Live Casinos for Kiwis
Online live casinos are completely legal to play in for Kiwis. The best online casinos in New Zealand hail mostly from Malta, as the small European island is the main hub for online gambling globally.
Live casinos offer the best casino games we’ve used to playing at casinos like SKYCITY in Auckland or Queenstown. Roulette, Blackjack, baccarat – you name it. Online casinos have also come up with their own variations of games like Roulette, Blackjack, and Baccarat, as you can play for example Double Ball Roulette with LeoVegas Bonus.
Live Casino Deposit Methods in NZ
Online casinos generally offer just Mastercard, Visa, Skrill and Neteller for you to deposit.
If you don’t have e-wallets or Visa or Mastercard, it’s better to have look at NZ PaySafeCard casinos and the casinos that offer POLi as a payment method – like Jackpot City.
Find the top live casinos in New Zealand on BonusFinder.
Best Live Dealer Casino in NZ: Stake Casino
Stake Casino has entered the online gambling market in New Zealand. It is an excellent site to play live dealer games. Stake.com is perfect for players looking to wager big on the live dealer games. The accept big wagers as long as you can provide where the money is coming from. Mind that it’s not everyone, the high minimum deposit of $100 is considerably bigger than you’ll find at other casinos.
How Live Casino Bonuses Work?
Normal casino bonuses and live casino bonuses work a bit differently. Normal bonuses tend to match your deposit, but bonuses for live dealer games are most often so-called cashback deals. These cashback deals return a percentage of any losses you might suffer.
You might wonder why many online casinos have separate bonuses for “simulated” casino games, like slots, and for live dealer games. The reason for having different live game bonuses is game contributions.
Wagering Live Casino Bonus
It’s normal that you need to wager your deposit and bonus a certain times before you can withdraw. What makes this problematic for live game players is that at most casinos roulette and blackjack have low contribution limits. They might even state that they contribute 0% of their stake towards clearing a bonus, which renders these bonuses impossible to enjoy for live gamers.
So, to solve how live roulette and live blackjack players can get on some extra deals too, casinos have come up with cashback bonuses. These cashback deals return any losses that you might incur playing live games. Typically cashback returns 50% of your losses. It’s common you need to ask the casino’s customer service for your cashback (these deals are rarely automatic).
Putting it all together, here are all the different types of bonuses you can get for live games:
- Cashback: Returns your losses up to a percentage (for example, 50% cashback)
- Deposit bonus: Rarer than cashback, but sometimes a casino matches your deposit
- No deposit bonus: Money you get for free (without depositing) for testing out a casino. These are very modest, typically $5 at most
- No bonus: Most live casino game players prefer to play without a bonus
Live games are hosted by a live dealer, giving you an authentic casino experience straight from your home.
You can use the extra cash to play live games like Crazy Time and Monopoly. We have listed the best Crazy Time Casinos in New Zealand, where you can try out your luck playing the new live dealer game from Evolution Gaming.
Note: it’s crucial you don’t play at a live online casino with the site’s standard deposit bonus before ok’ing this with customer service. Most gambling sites have strict policies regarding what games you can and can’t play with your bonus and playing the wrong game can invalidate your whole bonus.
Terms & Conditions
A typical live casino bonus has more relaxed terms and conditions than real money slots, bingo and other casino bonuses. It’s not rare that all you need to do is to play live games and then ask for cashback if you happen to lose with your initial deposit.
There are practically never any limitations regarding which live games you can play. It’s all the same, no matter if you wish to play live roulette, live blackjack, live baccarat or any of the poker games available at most live casinos.
Just to give an example of how easy the terms and conditions are to follow for a cashback offer, here’s an example.
- Make a deposit $20 or more
- Wager the whole deposit on live casino games
- If you win, you keep what you win
- If you lose, you get 50% of your deposit back
- You can do what you want with your returned 50%
One last point about the terms and conditions is to keep in mind that regardless of the bonus type, the deals always have a maximum. Considering that live dealer games are high rollers favourites, the maximums are surprisingly low. For example, a standard cashback deal only returns a maximum of $50 or $100.
Browse our toplist and find the best deals and bonuses for live casinos.
Live Dealer Casino Games
When you enter a live game lobby at the casino of your choice, you’ll be connected to a real-life casino via a video web stream. You can then play at this real-life casino by making your gaming decisions with your mouse or phone. According to how the games go, funds are added to or deducted from your account automatically.
Technically live games take advantage of ultra-modern image recognition technology. Best live casino games you’ll find from Evolution Gaming Casinos.
Most popular live casino games
All the best online casinos offer various casino games covering everything from traditional classics to modern games with new twists. No matter what type of game you prefer, you can be sure to find something that will entertain you for hours. Here are the most popular casino games in NZ:
| ?? Most popular | Blackjack |
| ?? Most Traditional | Roulette |
| ?? Newest game | Xxxtreme Lightning Roulette |
| ?? Most players | Crazy Time |
| ?? Biggest provider | Evolution Gaming Group |
| ?? Largest selection in NZ | SkyCity |
Differences Between Live Casino & Other Games
Live casino games differ from normal online casino games in four key ways:
- Live games have higher betting limits
- Live games don’t use computer random number generators (instead they use real cards, roulette wheels, dice, etc)
- It’s slower to play live games than simulated casino games, the dealers and croupiers need to physically set up each hand or spin
- You can’t play live games for free
Live gaming also is a bit more personal than playing simulated games. You can, for example, chat with the croupier or dealer (one common situation is simply asking about the rules). When you chat, you can type your question or comment, which is then sent to the dealer who responds directly to you to the camera.
You can access most live casinos directly with your mobile device – no need to download an app or software.
Getting Started
Getting started with real-money live dealer games only takes minutes. First, sign-up an account at a live dealer online casino. Then, you need to deposit for example with your Visa or through with a PaySafeCard. After this, you’re ready to play roulette, blackjack, baccarat and other live games.
The reason why you need to deposit playing with live dealers is that they’re the only games, apart from a few jackpot slots, that you can’t play for free. The reason for not being able to play for free is simple, the croupiers are real people and need their salaries. While you can’t play for free, you can watch the games before depositing to get a feel for what’s going on.
Playing the games works the same as playing any online casino game. Make your bets and decisions by tapping your phone or clicking your mouse and watch the action unfold.
What Games Are Available?
You can play the same games online as you’d play at a brick & mortar SKYCITY – and more. These classics include roulette, popular card games, and even some Asian dice games.
Here is a comprehensive list of live casino games you can play:
- Blackjack
- Roulette
- Baccarat
- Wheel of fortune -style games like Dream Catcher
- Poker games: Casino holdem, Three card poker
- Dice games: Mostly Sic Bo
The first three (blackjack, roulette, and baccarat) are available at every casino that has live games. Poker games are also common; you can expect to see either casino holdem or three card poker at most sites (let it ride unfortunately hasn’t yet been made into live format).
Wheel of fortune games (win money based on a spin of a big wheel) are becoming more popular, so you can expect to see at least Evolution Gaming’s Dream Catcher at the site of your choice. Dice games are much rarer. While craps are not available yet, with a bit of luck, you can at least play Sic Bo, which is a similar dice game.
Out of all these games roulette is by far the most popular one, so you’ll find many roulette variants to play:
- Speed Roulette: Super-fast by live standards, two spins per minute!
- Lightning roulette: Lucky numbers pay 500:1
- Immersive roulette: Luxurious roulette game
- Double ball: There’s two balls in the wheel for a completely new kind of game
As far as rules go, each live table game is played with the same rules as it’d be played at a real-life casino.
There are hundreds of different live games available for Kiwis.
Playing for Real Money
Live games are played for real money only. The minimum bet size varies from site to site but is typically $5 or $10. The maximum you can bet starts at $1000 and can go higher at certain VIP-friendly casinos if you request higher limits via customer service.
While live gaming stakes cover everything from $0.10 up, the first step, of course, is to get money into your casino account. Casinos have plenty of deposit methods for us. Here are some of the most common ways NZ players deposit in a live dealer online casino:
- Credit card & debit cards) (Visa & Mastercard)
- POLi
- PaySafeCard
- EcoPayz
- Neteller
- Skrill
- MuchBetter
After you’ve deposited and potentially benefited from bonuses, you can start playing real-money games. Each site has different minimum and maximum stakes, but keep in mind that the maximum stakes are only a guideline. There are plenty of players who play with higher-than-advertised stakes. If you’re one of these gamblers, you get to play for bigger money by contacting customer service. You’re put through to VIP-manager, who’ll raise the limits for you.
Many gamblers are curious as to what’s the maximum you can win playing live games. The ultimate big win would be to hit the jackpot of Casino Holdem (by Evolution Gaming).
Casino Holdem’s side bet is progressive, meaning that part of what players wager on it goes into the pot to grow it. This live casino jackpot can go up to seven-figures if no one manages to strike lucky before one million dollars. It’s a life-changing amount of money, but prepare to need a healthy dose of luck to win it: you’ll need a seven card flush to win the jackpot.
Live Casino on Mobile
You can play live dealer games on your mobile devices, phones, and tablets, by playing directly at the casino’s website. You can also choose to download a live casino app from Apple’s App Store or Google Play.
Live dealer games are especially enjoyable on a tablet but play fine on a cell phone too. As far as phone models go, there’s not a lot to know. All the latest Android and iPhones, and even most older ones too, are fine for mobile casino games. The limiting factor in getting a smooth gaming experience is usually the stability of your data connection rather than how many gigabytes of memory or what kind of a processor your phone has.
Live dealer games are a bit more bandwidth intensive than slots or scratchies (which demand the least bandwidth). When you play on your phone on the go, try to get at least 3G data connection. 4G or wifi is, of course, best. If you happen to lose your data connection, just in case you’re curious, your bet is treated the same as it would be at a real-life casino if you stood up at the table.
Many gamblers, especially high stakes ones, prefer playing live dealer games. Actual, physical cards, roulette wheels, and dice mean there’s no computerised random number generators involved. This lack of computers creates an extra level of confidence into the games and their randomness.
There’s also another reason why high limit gamblers prefer live games: these games are not operated by the online casino itself. Instead, the games are bought from independent game producers, whose whole business depends on delivering reliable, legit casino games.
Big-name live game providers you’ll see in NZ-friendly casinos:
- Dream Gaming
- Evolution Gaming
- Ezugi
- Extreme Live Gaming
- Microgaming
- NetEnt
In addition, biggest online casinos, like Leo Vegas and Mr Green, for example, run their own live tables.
High-Limit Casino Games
If you are into high-limit casino games, you need to play live games. Where normal online casino games allow you to stake around $100 – $500 per blackjack hand or a roulette spin, live games allow for much higher stakes. Five-figure spins are not unheard of.
If you wish to play for ultra-high stakes, you need to take a few simple steps. First, contact the casino’s customer service to arrange your money transfer and to waive any bonuses. Then, choose the game you wish to play (roulette, blackjack, and baccarat are common choices). Now you’re guided to the right (private) live gaming table, where you can start gambling.
Note that only the largest online casinos have the capability of arranging all this. For one thing only they have enough cash on hand to pay out the huge amounts of money a lucky highroller can win. So for high-limit casino action aim to play at a established casinos. They’re always good to pay in time and they’ve got a proper VIP program.
Top Casino for Live Dealer Games for Kiwis
It’s got to be LeoVegas. They offer a huge selection of live dealer games and add a great live casino bonus.
Live casino bonuses are actually so hard to come around these days that LeoVegas really sets itself apart with its lucrative $500 live casino bonus.
The best thing is that they are very Kiwi friendly, as they’ve got payment methods like POLi and support NZD. It’s always better have your balance showing up in New Zealand dollars.
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FAQ
- What is a live online casino?
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In a live casino game, a professional dealer runs the game in real-time from an online casino gaming table. Online players can make betting decisions via a console on their computer screen and interact with the dealer using a text chat function available on the live game lobby. Some games, like Monopoly live and Football Studio, have a real human as a game host.
- Can I play live casino games for free?
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Live casino games can be played with real money only. The minimum bet amount is usually in the range of $0.2 - $1, so online casinos require you to have at least one dollar in your account to access the live casino game lobby.
- What game types can I play in a live casino?
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Kiwis can play a wide variety of online games with real-time dealers. Different variations of Baccarat, Blackjack, Roulette, Monopoly Live, and others, are available to players in New Zealand-friendly casinos.
