Best NetEnt Online Casinos in New Zealand 2024

Gaming over the internet started up in the mid 1990s, while the first online casino was founded at the turn of the century. It was those times when NetEnt was established. Its first gambling products began to gain traction about a decade later and its achievements started to be acknowledged by the professional community on the global scale. In 2009, the company got listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchanges. 

They have harvested numerous accolades since 2010, which proves their excellence and commitment in many fields. Some of the most prominent ones are Innovation in Slot Provision 2012 (EGR Awards), Innovator of the Year (IGA Awards 2014), Mobile Supplier of the Year (EGR Awards 2014), and Casino Content Supplier (EGR Italy Awards 2018) among dozens of others.

At the end of 2020, NetEnt and Evolution signed a game-changing stake acquisition contract, according to which NetEnt’s assets and back catalogue were acquired by the number one provider of live dealer solutions at over 1.8 billion euros at the time. It was a deal of landmark nature, the one that was a watershed for the global gambling landscape. The merger of the two giants resulted in a powerful synergy that seemed to serve the entire gambling market well.

No one ever expected Evolution to enter the pokie making market, and the deal turned Evolution into a gambling powerhouse overnight. Along with the raised profits (at Q1-2, 2021, Evolution earned almost €500 million from €244m in the same period of 2020), Evolution added its live elements to the latest NetEnt’s games. Let’s recall their revolutionary live show based on Gonzo’s Quest. The NetEnt logo is still shown on the pokies issued after the acquisition but in reality, these are Evolution guys who run the show. Thanks to this mutually beneficial contract, players in New Zealand can see some stellar pokies released recently, including Berryburst (an ingenious remake of the classic Starburst), Archangels: Salvation, and Hotline. The online gambling community looks forward to further eye-popping releases.         

No wonder NetEnt puts focus on video pokies; well, almost every provider is doing this, considering the massive demand and trends. From about 150 games in the portfolio of Net Entertainment, only seven titles fall under the category of table games, while others are pokies. NetEnt games are fantastic, and this is not a figure of speech or a promotional trick to make you test their games. They are really awesome (at least, most of them). The point is that the company has a highly experienced staff of mathematicians, graphics designers, and other experts that work in unison at a think tank to make almost every title unlike any other. It makes no sense listing all the bonus features used in their pokies as the roster would span a few pages. 

One thing to note is that their games will hardly be of interest for high rollers. While a NetEnt games minimum bet is a conventional one cent per line (as is traditionally the case in 95% of pokies of other companies), the highest stake is about NZ$50 to NZ$100 per spin, which is not a great deal for whales. 

Online casinos do not develop and produce pokies themselves. They rent it out from pokie providers. It goes without saying that every casino would like to increase its profits and they often do this at the expense of players. One of the ways to stand to gain is by cutting game RTPs and this is where some studios meet casinos halfway. 

NetEnt and some other developers (Play’n GO, Red Tiger) are known to produce a portion of their games with changeable RTP, which enables casinos to request a game with a reduced return. For example, initially, Starburst had a single RTP ratio of 96.09%. As soon as the game became a hit, NetEnt tweaked it down to 90.05%; sure, all casinos would be glad to promote a pokie that is half as beneficial for players. The implication is that players aimed at long sessions should watch the RTP of the game inside its paytable, which is definitely an essential thing to prevent one’s bankroll from draining out too quickly.

Back to 2009. NetEnt’s official site lists its video pokies starting at that year. There was only one game produced, Dead Or Alive. It had a high RTP of 96.82%, the level that few modern games can boast. The next year saw them produce two video pokies, Hall of Gods and Jack Hammer vs Evil Dr Wuten, the former becoming a world-famous record-breaking jackpot game. Even with the three pokies, NetEnt set the bar high for themselves, and all subsequent games were even better and more impressive with each new release. 

To be specific about the massive variety of bonus features in NetEnt games, let’s visit their official game portal and see the Functions dropdown above the game list. It expands to display almost a hundred of features their games are equipped with: Locked Up feature, Hot Spot Wins, Symbol Upgrade, Sticky Win Re-Spins, Overlay Wilds, Nudge Reels, and Block Breaker among dozens of other mechanics and features. Some of their games hold an iconic status as they were the first in some aspect, be it a revolutionary mechanic or a unique, never-before-seen bonus. 

• Gonzo’s Quest: Released in 2011, it now looks mediocre with its 20 lines, 5×3 formation, and a few regular bonus features. But the game was the first on the market to introduce a brand-new Avalanche feature that is now widely used under different names (cascading reels, falling reels, etc.) by other studios.
• Starburst: Often found in casinos that offer a no deposit bonus with NetEnt, Starburst has a classic feel with a modern touch. Its signature feature is a both-ways-pay approach that doubles the effect of each payline, making them count in every direction. On the other hand, it has a frugal 96.09% RTP, which fits with casinos’ love for this video pokie as an ideal game for free spin wagering.
• Twin Spin: Another oldie, dated back to 2013, has a unique same-name feature producing two adjacent reels with identical symbols. Its graphics look weird, compared to today, but those days the pokie was a heavy-hitter.         

You certainly know who Jimi Hendrix is and what the Invisible Man story is about. If for some reason you don’t, start closing your education gap playing the eponymous video pokies by Net Entertainment. A branded pokie has some celebrity, box-office hit, television series or other mass media product at the centre. Players love branded pokies as they allow looking at their go-to actors, movies or celebs at a different angle. 

The reviewed studio has rolled over many pokies of this kind including Gordon Ramsay Hell’s Kitchen, Vikings, Football: Champions Cup, Red Riding Hood, and Motorhead among others. Branded pokies must be as brilliant and seamless as the originals behind them, that is why the iGaming studio fills these pokies to the brim with novel features and exciting gameplay. Some gambling sites even offer NetEnt casino bonus codes for pokies of this kind.   

As of drafting this, they have seven pokies and Caribbean Stud with a progressive jackpot. Mega Fortune features one of the loosest jackpots, meaning it is hit quite often, about every four months, and its average win is approaching 4 million euros. This pokie is known for a fabulous hit of over 17.8 million euros in January 2013. 

Arabian Nights is another stalwart that has produced over 50 wins since its inception back in 2005. An average win in this pokie is about 1.5m euros and its seed value is 30k euros. Many players like this 10-line game as the qualifying bet to win the progressive jackpot is as low as NZ$0.10 (1 coin per line). Interestingly, the pokie also has a local jackpot that is offered on the best NetEnt casino sites.    

Hall of Gods is a heavy-weight in the realm of progressive pokies as it boasts an average prize of 5.6m euros. Some punters stay away from this game as it takes more than half a year to release the pot. Still its low volatility attracts low rollers who are reluctant to grab the grand prize but like Norse mythology. In addition to pooled jackpots, there are a few video pokies with fixed jackpots, including Vegas Night Life and Trollpot 5000.    

This is where NetEnt lags far behind the competition. The official site shows only seven table games, including Blackjack Single Deck for mobile only, so desktop users have only six. NetEnt’s products of this genre are mediocre with nothing special to highlight, thus punters looking for diversity would rather go somewhere else. The full roster of their table games looks as follows:

• Single Deck Blackjack Touch (RTP 99.59%). 
• Advanced Roulette (NZ$0.10—NZ$5000): a European type with Hold/Cold numbers stats and a racetrack. The graphics are below average quality-wise.
• Baccarat Professional Series (NZ$0.10—NZ$1000): features an increased tie payout at 9:1. 
• French Roulette (NZ$0.10—NZ$5000): a sleek version with a player-favourable edge of 1.35% on even-money bets thanks to two well-known rules pertinent to some French roulette games.
• European Roulette (same as for French): hot/cold numbers, even/odd, and red/black stats. The racetrack is hideable. There’s a pie chart for number hit frequency, embedded into the wheel. NetEnt casino bonus codes are available on this roulette on some betting sites.
• American Roulette (same as for French): the set of functions and general design are the same as in other roulette variations. 
• Jacks or Better Double Up: this is the only video poker in the provider’s catalogue. A player may pick the number of hands to play each round: 1, 5, 10 or 25. There are none winning hand values, with Royal Straight Flush awarding x4000 on five coins. Double Up is a conventional gamble feature the video poker is fitted with. 

Before NetEnt became part of the Evolution Gaming Group AB, they used to run an efficient live studio in Malta with about 200 presenters, pit bosses, engineers, and other staff. Once the deal between the two companies was inked, the studio discontinued its operation for good. By the way, this helped Evolution to cut their operating expenditures by about 25m euros per year. Their live games used to apply a Chroma Key technology, the source of both positive and critical posts from players but generally, their collection of live tables was of average size and failed to become a trendsetter. 

The studio started to produce mobile games back in 2011. They created a NetEnt Touch subbrand for mobile-compatible titles and started to adapt their initially desktop games to smaller screens. Virtually every game in their back catalogue has excellent cross-platform compatibility, keeping the same features and payouts as their desktop peers but differing in the user controls/interface.  

NetEnt has solidified itself as a leading iGaming studio, dominating the market for over ten years now, and its asset acquisition by Evolution even enriched their game portfolio. The company offers around 150 video pokies, with new releases about every month. In addition to pokies, the provider has a small package of table games that are actually nothing to rave over. Live games have not been streamed since 2020. Players who like ingenuous bonus features, unusual mechanics, and overall excellent quality of video pokies are strongly encouraged to sign up in the best NetEnt casinos in New Zealand to get aesthetic pleasure from NetEnt titles as well as some massive wins in their progressive and normal video pokies.