Best Online Casino Bonuses in New Zealand 2024

Before we answer this question, the most important information is defining what a bonus is. Casino bonuses are promotional offers New Zealand players can use to earn money and free spins. A bonus can be awarded for different reasons and occasions. Yet, they all come down to one: casinos use bonuses and promotions to market themselves and stand out from the competition. Given that the internet is swimming with online casinos, the best way to attract new players is to dish out promotions and bonuses.

While every online casino has a promotion running, the best in New Zealand try as much as possible to keep their promotions page(s) up to date with the latest offerings. This way, NZ players receive awards throughout their stay on the platform.

There are hundreds of online casinos offering their services to New Zealand players. Each of these brands tries to be as unique as possible, offering different games, services, and bonuses. Despite the effort to be unique, they share similarities in multiple areas. One such is the type of promotions they run. As an NZ casino player, you will realize that even with all the casino promotions online, they must fall under one of these categories.

Welcome bonus

Also referred to as a signup bonus, the welcome bonus is meant to give you a “warm” welcome to the brand. It is exclusive to players joining the online casino for the first time and comes in different formats. You can be awarded the bonus in the form of free spins or money, which you can withdraw/claim only after meeting certain conditions.

Any online casino with a free signup bonus has conditions attached to it. These conditions include, for example, who can claim it, how to claim it, and what needs to be done to withdraw or use it. Such information is usually found in the terms and conditions section of the promotion, which you must read before participating in the promotion.

Deposit match bonuses

As the name suggests, you must “deposit” so the casino can “match” what you have topped up with a bonus. The match deposit bonus is usually awarded as a percentage of the amount you credit your account with. For example, an online casino can have a promotion that awards you a 100% match deposit bonus of up to NZ$10,000. To qualify for the offer, you must make a minimum deposit of NZ$20.

For this, it means for any deposit between NZ$20 and NZ$10,000, the online casino will top up your bonus account with an equal amount. Anything lower will disqualify you from the promotion. Any amount more than NZ$10,000 won’t make any difference in the money you receive.

Deposit match bonuses are offered for different reasons. However, the most common one is to welcome you or as part of an ongoing promotion. The example above is for welcoming you to the casino and is awarded in one batch. If it was as part of a series in a single promo, you could get a second, third, fourth, or even fifth match deposit bonus.

No deposit bonuses

A no-deposit bonus does what it says on the tin; you receive free casino bonus money/free spins without making a deposit. Just like a deposit bonus offer, it can be awarded in two ways; as part of a welcome bonus or ongoing promotion.

As part of a welcome promotion, you simply need to create an account with a safe and secure casino to receive it. Some online casinos can require you to opt into the promotion to receive the no-deposit bonus. However, the best online casino welcome bonus promo is one where this offer is automatically credited to your account as soon as you’ve signed up.

As part of an ongoing promotion, there are no limits on when or how to receive the offer. You can be awarded as part of a daily, weekly, monthly, or seasonal promotion. It’s up to the online casino to decide when to run a no-deposit bonus promotion. Lastly, since no deposit is required to claim this bonus, it usually has a meagre amount. This type of bonus is also very rare to come by. 

Free spins

There are two types of free spins at any online casino site; those awarded as part of a promotion and those you get while playing pokies online. Our focus is on the first category, which can be awarded as part of an NZ online casino sign-up bonus, or an ongoing promotion.

In the first instance, the free spins accompany an NZ online casino sign-up bonus or can be awarded independently. However, most online casinos prefer awarding free spins tied to some bonus cash.

As part of an ongoing promotion, free spins are awarded alongside match reload bonuses. In some cases, an online casino can partner with a software provider to promote a new game. Regardless of how the online casino dishes out free spins, once claimed, they can only be used to play specific games as defined in the casino bonus term.

This may seem like a strange bonus to many players. However, some New Zealand online casinos will offer you a bonus for using a particular payment method. There are two reasons why an online casino can decide to do this:

• To promote a payment method and encourage its players to use it for transactions
• Like online software providers partnering with online casinos to promote a new release, a casino brand can partner with a payment provider to market it.

Once you top up your account using the payment method, the bonus is automatically credited to your account. Redeeming or using the bonus will only be after you satisfy the set conditions as spelt in the T&Cs. 

Online casino tournaments are the best way to spice up your gaming experience, whether you are playing online pokies or table games. It is an adventure because instead of playing alone, you will be competing against other players for the tournament prize. This could be players in New Zealand or other parts of the world. At online casinos, there are two types of tournaments you can participate in: freerolls and buy-ins. As the name suggests, freerolls are free-to-enrol tournaments. Create an account with the casino, visit the promotions/tournaments page, and opt in to start participating.

Buy-ins are the opposite of freerolls. For this, you must buy your spot in the competition. You will pay a small fee to participate in the competition. Because there is a fee associated with this, the tournament prize tends to be significantly higher than what freerolls offer

Tournaments can further be classified into two; sit n go’s and scheduled. A sit-n-go (a.k.a SnG’s, Sit & Go’s) tournament is the one where you join it, and wait for the minimum required number of players to enroll. It’s only after this that it kicks off. Scheduled tournaments are usually planned and will kick off whether there are participants or not. Many online casino tournaments are scheduled. To participate in an online casino tournament, there is a simple procedure you must follow. It doesn’t matter whether it’s an SnG, scheduled, buy-in, or freeroll. 

To play, you must visit the tournaments/promotions page, opt into the competition, meet the minimum requirement to participate in the competition, and start playing for the prize. All the participants in the tournament are usually listed on the leaderboard, and their points/scores are alongside. Whoever has the highest score by the end of the competition or falls within the acceptable range walks away with a prize. 

Whether it is a welcome bonus, free spins, or any other kind of promotion, they are all classified as either sticky or non-sticky. The two terms simply give you an insight into whether the bonus can or cannot be cashed out.

As the name suggests, with a sticky bonus, the money you deposit and the bonus will automatically “get stuck” to each other. Once credited to your account, you can start using them as soon as you wish, but you cannot withdraw them. They are strictly meant for use in the casino, and players can only withdraw winnings resulting from them. Because of this, sticky bonuses are sometimes referred to as “for wagering only” in the casino’s terms and conditions.

Non-sticky bonuses are the most common among most New Zealand online casinos. They are the complete opposite of the sticky type. Also referred to as lifeline or parachute bonuses, they don’t stick to the deposit. Because the bonus and deposit are separate, you can withdraw the initial deposit and winnings resulting from it without needing to meet wagering requirements. Should you decide to cash the winnings out, it means you have agreed to forfeit the bonus money.

When it comes to non-sticky bonuses, you first play with your real money. If you score a win, you can cash them out, but only if you played using your deposit and not the bonus. If you lose your money playing, then the bonus comes in as a lifeline. But for this case, you cannot withdraw winnings until wagering requirements are satisfied. 

Pros

• Sticky bonuses tend to offer a huge amount compared to their non-sticky counterparts
• They tend to have very low wagering requirements compared to non-sticky bonuses

Cons

• Bonus cannot be withdrawn
• The huge bonus associated with the sticky bonus can lure one to quickly participate in the promotion, even without reading the terms and conditions

Pros

• You don’t have to worry about meeting the wagering requirements. You can choose to skip the wagering requirements and ignore your bonus in the process
• You can cash out the bonus money
• Bonus money and your deposit are not stuck together, thus you can manage them separately

Cons

• Bonus amounts tend to be lower than what the non-sticky promotions give you

Casino bonuses in New Zealand make it easy for players to get a headstart once they begin playing real money games in a new online casino. But it only applies to savvy players who use these offers wisely. While many people genuinely claim bonuses to have a good time playing at online casinos, some are malicious. They exploit the casino’s generosity and abuse the promotions.

To protect themselves from bonus “abusers,” New Zealand online casinos enforce specific rules through online casino bonus terms and conditions. One must satisfy these conditions before using or withdrawing the bonus funds. The best online casino bonuses in New Zealand should come with friendly and achievable T&Cs. Some of these conditions include the following.

Online casino bonus wagering requirements

Wagering requirements, also called rollover requirements, are the most common conditions players must meet before cashing out or using their bonuses. Wagering requirements are found under the promotion’s terms and conditions you intend to participate in. They are typically expressed as a number. For example, you will see a 100% match deposit bonus up to NZ$10,000 with an x30, x40, or even x60 wagering requirement.

Basically, wagering requirements are meant to guide you in understanding the amount of money you have to spend before cashing out your bonus or winnings resulting from the bonus. Using the examples above, an x30 wagering requirement on the NZ$10,000 bonus implies you must spend NZ$300,000 before withdrawing winnings from the bonus or using the bonus. x40 WR implies you must spend NZ$400,000. The higher the wagering requirements, the less attractive the bonus amount awarded.

Min deposit to qualify for a casino bonus

Whether it is new casino bonuses or regular promotions, one must meet the minimum deposit requirements to receive the offer. Given that there are hundreds of real money casinos online, each has its minimum deposit requirements you must satisfy before participating in it. The best, however, will have friendly terms for this. To ensure everyone can claim an NZ online casino sign-up bonus on offer, low minimum deposit requirement(s) of about NZ$10 or NZ$20 are set. This, especially, affects brands that are targeting all sorts of players – casual and high rollers. However, some of the online casinos will be targeting VIPs. Such brands tend to have high minimum deposit requirements. For example, you will see a minimum deposit of up to NZ$50 or even NZ$100 to qualify for a bonus.

Match percentage in online casino bonuses

The match percentage shows you the amount you receive as a bonus. For example, an online casino can have a 100% match deposit bonus of up to NZ$10,000. Another online casino will have a 50% match deposit bonus of up to NZ$10,000. Both online casinos offer the same bonus amount. However, the amount you will have to deposit to receive the bonus is not the same. In the first case, you must deposit NZ$10,000 to receive the NZ$10,000 online casino bonus. The second example requires a NZ$20,000 deposit to qualify for the NZ$10,000 bonus.

Bonus cashout

There are instances where there is a limit on how much you can cash out from the bonus or winnings resulting from it. This is a typical example of a capped bonus: you can receive a NZ$20 bonus, but you can only cash out NZ$100 winnings from the bonus. It means even if you are fortunate enough to score a big win worth as much as NZ$100,000, you can only withdraw NZ$100. This is quite common with free spins and no deposit bonuses. It doesn’t always have to be the case. 

In some casinos, you may use your bonus to play and keep all the winnings resulting from it. If you used, say, an NZ$10 bonus to play an online slot and win NZ$50,000, you can cash out your winnings without difficulties. The only condition you must meet is ensuring you’ve satisfied the wagering requirements. 

Bonus expiration

There are two reasons why a free casino bonus can expire. The first is when you fail to meet the wagering requirements within the stipulated time. Every promotion has a time frame within which the wagering requirements must be met. Once this time frame expires, the bonuses expire too.

The second reason is that some of the online free casino bonus offers are also time sensitive. They are only valid for a certain period, after which they expire. For example, a promotion may only be valid for Valentine, Easter, Halloween, Black Friday, or Christmas. Once the holiday season ends, the offer also expires.

Top online casino bonuses usually have easy-to-achieve/satisfy wagering requirements. These figures usually range between x20 and x40. Any figure above x40 can be deemed high and will only suit high-roller casino visitors. The minimum deposit requirements should also be friendly to small-time depositors and high rollers. To ensure the promotions are rewarding, the bonuses should be high too. And once claimed, the set time for meeting the wagering requirements should be reasonable. 

As a player, you are searching for a brand with the best casino bonuses online. But the best brands don’t just offer the aforementioned bonuses, they tend to run other innovative and lucrative programs. Reliable and reputable brands work to ensure you feel like a winner even before you start playing their games. This is through their rewarding and perked loyalty program, which ensures you get something extra on the side every time you are playing on the platform.

Also referred to as a VIP program, player rewards, or a rewards program, the loyalty program is meant to reward players enrolled in it. Some online casinos will enroll anyone who plays with them. Others have an exclusive loyalty program, where only a selected few join and enjoy the trappings of the program. As you play at online casinos, you will realize hundreds of loyalty programs exist. But even then, they are categorized into two main groups; flat and tiered loyalty programs. 

Flat loyalty programs tend to have consistent rewards. As long as the minimum requirements are met, you earn the same reward(s) as everyone else in the program. A good example of such a system is where everyone earns comp points and can redeem them for real money for the same rates. 

Tiered loyalty programs; have levels you must climb or work your way to the top. Every player who joins the casino is enrolled at the lowest level. To make it to the top, you must play real money games and earn points. The more points you earn, the higher you progress in the VIP level. 

VIP levels in NZ online casinos vary depending on the brand. However, they work the same when it comes to the way rewards are given, i.e., players are rewarded differently depending on their tier or VIP level. Benefits of the VIP increase as one progresses up the tiers. Those in the lowest level have access to fewer perks than those in the higher tiers. These perks are also different depending on the online casino one visits. The best brands offer more than the average brands. The rewards can include the following:

• Different rates when it comes to earning and redeeming complimentary points
• Low-wagering casino bonuses, free spins, reload bonuses, cashback promotions, and other freebies
• Priority customer support services
• Faster processing times for withdrawals
• Invite to special competitions and tournaments
• Playing pre-released games and accessing new casino bonuses
• Surprise rewards and gifts, which can include phones, laptops, and designer goodies
• Access to exclusive events, such as going on a cruise, attending a concert, or even a major sporting event

Online casino comp points

Comp points, reward points, VIP points…online casino comp points go by different names. Like bonuses, each online casino has a name for its complimentary points program. Regardless, all comp point programs serve the same purpose: they determine the VIP level you are enrolled to. Online casino comp points are earned by playing real money games. Given the diversity of online casinos, the comp points conversion rate varies. Some online casinos will award you a point for every NZ$1 wagered, while others award a point for every NZ$10 wagered. Once you accumulate enough points, you can redeem or use them as per the terms and conditions.

Important things to know about online casino comp points

Like casino terms, there are important aspects of comp points you need to know while searching for an online casino with the best comp points system. Every online casino has a conversion system for redeeming or using the comp points. For example, a brand can give you NZ$1 for every 100 points. Others have higher conversion rates. Besides, comp points are classified as cashable or non-cashable, much like regular bonuses. The former can be converted into money, which you can redeem. The latter can only be used as bonus cash to play games, exchange them for goods in the casino’s store, plus much more.

The best online casino bonuses in New Zealand are characterized by easy-to-complete wagering requirements, reasonable minimum qualifying deposits (which range between NZ$10 and NZ$30), high percentage figures to give you lucrative amounts and enough time to meet the wagering requirements. Of course, all this information can be found under the casino bonus terms, which is why it’s important you read and understand them before participating in a promotion. The best part about online casino gaming is that there will always be new casino bonuses. So, even if the one you are participating in expires, you can always read online casino bonus guides to get the best deals.