Traditionally online pokie players in New Zealand struggled to find believable information on legitimate casinos that offer their services to the local market. Before the New Zealand market opened up there were no reputable websites that offered to do checks on casino sites to find out aspects like payout percentages, game functionality or even casino licensing on behalf of the local players. Today, in 2020, there will be many sites that now claim to do this but the players would also be expected to approach the conundrum with a level head. In order to find the highest paying pokies available online in New Zealand today, players first need to identify legal casinos that have been licensed to operate in the local market to take NZ$-based bets and the same in payouts. This aspect can be checked by looking for a publicly displayed license on the casino home page. This license needs to be awarded by a reputable online gaming authority such as the MGA. Of course there are other licenses that claim to be legit but only certain ones will be acknowledged by the New Zealand gambling authorities. Be sure to visit the gaming authority's website to see what the license all covers.

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How to check the RTP of a casino

When the online gambler in New Zealand. is considering the choice of platform, he is looking for a few tins. He firstly wants to see if the casino is allowed to take bets in New Zealand and secondly, he want to be sure that the casino is the top paying option available to him at the time. There are plenty of sites that publish reviews of the estimations of independent testing bodies made on casinos along with calculations on how these results are compiled. The online casino license of the relevant casino is the most important starting point to first identify a casino to investigate. Both the casino's license and that of its pokie game providers needs to be investigated to see if they are allowed to operate in the New Zealand market. Once this has been done, the checks can be done to see that the average RTP of that particular online casino is. To take a quick step back, RTP stands for return to player and is the amount wagered that the player can expect back from a casino over a period of time. For example: If a players wagers NZ$1000 at an online casino platform with a 98.10% RTP, he can expect NZ$981.00 of that money back over his time with the casino.

The most recent comparison data available on review sites is that any RTP percentage of a casino over 98% is considered high. In fact the top three online casinos available in New Zealand in 2020 all boast and average RTP percentage of over 98%. There are a few other aspects that also come into play when the casino's RTP is worked out at such a high level. Not only the RTPs of the individual games are considered but also aslects such as bonuses that players are awarded. These bonuses help to increase a player's chances of receiving higher payouts and generally help to decrease the percentage of the house edge that the casino holds over the player. To put the house edge into perspective, if we use the above example of the casino RTP of 98.10%, we can calculate the house edge as 100% minus the RTP of 98.10%, which equals to 1.90%. Casinos are in the business to make a profit and this house edge percentage is the money that it keeps. Players should not only rely on these casino RTP figures but also investigate if the casino is audited by credible and reputable regulatory bodies such as eCOGRA for fair play and responsible gambling practises.

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Checking the RTP of pokies

In addition to checking the casino licensing details and the RTP percentage of the casino platform, the next step is for the players to check out the pokie games to identify the highest paying pokies available at the online casino. This aspect is usually a bit more fun than interrogating complex casino audit results. The player can begin this journey be actually playing the pokies. Most reputable casinos offer the play of their pokies for free. Online casinos are in the business to make money and the game selection is the primary reason that a player would want to play at a licensed casino in New Zealand. The version of games offered for free play is based on the same random number generator as the games offered for real play. This affords the player a range of advantages. He can see if the casino is intent on forging a long term relationship with the player by continuously offering updates and new games. Game providers supply casinos with all the technical information of their games and the casino should display this information prominently. Each game is vetted and audited to perform at a certain RTP. This will help the player identify potentially high-paying pokies. A pokie with a RTP of over 965 is considered high-paying.

What other facators are there?

By playing pokies for free, not only can the player check out the range, themes and RTPs of pokies on offer, but also investigate the operational aspects of the casino. The all important financial transaction aspect can be looked at. The New Zealand player would like to see if the casino supports popular banking methods offered in his country. Credits cards are favoured due to their speed and convenience but the player might prefer the anonymity that e-wallets such as Ukash, Skrill, or Click2Pay might offer. The withdrawal process is usually the aspect that causes the most player disputes with the customer care of the casino. Therefore this process needs to be investigated to see what the casino's policies for fund withdrawals are. Typically the payment terms and conditions will set this out. Another big aspect is the customer care. Communication channels should be visible on the site, such as chat links along with backup channels such as email adresses and telephone numbers. Players should reach out to customer support to gauge the level of knowledge, friendliness and responsiveness. Then the casino's online security can also be investigated to see if they commit to keeping player and financial data safe.

  • Casinos with reputable MGA casino licenses
  • Casino platform RTP of 98% and up
  • Individual pokie RTPs of 97.5% and up
  • Balanced pokie volatility scores

To identify the highest paying pokies on offer in New Zealand the player first has to take a step back. There will be many sites that offer to evaluate and demystify online casinos on behalf of the players, but the players first needs to know which casinos he is interested in so that he can be sure that the site covers it. The first step to take is for the player to familiarise himself with the licensing aspects of the online gambling industry and how to identify a reputable licensing authority. Once he is happy with the licensing aspect, he can undertake the next step to see what the overall return to player average of the relevant online casino platform is. This data can be gleaned from sites that review online casinos but the players needs to be sure to know how the casinos is evaluated and on what criteria. The next step is to look at the individual pokie games and their respective return to player percentages and the volatility score of the game. This information can be obtained from the casino's game provider site. Players are encouraged to play the free version of pokie games first before committing to real money gambling.