Online Casinos | Expectation vs Reality

Piers Daubeney

Posted On:   JUN - 18 - 2020

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Unless you have been living under a rock, you may have noticed an emerging trend in New Zealand…More and more online casinos have started to make their way into the market.

The main reason seems to be the regulation of the more popular gambling markets such as Sweden and United Kingdom.

Casinos are simply not getting enough bang for their buck from these geos and are now providing localised casino games for their Kiwi customers.

The big question in all of this is whether the casinos actually live up to the hype. With so much choice available, is it worth sitting at home and playing your favourite online pokies than visiting a land-based casino.

In this article we will explore the different aspects of a casino and more importantly the expectations you must have when visiting online casinos.

No Deposit Bonuses

You may have noticed that all online casinos listed on newcasinos.co.nz have some sort of a welcome bonus attached to them. Casinos use this as a way of differentiating themselves from the rest of the pack. Simply put, it is a way of attracting you to their site. You are likely to come across match deposit bonuses up to 100% or even no deposit bonuses.

Will casinos really provide bonuses for simply creating an account? Yes, some will. All that will be required on your part would be to complete the registration form, providing accurate details and then getting access to the bonus.

However, there is a catch. While it is true that you will get free spins and even free money that you can use on certain games, these bonuses will always come with a wagering requirement.

In the event that you end up winning with the bonus, you will not be able to cash out straight away. You will have to wager it a certain amount of times. Normally we have seen wagering amounts anywhere between 30 and 60 times. Some casinos might even place a cap on the amount you can withdraw.

So, while you expect to get a bonus for signing up to a casino, in reality you will also be signing up to the terms and conditions that are associated with it.

Huge of Library of Games

We can confidently say that you should expect tons of casino games when visiting an online casino. While a land-based casino has to deal with limitations of space, an online casino can have an endless library of games.

Some of the more established studios like Microgaming, NETENT have a habit of releasing a new game every month. Eagle eyed players look out for these releases which can be tied to their favourite tv shows (Game of Thrones), musicians (Guns n Roses) or genre (Norse god mythology).

It is perfectly realistic to expect a games library in the thousands. In fact, it would be down right disappointing for the number of games to be under the 500 mark.

Casinos on the Smaller Screen

Most casinos will boast about being the king of mobile (LeoVegas) but is it really true that you can replicate the desktop experience on the smaller screen? We would say that this is partially true.

Yes, there are casinos such as LeoVegas, Jackpot City that have made a good amount of effort providing an optimised product for your phone or tablet. These we believe are in minority though.

A lot of casinos have taken the lazy route of providing a desktop site straight for mobile without having made any adjustments for the smaller screen. What you end up getting is a product that is difficult to navigate through and even clunkier to play on.

Also, not all games will be ported onto the handheld devices. You are likely to get a smaller library of games which means there is a tendency of your favourite games not being able to make the cut.

Furthermore, Google has a strict policy in terms of the quality of apps that can be uploaded onto the Play Store. Several casino apps wont make it there if they are not upto Google’s standards and will instead offer the app via their own site.

Our recommendation is not to download an app that is not found on either the Apple or Google app store. These apps might contain malicious software that can hack into your phone.

All Casinos Are Verified and Hold Licenses

On newcasinos.co.nz, you will often read about a casino being licensed by either UKGC, MGA or Curacao. Having a license is crucial as it ensures the casino has jumped over the relevant hopes to provide a product that is fair, safe and secure. A quick glance at the bottom of a site such as Betway will reveal logos of these associations.

All casinos listed here have the right accreditations so you will never have to worry about your documents, data being misused. However, it would be incorrect to assume that all casinos currently offering their services to Kiwis hold the same licenses.

Obtaining a license takes a fair amount of resources both financial and time wise. Some casinos will simply skip this bit to get their site up and running as quickly as possible.

Avoid such casinos at all costs! These sites are ‘spam’ sites and are fishing for customers to deprive them of their valuable data. Always play at a casino that has the relevant licenses.

Chances of Winning

Now just because an online casino is created using a software does not make it biased. In fact, most online casinos will proudly display the RTP’s of each game giving you an indication of which games are more favourable in terms of winning.

Playing at a licensed casino also gives you the piece of mind that its software is routinely being tested by external bodies that will ensure its fairness.

As always, remember that you are playing at a casino where luck plays a pivotal role in your success.

Conclusion

As you can tell by the points above, the expectation is very close to reality in case of an online casino.

With competition heating up in New Zealand, casinos are continuously improving their product and service to provide you with a good playing environment.

Hopefully they will improve upon further on some of their weaker points such as offering the casino on a mobile device.