How We Review

CasinoList editorial team Updated:

Every rating on CasinoList is built the same way, and this page says exactly how. The short version: a casino is judged on documents it publishes itself and on the public registers that cover it — not on an evening someone spent at the tables.

Where the information comes from

  • The licence entry in the regulator’s own register: who holds the licence, under which company, since when, and whether it is still in force.
  • The operator’s terms and conditions, including the separate bonus terms — wagering multiplier, maximum bet while a bonus is active, expiry, excluded games and the cap on what can be withdrawn.
  • The cashier or banking page: payment methods open to New Zealand players, minimum and maximum amounts, fees, and the payout times the casino commits to.
  • The lobby itself, for game counts and which studios actually supply the site.
  • The responsible gambling section: deposit and loss limits, reality checks, time-outs and self-exclusion, and how quickly each takes effect.
  • Public records — regulator notices, licence suspensions and published complaint decisions — where they exist for that operator.

What we do not do

The editorial team holds no player accounts. We do not register at the casinos we write about, we do not deposit money, we do not place bets and we do not request withdrawals. Nothing on this site is presented as a personal gambling session, and you will not find «hours tested» counters, staged payout screenshots or figures that cannot be traced back to a document. Where a casino’s own page is the only source for a claim, we say so and quote it as the casino’s claim rather than as a finding of ours.

What each casino is scored on

  • Licence and ownership — which regulator, which company, and whether the register entry matches what the site says about itself.
  • Bonus terms — how hard the offer is to clear as written: wagering, maximum bet, expiry window, game contributions, withdrawal cap.
  • Banking — the methods a New Zealand player can actually use, the limits, the fees and the stated processing times.
  • Games — the size of the library, the studios behind it, and whether return-to-player figures are published at all.
  • Support — which channels the operator commits to, in which hours, and in which language.
  • Responsible gambling and New Zealand fit — the tools on offer, the age rule the site applies, and whether NZD is supported.

How a score is put together

Each of the six areas gets a mark out of five against the same checklist, and the overall rating is the weighted result — licence and banking count for more than the size of the game library, because they decide whether money comes back. A casino that hides its bonus terms, or whose register entry does not match its claims, cannot reach the top of a table here regardless of how generous the headline offer looks.

When a review changes

Ratings follow the documents. A review is revisited when the terms change, when the licence is renewed, suspended or lapses, when payment methods or payout times move, when ownership changes hands, or when a regulator publishes a decision about the operator. The date shown at the top of a page is the date of the last check, not the date the page was first written.

Where New Zealand law sits right now

Casino gambling in New Zealand is for players aged 20 and over. The operators listed on this site are based offshore and hold no New Zealand licence: the Department of Internal Affairs is running its first licensing round under the Online Casino Gambling Act 2026, and no licence is in force before 1 December 2026. Free, confidential help is available from the Gambling Helpline on 0800 654 655, 24 hours a day, free from any New Zealand phone.

Corrections

If a figure here does not match what the operator publishes, tell us through the contact page. Corrections are made on the page itself and the check date is moved forward, so you can see that it was looked at again.