Leo Coleman
New Zealand is widely known for its massive interest in rugby, football, and cricket. It is also home to a huge gambling industry consisting of a wide range of international betting sites to choose from. If you are new to sports betting, you may find it difficult to select specific sports betting sites in New Zealand among the available.
In this guide, we will tell you everything you need to know to get yourself started and how to pick the best sports betting sites to place your bets.
Sports betting is legal in New Zealand under the Gambling Act of 2003. It is the main sports betting law guiding the operation of sports betting in New Zealand. It was formulated to control the growth of gambling, facilitate responsible gambling, and ensure the integrity and fairness of sports betting games.
This law also grants exclusive sports betting agency rights to the Totalisator Agency Board (TAB). This implies that TAB is the only sports betting agency that can offer sports betting services within New Zealand and citizens are not allowed to gamble on websites that operate within the country. However, TAB does not offer as much variety of sports betting games as other international online bookies. This led New Zealanders to seek other alternatives.
However, offshore sports betting retailers are not subject to the New Zealand Gambling Acts as they operate out of the borders of New Zealand. This has led TAB to lose its monopoly on sports betting. New Zealanders can play their favorite sports betting games from online sports betting platforms located outside of New Zealand.
Is Online Sports Betting Legal in New Zealand?
New Zealanders can legally gamble online at local authorized providers at TAB. While It is illegal to gamble at other local sportsbooks, players can also play their favorite online games at international gambling websites that are not subject to New Zealand laws.
As a new player or someone who doesn’t have enough experience in sports betting in New Zealand, you might be asking, “how do I find New Zealand’s best betting sites?” If this is you, then you are in the right place. This section contains a list of criteria that can guide you towards the best sites. Here are some of the requirements that must be delivered by a top betting site.
You want to stay safe while betting on your favorite sports. It is important to ensure that the NZ betting websites that you are playing on have appropriate licensing by New Zealand authorities and recognized international authorizing bodies like the UK Gambling Commission or Malta Gaming Authority. If you stick to the websites that we recommend in this article, then you are in safe hands. Otherwise, you may become a victim of betting agencies that run illegitimate sports betting operations.
You should also check that the website provides a safe and secure transactional environment to make payments, save personal information, and store betting history. As a general rule, you should only bet with sports betting retailers that have strong SSL encryption and firewalls on their websites.
The New Zealand gambling industry is a competitive market. There are numerous online sports betting retailers trying to increase their share of the customer base by offering enticing bonuses and promotions. Almost all the top betting sites in New Zealand have special bonuses and promotions for new and existing customers.
One way to find the best sports betting sites in New Zealand is to compare the different bonuses and promotions offered by the sports betting sites. Then choose the most favorable one. As you analyze the bonuses, it is also crucial to consider the terms and conditions that guide how you can use the bonus.
This deals with how the platform works and how easily you can use the website. Most betting sites offer mobile-compatible websites and apps that can easily work on all types of mobile devices. Players can bet on their favorite sports with a few clicks. Regardless of your operating system, android, iOS, Windows, or Linux, you should be able to have an overall gaming experience on the website.
Another important part of user experience is customer service. This relates to how easily you can communicate with the customer care agent who can help you to resolve technical issues.
Kiwi punters love variety. They relish the ability to select from a wide range of sports such as tennis, golf, football, UFC, basketball, horse racing, rugby, and many more. You should select online bookies that have a lot of sports options for you to play.
Another significant factor is the odds. The odds determine how much you win in a sports game. Different bookies offer different odds; some higher than the other. Every slight difference in the odds can affect the size of your winning. You can improve the amount of your winning by selecting a sportsbook with a higher odd.
Easy deposits and withdrawals are features of top betting sites. Players in New Zealand can choose from a wide range of payment methods to fund their sports betting accounts. The most popular methods are credit cards and debit cards. You can also use other payment methods such as PayPal, Skrill, Trustly, MuchBetter, Neteller, ecoPayz, Neosurf, and PaySafe.
It is pretty easy to bet on sports in New Zealand. It works just like any other online account. Here is a summary of how to create your sports betting account.
When it comes to sports betting, New Zealanders have a lot of options to choose from. There are thousands of betting opportunities every month. Most betting sites in New Zealand will offer over 25 different sports to pick from. Depending on their interests, they can decide between sports odds and market in different sports such as rugby, cricket, soccer, netball, and horse racing, to mention a few.
Football, or soccer, as it is sometimes called, is the most popular sport in the world, with over four billion fans. New Zealand is no different with the game ranking as one of the kiwis’ favorite. Players can bet on their favorite New Zealand football teams such as Wellington Phoenix, Napier City Rovers, and Auckland City.
They are also betting markets for players who prefer to bet on the bigger international football leagues like the Spanish’s La Liga, English Premier League, Germany Bundesliga, or the Champions League.
Horse racing generates a lot of attention in the betting market. Players can bet on their favorite horse to win at prestigious events like the New Zealand Cup, Melbourne Cup, Foxton Trials, and the Auckland Cup week. There are also daily or weekly racetracks events with numerous opportunities to bet on horse races.
New Zealanders love Rugby; it is the national sport of New Zealand. It is also the most followed sport in New Zealand with many people as proud fans of the All Blacks team. Whether you are a fan of the Rugby Union or the Rugby League, there are a wide variety of odds and betting features for all Rugby fans. Players can also bet on top Rugby competitions like Super Rugby, Rugby Sevens, and Touch Rugby.
You will find many betting opportunities at top betting sites beyond the straightforward win or lose the bet. You can also bet on total points, winning margins, first to ten points, and first try scored, to mention a few.
The NBA is a viewers’ choice among Kiwi players so it is no surprise that basketball betting gets a lot of activity in New Zealand. Whether you would love to bet on how many threes that Stephen Curry gets or the number of points that LeBron James scores in a game, there is a wide range of basketball betting options for players.
You can also bet on the NZ national basketball league and the NZ Breakers.
Like other commonwealth countries, cricket is a very popular sport in New Zealand. New Zealand is also an active participant in the international Twenty20 league matches. You will find a lot of sports betting sites offering different levels of odds for cricket betting. New Zealand players can bet in a large array of cricket competitions such as Plunket Shield, ICC World Cup, Super Smash, and Big Bash.
You also have the luxury of betting options. For instance, you can choose to bet on the batsman with the most runs, betting on innings, or bowlers with the most wickets.
Betting on esports has become a major trend among gamers in New Zealand. You can bet on professional-level games like Counter-Strike GO, League of Legends, and Call of Duty.
Selecting the sport that you want to bet on is just the first part of the whole process, you also need to familiarize yourself with the different types of bets in New Zealand. Single bets are the most common option for many traditional punters, others prefer to use various combinations to get a higher reward.
The available betting options depend on your sportsbook, but some of the most popular options that you can find at most betting sites include over/under, outright bets, accumulator bets, and handicap bets. You might even be able to create your special wager to increase your chances of winning.
Here is a more detailed explanation of the types of bets in New Zealand.
Also known as Moneyline bets, win bets are the simplest types of bets you can take. You simply bet on who you think will win in the game. If they win the game, you win the bet no matter the final score of the game.
For instance, let’s say that there is a rugby match between the Hurricanes and the Crusaders and you want to place a winning bet on this fixture. You will simply predict a winner between the two teams.
Handicap bets are another popular betting option you will find on many betting sites in New Zealand. It is used to create a level playing ground for two teams that are not evenly matched. When you play handicap bets, the bookie gives a virtual advantage to the weaker team so that when you bet on them, they have a higher chance of winning. On the other hand, the stronger side gets a virtual disadvantage so they have a lower chance of winning.
Let us use a football match to describe it. For instance, let’s say you are betting on an English Premier League game between Manchester City and Aston Villa. If you pick a handicap option of 1.5 on Aston Villa, that will give a corresponding handicap of -1.5 to Manchester City. A 1.5 handicap implies that if you bet on Aston Villa, you win the bet if the team does not concede two or more goals. In the same way, if you bet on Manchester City, you win the bet when Manchester City scores two or more goals.
This is also known as totals bet. It is quite easy to understand and anyone, both newbies and experienced players can use it in their sports bets. It is a special kind of bet where you bet on the combined scores of the two teams. You will have to pick if the combined score will be higher than a particular number set by the oddsmaker.
Let’s use a basketball game between Golden State Warriors and LA Lakers to describe the Over/Under Bets and the sportsbook has set the total score of the game to 180 points. Now you can decide to bet if the combined score of the game will be over or under 180 points. If you believe that it would go above180 points, then you place an Over-180-points bet. Conversely, if you believe it would be below 180 points, you should place an Under-180-points bet.
Outright Bets are also popularly called futures bets. In this type of bet, you make a future prediction on who will win the league or tournament in a competitive sport like football, basket, or tennis. You have to predict before the league starts.
This type of bet can be difficult to win because you have little or no information on what team will be the possible winner. However, it also has a high level of risk and a lucrative level of reward.
Accumulator bets, short for Acca, are a special type of bet that contains more than four selections in one bet. A bet with two selections is called a double while a bet with three selections is a treble. Combining single bets into one creates a multiplier effect on the odds than if you play them as single bets. This leads to lucrative prices if you win. However, it also carries a higher risk because if one of the selections loses, you will lose the entire accumulator bet.
New Zealand players can play accumulator bets in a wide range of sports such as football, horse racing, tennis, basketball, and many more.
Let’s explain accumulator bets with this scenario. Imagine you want to bet on Spain, Germany, France, and Denmark to win their respective games in the FIFA World Cup and they have an odd of 1.40, 1.45, 1.64, and 2.80 respectively. An accumulator bet combines all the odds in a simple bet and your resulting odds would be the multiplication of all the four odd values (1.40 × 1.45 × 1.64 × 2.80 = 6.622). So if you stake $100 on the accumulator, you can win $662.2.
Betting exchanges differ from the conventional betting system. It is a system that allows you to bet against other players instead of the bookmaker. You also set the odds and winning potentials. Betting exchanges are a great way to improve your chances of winning.
Betting exchanges involve two players; the players who play a backbeat and the player who lays a bet. The player who plays a back bet places a normal bet with a bookmaker and the player who lays the bet plays against an outcome.
To explain it better, let’s use an example of a horse race between horse A and horse B. If you lay a bet on horse B to lose the game, that means you win the bet when horse A wins. You will get a price proportional to your stake. But if horse B wins, you will pay the winnings to the player who backs the bet (the back bettor).
Betting sites in New Zealand use the decimal odds format to show the available odds for a particular selection. It is relatively easy to work it compared to other odd formats as you can quickly spot the favorite and the underdog.
The decimal odds value represents your winnings for every $1 wagered in the game and your total payout if your selection turns out to be correct. So there is no need to add your stake to the profit. This makes it easier to calculate your winnings.
The total winnings at betting sites in New Zealand can be calculated as:
Winning = stake x decimal odd number
For instance, if you place a $10 bet on NZ Breakers with an odd of 2.90. Your total winning will be $29 ($10 x 2.90).
New Zealanders enjoy a lot of bonuses, free bets, and promotions. Bonuses are a key feature of many betting sites in New Zealand. The top bookies offer numerous bonuses as a way to attract customers and keep their existing customers loyal to their brand. However, some bonuses come with different terms and conditions that guide how you can use them.
Deposit bonuses are one of the key strategies that betting sites use to entice Kiwi players to create an account with them. It is the welcome bonus that you get when you fund your new account with the first deposit. It is usually between 100 and 200 percent of your initial deposit, depending on your bookmaker. That means that if you fund your betting account with $100, you get an additional $100 for a deposit bonus of 100 percent.
However, deposit bonuses come with wagering requirements that you will have to meet before you can withdraw them. The wagering requirement at most betting sites in New Zealand is 20 or 30 times.
Unlike the deposit bonus, the no deposit bonus does not require that players fund their accounts before they can enjoy no deposit bonuses. New Zealand players simply get free money to bet on their favorite sports. But this kind of bonus comes with a high wagering requirement before you will be allowed to withdraw your winnings.
Both new and existing players can benefit from the no deposit bonus. New players can get the bonus when they sign up at a betting site. Existing players can also enjoy it when they have not used their account in a while, as a sign to show that their sports betting account is still valid.
Free bet is a special type of bet where the bookmaker covers the cost of playing your favorite sports game. This means that you do not have to pay for playing. This is often given to customers who open a new account with the bookmaker. You can use free bets to double your bankroll, hedge a bet, and turn a free bet into money.
The free bet differs from a regular bet in the sense that your stake will not be returned to you when you win. The bookmaker will recover the cost of covering the stake for you.
New Zealanders have a wide variety of payment options available to fund their sports betting accounts. All you have to do is select the one that works best for you and employ it to deposit your account.
Here are some of the most popular payment methods available to players in New Zealand.
✅ Debit Cards – Almost everyone uses a debit card. This makes it one of the most popular payment methods for players in New Zealand. Mastercard and Visa debit cards are universally accepted by online bookies to make payments on their betting accounts.
✅ Credit cards – You can also use a credit card to fund your sports betting account. Mastercard and Visa credit cards are widely used by New Zealand players to fund their betting accounts. Just like debit cards, credit cards are very fast and the transaction reflects immediately on your account so you can start playing your favorite games as fast as possible.
✅ E-Wallets – E-wallets are the most preferred payment method due to their speed, convenience, and seamless transactions. It works as a digital wallet where players can store money for easy transactions on the internet. It also offers a lot of security benefits to players because players do not have to divulge any sensitive information, so their bank details are safeguarded.
If you prefer to use an e-wallet to fund your New Zealand betting accounts, consider options like PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, and MuchBetter.
✅ Apple Pay – If you use an Apple device such as an iPhone, iPad, or MacBook, you could use the Apple Pay options to make deposits on your betting accounts. Apple Pay offers a secure payment method to make payments over the internet. It is faster than physical cards and employs Apple’s security features like the Face ID and the touch ID to protect your account.
✅ Prepaid Cards – Prepaid cards are special cards that allow you to spend the monetary value of the card. They work like gift cards so you can use them to purchase goods and services. Once the money is exhausted on the card, you can reload them and use them again. Popular examples of prepaid cards that New Zealand sites use are American Express, PaySafe, and AstroPay.
An advantage of using Prepaid cards is that your identity will be protected. You can remain anonymous and fund your betting account without having to divulge personal information. It is a great option when you want to keep a low profile.
✅ Crypto – Cryptocurrency has gained massive popularity in New Zealand, with Bitcoin and Ethereum as the two major digital currencies. It translated to the sports betting industry and you can find some sports betting sites that allow players to stake in cryptocurrency.
It also allows you to retain anonymity as you bet on your favorite sports. If you worry about your bank information getting out, then you should consider the Cryptocurrency payment method to fund your account.
What Is the Best Payment Option for New Zealand Players?
In terms of speed, ease of transaction, and security, e-wallets are the best payment method for New Zealand players. It offers a superior transaction process compared to other payment options. Popular e-wallet options are PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, and MuchButter.
Sports betting is fun, easy to get into, and offers an opportunity for New Zealand players to make money. But you should not rush off yet to start placing bets until you master the basics of betting. As simple as sports betting may be, you may not have an enjoyable experience if you keep losing in your favorite sports games.
We want you to win as much as you can in your lottery games and have the best chance of making money from sports betting. This is why we have prepared a list of expert tips for betting in New Zealand.
Gambling in New Zealand is legal, provided that you play following the rules authorized by the New Zealand Gambling Act of 2003.
Yes, it is. New Zealanders can gamble online at local authorized providers such as Lotto NZ and TAB. They can also play their favorite online games at offshore gambling websites like some options listed above in this article.
Yes, it is. New Zealand players can have a safe gambling experience at all the betting sites that we have mentioned in this article.
Players have to be at the age of 18 and above before they can start to gamble online in New Zealand.
The minimum age to legally place sports bets in New Zealand betting sites is 18.
The deposit limits for New Zealand Bettors depend on the sports betting sites. But for most sites, the minimum deposit amount is NZD 5 and the maximum deposit amount is NZD 100,000
No, you do not have to pay taxes on your winnings. Offshore betting sites, like the options listed in this article, are not subject to the Gambling Act. As a result, winners are not mandated to report and pay taxes on their winnings.
It takes roughly twenty-four hours for players to receive their winnings from betting sites in New Zealand. All you have to do is click the withdraw option and choose your most preferred payment method. The speed of withdrawal depends on the payment process.
All the options in this article are some of the best sports betting sites for New Zealand players. They got high scores when we compared them to other sites based on set requirements such as security features, gaming portfolio, licensing, bonuses and promotions, and payment methods.
New Zealand punters have a wide variety of options to pick from. They can play popular sports such as football, cricket, basketball, rugby, esports, and UFC, to mention a few. You can find a lot more on the sports option of your betting site.
Players in New Zealand can bet on a wide range of sports. But if we were to choose the most popular sports to bet on in New Zealand, we would choose Rugby. Rugby is the most favorite sport and is widely reputed as the national sport of New Zealand.
New Zealand betting sites employ the decimal odds format to show the odds on sports games.
Of course, you can get free bets from your New Zealand Sportsbook and play without having to fund your account. Both new players and experienced punters can enjoy free bets from their bookmakers.
To get a sign-up bonus, you will have to create a new betting account at any New Zealand betting site and make your first deposit. This qualifies you for a sign-up bonus which can help as high as 200 percent of your deposit.
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