Did you know that New Zealanders have the option to engage in gambling online with overseas casinos? Hence, they have a wide array of thematic options to choose from when playing their favorite casino games.
Kiwis can play online casino games NZ if they are more comfortable in wagering within the region for safety as they are regulated by the Department of Internal Affairs. Hence, they can place their wagers on various online casino websites including SkyCity, Christchurch Casino, and Dunedin Casino. These three casinos are the only brands that are physical casino locations throughout New Zealand that also have online gaming options.
SkyCity dominates the physical casino market with 4 locations throughout New Zealand. Now it’s time to roll the dice and learn more about online casino games in New Zealand.
How Is the New Zealand Casino Market Performing?
As of 2022, there are only a little over 5 million people living in New Zealand. Hence, while New Zealand may not be as large population wise like the United States of America or Japan, the country’s casino market is still booming. Casino revenue was at its highest recently for 2018 to 2019 at $616 million with the most recent revenue being reported for 2022 to 2023 at $604 million. While casino revenue took a small downturn in the last few years, with the worse figure being $387 million for 2021 to 2022,
The Top Casino Games In New Zealand
Now that you know more about the success of New Zealand’s casino market, we can now discuss the top casino games in the country. Understanding what casino games that kiwis play the most will give us a further look on which games are spent more on than others when locals play online.
Slots
Slots is a highly popular casino game worldwide, even in New Zealand. Kiwis even have a special term for slot machines called pokies, which we will elaborate more on in the next section. Many of the slot games that interest New Zealanders the most are those with influences of local sports like rugby and cricket, nods to the historic Maori culture of the land, and outdoorsy themes such as oceanic influences.
Blackjack
It’s one thrilling thing to possibly hit a jackpot when playing slots, but it’s a whole other adventure winning Blackjack by not busting and going over 21. Blackjack is one of the most highly played casino card games worldwide and kiwis love the thrill behind playing the game, too. The object of the game is to get as close to 21 as possible without the value of your hand exceeding that value. Your hand must have more value than what the dealer drew for their hand.
Roulette
Roulette is a game of chance where a dealer throws a ball into the middle of the roulette wheel and it lands on one of 37 (European roulette) or 38 pockets (American roulette) depicted by a red or black number from 1-36. The green pockets are a single zero on European roulette wheels or a double zero pocket on American roulette wheels. Betting on one number is the riskiest strategy of all, but it pays out the highest if it hits. Betting on one color or all events or all odds can increase your chances of landing a bet.
New Zealanders Call Them Pokies, Not Slot Machines
If you are visiting New Zealand and want to try their casino gaming or maybe you are moving to the country, it’s best to know that kiwis call them pokies and not slot machines like Australians do. Pokie is the shorter version of poker machine, which is what slot machines were originally called as they originated in the casino sector. Playing on a video poker machine was also a popular casino activity back then, so New Zealanders eventually started calling the activity as pokies for short.
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