There are thousands of online casinos, most offering the same type of games with the same type of odds. So how do you select an online casino to spend your hard-earned money on? Well, while many Kiwi gamblers say that the choice of the slot games, the bonuses for signing up, and the ease of signing up are major factors, almost everyone will agree that the reliability of a casino’s withdrawal procedures are the number one factor they want to know. The major difference between going to a physical casino like SkyCity Auckland or the Christ Church casino is that in a physical casino you are paid out immediately. On the other hand, since all online casinos in New Zealand are off-shore, (including even SkyCities online casino) there will be a gap from 24 hours to a week before you get paid, if at all.
The relationship between where a casino is licensed and the reliability of payment
It is always a bit of a crapshoot when gambling online, but where a casino is licensed has a direct correlation between whether it is likely to be a payment problem or not. There are several categories of licenses:
- Wild, unregulated casinos – If a casino is unregulated anywhere, you have to ask yourself why. By all means, you will want never to gamble at an unregulated casino, for you have nobody but the casino itself to turn to. You likely will never even be able to sue to recover a huge jackpot because you may not even know where the casino operates from. It Could be in North Korea, part of a Mexican drug cartel, or in the middle of Afghanistan.
- Central American Casinos such as Panama or Curacao – Although they are licensed by these countries. Licensing means literally nothing because they take a completely hands-off policy, as to how the casino is run. You certainly can’t turn to the Panama government to assist you in collecting your money.
- Canadian Indian Casinos – Certain tribes in Canada run online casinos, and while they are generally legit, it is solely up to the tribe’s discretion as to how they operate, including payouts.
- English and Malta-licensed casinos – These are by far from the best because they are heavily licensed, and how well they pay off under the rules of licensing is strictly regulated.
How do you know where an online casino is licensed?
You’ll generally know by looking at the home page of an online casino. Although many online casinos use a dark font over an even darker background, hover your mouse over it and you’ll see the licensing body listed. If you can’t find it there, try the FAQ section. You can also try to pass and not gamble at that online casino. After all, there are hundreds of others to choose from. You will tend to find that Malta in particular offers the greatest number of online gaming licenses. The Malta Gaming Association licenses between 300 and 500 online casinos and many of those online casinos also rely on eCongra, a London-based organization that actually steps in to ensure casino players are protected. So, in general, a licensed casino with an eCongra seal is the best source of reputation you can rely on.
All online casinos in New Zealand are off-shore based
New Zealand has strict rules about the number of physical casinos that are allowed, (currently capped at six) and an important part of New Zealand gambling law is that while citizens are not restricted from playing at online casinos, and in fact, they do not even have to pay taxes on winnings, New Zealand strictly prohibits the promotion of online casinos and no online casino may be based in New Zealand. With that essential information, we’ll now discuss a few casinos that have a reputation for paying out. Do keep in mind, however, that you will never find this information on an online casinos webpage. For that, you have to dig.
Casinos with an extremely spotty payment reputation
The Curgram Group The Curgram Group, based in Malta, but having no license whatsoever, although they may at one time be licensed by Curacao owns 7 different casinos, specifically 99 slot machines, mighty slots, plenty jackpots, real vegas online, slot nuts, and slots inferno out and out does not pay on any significant slot machine winnings Being unregulated, players have no choice but to accept they made a bad choice when choosing an online casino. Netad Management Licensed by Antigua and Barbados, not exactly a titan of licensing (pun intended,) Netad Management own 9 online casinos, the Begado Casino, Casino Titan, Golden Cherry Casino, Grand Macao Casino, Jackpot Grand Casino, Slots Jungle Casino, Slots of Fortune, WinPalace Cascino and WinPalace Play. These casinos tend to stall players, making payments of $500 or less after 90 days (about 3 months). Reports are the owners were arrested for fraud and hacking in 2015. Rand Logic Gaming Casinos Another offshore casino group is licensed in Curacao. Since the government’s, official policy is that player/casino disputes should be resolved between the casino and the player, you’ll have no luck regulating disputes. Because of disputes on its African Palace Casino, Grand Reef Casino, and Indio Casino, as well as the cavalier attitude of management (one major jackpot winner received this email message: ” Listen, I don’t like your attitude. You’re not going to get a cent of your money anymore. You can go to the papers, and you can go to your lawyers because we’re an overseas company and they can’t do anything to us.” all of Rand Logic’s casinos have been blacklisted by most reputable casino review sites. Teller Processing Teller processing owns four online casinos, licensed in Curacao, Giant Vegas Casino, Royal Dice Casino, Sierra Star Casino, and Nuts poker. Without warning, they often refused to pay players their winnings. We could go on and on here, but the pattern is very clear. Most payment problems come from casinos that are either nonregulated or from jurisdictions like Curacao or Antigua who could care less about players. Our recommendation is that you stick to the UK or Malta-based casinos only and that you also look for an eCongra seal, which means you have someone to turn to if there is a dispute of payment with the casino.