We sign up and deposit our own money, claim welcome bonuses,?play real money online pokies?and other games, scour the T&Cs, request a withdrawal, and so on until we’ve exhausted every single detail of the site. Only then will we be comfortable giving the casino a proper evaluation.

The only time we stop short of giving our money and personal details to a casino is when we can tell they are scam sites. Either way, every single detail that’s worth putting in our review gets put in.

We only want to recommend trusted casinos with an amazing reputation. Not rogue casinos that have recently reopened their virtual doors under a new name for the fifth time.

Our safety and security checks begin with exhaustive background checks. This covers everything from researching who the owners are to identifying player complaints.

We also check if the casino has been licenced by an established regulatory body. A seal of approval from the proper authorities guarantees that you’ll enjoy a safe and fair?online gambling?experience.

To get licensed casinos must meet strict standards to protect players. Casinos must address issues such as problem gambling by including self-exclusion tools on their site.

These casinos also use Know Your Customer (KYC) checks to verify the identity of players. This helps prevent underage gambling and stops crimes like money laundering.

Taking these measures into account, it’s safe to say that licensed casinos are the best around. Your protection and wellbeing are their priority. For this reason, we always review and recommend these casinos for NZ players.

Game selection is one of the key factors we consider when determining how good or bad an online casino is. An array of Vegas-style games should be available. This should include hundreds of slots, your favourite table games, live casino options, and even specialty games.

Our internet casino reviews provide a?list of software providers?that are available at each site. Naturally, casinos with popular games from big-name providers like?IGT, Microgaming, and NetEnt?score the most points in our reviews.

It’s important that these games are available to play in different formats. Even if a casino still offers downloadable games, we expect to find mobile and instant-play options.

We also check that the games are fair and random. To do this, we see whether a casino’s games have been tested by third-party auditing companies, such as iTech Labs and eCOGRA. Casinos which have had their games tested will hold certificates from these companies. Luckily, VSO-recommended NZ casinos get their games independently tested on a constant basis.

We always take advantage of welcome bonuses to see if they are as generous as the online casino claims. Nine times out of ten, we are welcomed with a match bonus. However, many?casinos from New Zealand also offer no deposit bonuses?that let you try real money games without depositing.

We then claim the best promotions the casino has to offer. This usually includes?free spins, reload bonuses, cashback deals, and even special refer-a-friend bonuses.

Unfortunately, many Kiwi players get fooled by false advertisement promises when it comes to casino bonuses. Make sure you pay attention to our advice on how to read casino promotions (such as?wagering requirements, or clauses about keeping what you win). It’s important to read the fine print of a bonus before claiming it to ensure you’re getting a fair deal.

Legitimate casinos should offer a selection of the?most popular payment methods. It’s important that these payment methods are easily available and widely used in New Zealand. Available payment methods should include debit cards, e-wallets like Neteller, and Pay by Phone options. Bear in mind that as of April 2020, credit cards are no longer available at NZ casino sites. ?

We also expect to deposit and withdraw quickly and easily. Cashout speed is a big deal to us. We time how long a withdrawal takes at every online casino we review. If we don’t receive our money within the allocated time specified in the cashier, we penalise that casino by reducing its overall rating.

We conclude this section of our online casino reviews by reviewing transaction fees and limits. We favour casinos that keep their deposit and withdrawal fees at a minimum or have no fees at all. Besides this, we give preference to NZ casino sites with low deposits, and ones with high withdrawal limits.

It’s vital to us that you’re in good hands when something goes wrong at the casinos you join. While issues are few and far between at the top NZ online casino sites, our experts like to test each support option that is available by throwing all kinds of questions at the support team.

It’s always easy to identify casinos that have been set up to truly accommodate players. We expect support to be available 24/7 (or at least reachable for most of the day), and in a variety of contact options.

We also time how long it takes for our queries to be answered. A customer service representative should be available within a few minutes, otherwise we penalise the casino.

It’s imperative that an online casino works across all devices. To make a fair assessment, we navigate the site and play some games. We begin by ensuring everything runs smoothly on PC before checking that the casino is?compatible with the various mobile devices that exist.

Our mobile compatibility checks involve logging into our player account across multiple devices. This includes Android, Blackberry, iOS and?Windows tablets and smartphones.

The good news is that most online casinos recognise the importance of mobile gaming. Therefore, almost all casino sites that operate these days have been programmed using HTML5 technology. This means that the website stretches to fit any size of screen.