they’re well-optimised, responsive, and easy to crawl, then the casino gets flying marks in the user experience department.

These days, responsive design is of crucial importance, not just for casinos but for all other websites out there too. With poor responsiveness (read inadequate smartphone support), casinos will lose a ton of mobile-first gamblers and their site will appear lower in the Google Search.

Security and Fairness

Realistically speaking, online casinos have access to a ton of sensitive players’ data. This includes players’ first and last names, addresses, mobile phones, emails, and passwords, as well as their banking information and oftentimes scans of government-issued IDs. Needless to say, casinos are investing a ton of money into security and fairness.

Fairness is ensured by third-party certification issued by independent gambling iGaming auditors. According to our first-hand experience, the two most popular organisations that issue fair-play certification in the iGaming niche are iTechLabs and eCOGRA. If you see their seal of approval, you can rest assured the casino offers fair play.

Online casino security is a complex matter. We have two security experts onboard who test the sites for any blatant security errors, analyse the fine print, and provide the rest of the team with valuable insight.

Mobile Compatibility

These days, mobile compatibility bears more importance than ever before. Proper mobile optimization is important because the number of mobile gamblers just keeps on growing.

These days, most casinos opt for a seamless approach to mobile compatibility with responsive design and HTML-powered casino games. These work flawlessly without the need for dedicated apps. Needless to say, this approach always gets flying marks in our reviews.

Reputation and Trustworthiness

In our experience, reputation and trustworthiness come down to two basic factors. First, player reviews and feedback. Second, awards, certifications or another form of industry recognition.

Player reviews and feedback are always on our to-do list when working on the initial casino assessment. However, it’s important to note that there’s a lot of competition in the gambling market, meaning not all player reviews are legit, which greatly complicates our workflow.

Awards and Certificates

The likes of EGR, SBC, and ECA are some of the biggest organisations in charge of monitoring the market and awarding the best gambling companies out there. We also explore third-party certifications for fair play which are typically issued by either eCOGRA or iTechLabs.

Withdrawal Speed

Let’s not forget about the withdrawal speed. Mind you, fast withdrawal speed is one of the most sought-after characteristics of online casinos. Last time I personally tested, the average processing times were quite far apart. But, naturally, the total waiting time depends on the chosen payment method as well.

The average processing time for withdrawals from online casinos is 1 to 3 days. Of course, it can take longer than that in certain cases, typically when the account holder still hasn’t finished the initial KYC (Know Your Customer) setup.

As explained above, KYC is the typical reason why some players experience delays before their first withdrawal. However, there’s nothing to worry about. Most often, the KYC finishes the verification within 48 hours. If the data you’ve submitted matches the on-site data, you’ll be good to go.

Responsible Gambling

Our observations strongly suggest the responsible gambling topic is becoming increasingly more important for online casinos. It’s not just because they care about their players, though. It’s more because the regulators have started taking responsible gambling tools and resources much more seriously.

First, we check the available responsible gambling tools. By that, we’re referring to helpful on-site features that allow players to instate deposit limits, wager limits, playtime limits, and temporary or permanent self-exclusion. If you’re interested in the latter but with cross-platform support, we recommend you look up GamBan.

Resources are a big part too. They’re helpful for players experiencing problem gambling. They’re helpful for casinos too because having dedicated pages with responsible gambling resources gives their domain far more authority and will positively affect their Google search visibility.

Indicators of Scam Casino Sites

Realistically speaking, avoiding scammy sites is of crucial importance for online gamblers. Nowadays, it’s getting increasingly more difficult to avoid scammy sites simply because their numbers have risen exponentially.

Luckily, our workflow enables us to notice scam casino sites very early on. As soon as we notice shady behaviour, unfair practices and fraudulent fine print, we know what we’re dealing with. Needless to say, we’d never recommend scam casino sites.

If you’d like some guidelines on how to notice scam casinos, here’s the most important criteria:

• Lack of proper licensing and regulation
• Unrealistic promotions and bonuses
• Poor user reviews and negative feedback
• Lack of secure payment options
• Suspicious software providers
• Non-responsive or unhelpful customer support

What’s the gist here? It’s simple – if you want to avoid getting scammed on shady online casinos, only use the brands we recommend. Our ratings are based on factually correct information and consist only of reliable, licenced, and trustworthy online casinos.