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New Zealand Casinos – Popular Games And Big Wins

Though New Zealand is presently more famous for Middle Earth and the "One ring to rule them all", there are other cultural aspects to the country. And, of course, gambling is one of them. Kiwi's love to gamble and a much larger percentage of them take part in gambling activities than us Europeans. By far and away, their favourite gambling vice is playing the New Zealand Lottery. Though gaining ground every year in the number of players, are the online slots, known in the Antipodes as "pokies."

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Gambling in New Zealand

With such a huge distance separating us it’s not surprising that we Europeans know very little about many cultural aspects of the Antipodes, especially the islands of New Zealand. Of course, there are many gamblers there who are taking part in online gambling in New Zealand casinos. Of all the gambling activities available to New Zealand, the Lotto is by far the most popular. The New Zealand Lotteries Commission which is better known as Lotto New Zealand since 2013, has lottery offices all around the country. It operates under the New Zealand Gaming Act of 2003 and was established in 1987. By far the most popular online gambling activities are the slots, which are known as pokies.

Gambling Market Size in New Zealand

Let’s have a look at some numbers. A surprisingly high number of New Zealanders are gamblers. In fact, around 80% of all New Zealanders, which is about 3.6 million people, gamble on a pretty regular basis. This is especially true of taking part in the National Lottery. Though we can’t find any recent figures, going back to 2013, we can see in New Zealand, that players ponied up around $NZ 2 million. This is around 1.3 billion euro. Although gambling in gaming machines, sports betting, and live casino games, has dropped steadily over the last couple of decades, we have seen a steady increase in the amount of money being spent on the lottery and lotto games.

Biggest Online New Zealand Casino Winners

We commonly hear about huge progressive slot wins from the US and the UK. But there are, and there have been, some very large winners from New Zealand. Most of the Kiwis who have won big have done so playing online pokies. One thing is for certain, and that’s that everyone likes to hear a good old fashioned underdog winner story. In 2016, a man named Rawiri Pow, who was working at Kentucky Fried Chicken at the time, managed to bag one of the biggest online jackpots from Mega Moolah. This slot from games producer, Microgaming, has probably made more millionaires from gambling than any other game. You can play Mega Moolah at 22Bet Casino, along with literally hundreds of other great games.

Biggest New Zealand Casinos Winner on Mobile

Just as in Europe and the rest of the world, mobile gambling took off in a big way in New Zealand. In spite of huge geographical differences, ranging from tropical to snow-capped mountains, New Zealand has a very high penetration rate of mobile phones and data. As a result, much of the population has instant access to the internet. Obviously, with so many people playing online, it was just a matter of time before the big wins started to come in.

In 2013 online New Zealand casinos were still very much in their infancy in the Antipodes. Nevertheless, in these early days, a lucky gambler managed to score one of the biggest wins in New Zealand history. He managed to win $NZ $943,971 while playing Microgaming’s Mega Moolah video slot. After just a couple of spins, he managed to land this amazing prize.

Online Roulette New Zealand Casinos Winner

But it’s not only pokies and Mega Moolah that pays out big prizes. Once again in 2013, a New Zealand casino player was playing online roulette at a mobile casino. This was an offering from NetEnt’s live dealer tables. By following some basic strategy, as well as shovelfuls of good luck, this player managed to take home over $NZ 100,000 within just a few hours of sitting at the roulette games table. Thanks to a number of continuous and constant wins this player was able to increase his wages with every consecutive spin of the wheel. And as luck would have it, he was able to win each time. You should try out the live dealer roulette at 22Bet Casino. Not only is this just as cool as being in a real casino, but they also offer all new players a great welcome bonus of 122% up to €300!

Virtual Blackjack Changes Kiwi’s Life

Just one before, in 2012, a regular land-based casino player decided he would give the online casino a chance. As such he sat down to play virtual online blackjack. This player had some blackjack skills in the real casino world. And he decided to put these to good use while playing the online version. He was using the same basic strategy that is recommended to all blackjack players, whether they are playing online or off. After having played on and off at the same table for just over a week, he managed to take home around $NZ 500,000.

Where to Find The Best Online Pokie Bonuses?

As we always recommend here at Jackpotfinder.com, you really need to check out a number of various and important factors before you decide to deposit money into an online casino account. These include:

Game selection
Welcome bonus offer and the wagering requirement
Device compatibility
The brand’s reputation
Security and customer support
Reputable licencing

With so many online New Zealand casinos to choose from, it really is going to be beneficial to you in the long run if you take some time and delve into the nitty-gritty of these online casinos before you join. It may appear to be time wasted when you could simply be gambling. But remember that it’s your hard-earned cash you’re playing with. The last thing you want is to simply waste it all thanks to not understanding the gameplay. Or not paying attention to the different terms and conditions that each online casino will have.

As with all gambling activities, the general idea is to try and stretch your bankroll as far as possible. By doing so, it will allow you to play for longer. And common sense will tell you that by playing for longer, you can only increase your jackpot winning chances.