Finding the best online casino to play the best slots online isn't always an easy process, nor is it always stress free. There are several things to consider, whether it's the payment methods available, the withdrawal times, the selection of pokies, or the RTP they offer – there's a lot to think about. As a player, your focus should be on enjoying yourself and getting the most out of your experience – in an ideal world, someone else would do all the hard work for you.
That's where we come in. Here at Hideous Slots, we have a team of experts, with decades of experience, who know everything there is to know about finding the best slots online, and finding the best casinos in New Zealand. With our knowledge, we can provide you with a list of the best slots casinos online in NZ, each of which has a fantastic selection of online pokies. Throughout this guide, we'll be passing on our knowledge to you, equipping you with everything you need to make the best casino decision – a decision you won't regret.
Once you've chosen a New Zealand casino to play at, how do you go about finding the best online real money slots? Well, there's no set reason why each player should choose a specific slot, and there's nothing to say that certain slots are the ‘best slots', but there are some things to look out for, which help you to understand the best slots, and by extension the best studios, to choose.
This brings us nicely to our first point. If you aren't aware, slots aren't made or owned by casinos. Instead, there are game studios (or slot providers) that create games and licence them to casinos. These teams are made up of a number of talented individuals working on everything from the artwork and animation to the maths that determines the randomness of your wins and the music that plays. Just as top 10 casinos are tested to ensure they are fair, safe, and secure, so are the studios that create the best online real money slots. Great news for you as a player – all this additional testing and scrutiny means you know the slots you play will be fair and transparent – crucial in any activity that you'll be spending money on.
So, what makes a slot or a game studio one of the best? For starters, you want to consider how the slot looks and feels – playing the best online real money slots isn't just about winning, but rather about the overall experience. You probably wouldn't want to pay good money to go to the cinema to watch a film that has a great storyline and great actors but an awful picture quality, would you? In the same way you want to pay attention to the audiovisuals offered by slot studios – if it looks and sounds good, your experience will be much better. Professionalism is important when choosing the best online real money slots.
Aside from this, there are two other things you want to consider when looking for the best real money slots – volatility and RTP. Volatility is part of the maths model that is created by the game studio creating the slot. Volatility determines the experience you can expect to have financially. Of course, nothing is set in stone because the best online real money slots are inherently random, but volatility helps you to gain a good expectation for the slots you choose. A highly volatile slot is the kind of release where you probably won't win as often, but when you do win you have a higher chance of bigger wins, whereas a low volatility slot will offer more frequent wins, but there's a good chance they'll be of a lower value. This doesn't mean that a highly volatile release will always give big wins, or that it's impossible to achieve big wins on a low volatility release, but it does give a level of expectation – which allows you to make your decision in choosing the best online real money slots with this in mind.
Next is RTP. RTP stands for Return to Player, and tells you how much of the wagered money an online slot will return to players – this is also externally tested to ensure slots are fair. It's important to know, however, that RTP is calculated over millions of spins and many players. If a slot is 96% RTP this means it will return $96 for every $100 wagered, but this doesn't mean every player will receive this exact amount back – this is where randomness and the aforementioned volatility come in. Where one player may double their money or hit the maximum win, another might only get 50% back in their 100 spins. Regardless, RTP again offers an expectation, so the general rule of thumb is that the best online real money slots are those with high RTPs – so give yourself the best possible chance and choose wisely.
So you've found the best online slots site in New Zealand and you're getting ready to make a deposit, but you aren't sure what payment method to use – what happens now? At any reputable online slots site, particularly those that are widely considered to be the best, you will be offered a selection of payment methods to choose from. These will range from a number of e-Wallet methods like PayPal, Neteller, or Skrill, to card options including Visa or Mastercard debit and credit carts, or even bank transfers – including instant bank transfer deposit methods. But how do you know the right one to choose? Believe it or not, each payment method is not considered equal, and there can be consequences depending on the method you choose – both good and bad.
Firstly, e-Wallet methods. We'll start with the good news – e-Wallet methods, like PayPal and Skrill are widely considered the fastest methods available for withdrawals, which is great if you don't want to wait around on your cashouts at the best gambling sites. e-Wallet methods also offer an additional level of privacy, with only your email address shared with the merchant, along with organisation – if you want to keep your funds for gambling separate from your every-day banking transactions, an e-Wallet could be for you. There is some bad news though – often the best online slots sites will not allow e-Wallet users to take advantage of their welcome offer – you must use a card or bank transfer.
Next up are cards – Visa or Mastercard, debit or credit. Cards are one of the most popular payment methods used worldwide, and not just in gambling. The great news about debit or credit cards is that there's no fussing around – you don't have to move your money between accounts or transfer to e-Wallets in order to make a deposit. Instead, everything is together in one place, making it simple to keep track of. Card payments will also always qualify for the welcome bonus at best online slots sites NZ, so that's another pro. The downside to card payments is that they will sometimes take slightly longer for withdrawals – although this is usually less than 3 working days. With that in mind, many fast payout casinoswith the best online slots now offer fast or instant card withdrawals, where you can receive your funds back to your card within a few hours.
Aside from e-Wallets and cards you can find bank transfers, mobile payments, or mobile wallet payments at the best online slots sites – although e-Wallets and cards remain the most popular methods available, especially at mobile casinos. You can only find methods with an extra layer of privacy, like POLi, PayID, and Paysafecard.
When choosing your payment method we recommend trying to choose one from the beginning and sticking to it – this means you won't have to worry about verifying multiple payment methods when the time comes for verification. It also means you won't have to worry about ‘balancing' payment methods – a practice at best online slots sites in which you must ensure each previous payment method has been levelled to 0 before progressing to a new one. This means if you were to deposit $100 via a debit card then $100 via an e-Wallet method and go on to withdraw $300, you may have to return the initial $100 to the debit card to balance it rather than withdrawing your entire balance to the e-Wallet method. All this to say, you should always try to change payment methods as little as possible.
What's the best part of finding a new casino to play the best online slots? Receiving a welcome bonus, of course! When you sign up to a new casino NZ, a welcome bonus is the casino's way of thanking you for choosing their site. They know there are many options to choose from, and they know it's important to give players a reason to choose them – whether this be through fast or instant withdrawals or a dedicated support team. Indeed, the bonus itself serves not just as a ‘thank you' but as an incentive to sign up. There are a number of different bonuses you may see when you sign up to play the best online slots, but here are some of the most popular.
We're kicking the list off with the most popular bonuses – a cash bonus. Players sometimes find cash bonuses difficult to understand, but with a little help from us you won't have any struggles. Basically, the offer is presented as a percentage up to a cash limit – for example 100% up to $100. To understand the offer you can split it into its two sections – the percentage and the limit. The percentage is how much of your initial deposit they will match – by matching 100% they agree to match all of your deposit, in essence doubling it. If the offer is 50% the casino will give you half of your money on top of your deposit, and if it's 200%, they'll triple it – giving it twice your deposit amount on top of your deposit.
Now, a casino in New Zealand offering the best online slots isn't going to give you unlimited free money, and this is where the limit comes in. 100% up to $100 means they'll double your bonus up, giving you your deposit all over again, up to a maximum of $100. Deposit $50 and you'll receive an additional $50, deposit $100 and you'll receive an additional $100 (the limit), but deposit $200? You'll still only receive an additional $100, because you've reached the limit. Each cash bonus offer will have a minimum deposit required to activate the offer, and alongside 100% you can see 50%, 75%, 150%, 200%, even 300% or more.
Easy so far, right? Where some confusion comes in for players is in the eligibility requirements and restrictions associated with cash bonuses. Let's cover the easy thing first – if it's a welcome bonus, you must be a first time customer at a best online slots casino, and you must make the minimum deposit required. You will also be required to complete a wagering requirement, which is a certain amount of money you must ‘turn over' in order to convert your bonus funds to real cash funds. Let's say you received $100 with 25x wagering – this means you must spend 25 times the bonus ($100) before you can make a withdrawal. In this example, you must spend $2,500. Each $1 spent is $1 wagered though, no matter whether you win or lose, so wagering is certainly achievable. Wagering requirements can be anywhere between 25-50x, but the lower the better.
When wagering at an NZ casino offering the best online slots, you will also have a maximum stake you must adhere to, often $5-8, meaning you cannot spend more than this per spin when playing with bonus funds, or you risk your withdrawal being denied and your balance being voided. There will also be certain games which do not contribute to wagering – offering a lower contribution or no contribution at all. This is where its important to check T&Cs – some casinos will still allow you to play these games but your wagering will not progress, others will block your access to these games, but some casinos will even allow you to play these games then void your balance and withdrawal request when the time comes for breaching T&Cs. You always want to check in on this in Bonus Terms.
Finally, there is a time limit when you are attempting to complete wagering – this will be at least 7 days but is often longer, and a conversion cap may be in place – limiting the amount of bonus funds you can transfer to real cash funds. Don't worry though, with our recommended NZ casinos offering the best online slots, you always have the potential to withdraw an amount equal to double your initial deposit at least.
However, the most important thing to check is whether your bonus is sticky or non sticky. A sticky bonus means you must adhere to any terms from your first spin, and you must complete all requirements before you can request a withdrawal. A non sticky bonus means your real cash and bonus funds are kept separate with your real cash funds used first, so you can play however you want or whatever stakes you want whilst you use your real cash and request a withdrawal whenever you want, forfeiting your bonus funds. With a non sticky bonus, the terms will only apply once you have exhausted your real cash funds and begin to play with bonus funds.
Free spins are probably the second most common bonus offer you'll receive at any casino offering the best online slots. In fact, free spins will often accompany a cash offer. When this happens, you could receive up to 150 free spins, but if free spins are the entire offer you could see 500 or more. If you're a low stakes player, free spins are a great option for you to use to play the best online slots – so if you get a choice of bonuses this is something to be aware of. Think about it like this, if you like to deposit $20 and you do this with a 100% up to $100 bonus offer, you'll get an additional $20. If, however, you were to receive 500 free spins on $0.20, this equates to $100 worth of spins, given for a cost of a $20 deposit. Even if you are awarded spins in stages over multiple deposits, this would still suit your style of spending, rather than depositing $100 at once.
Free spins must be played on pre-selected games – sometimes this is only one game, whilst other times there is a list to choose from. You cannot split one bulk offer of free spins between games, although some casinos in New Zealand offer their spins in stages, with 50 per game for example. Free spin winnings will often still be subject to the same wagering requirements we mentioned above, but keep an eye out for bonuses offering free spins with no wagering, where you don't have any wagering requirement and can keep everything you win.
Alongside cash bonuses and free spins, you will often see the following 3 bonuses:
Once you've chosen the casino you like to play the best slots online it's time to sign up, and it couldn't be simpler – really. The entire process shouldn't take more than a few moments, and begins in this very guide. If, at any point throughout this guide, you see a casino that you like the look of, you just need to click ‘Claim Bonus' or something similar. This will take you to the casino with your bonus locked in and ready to go. Once you arrive at the casino, you'll need to click ‘Sign Up', ‘Register', or ‘Join' – you'll know it when you see it.
At this point you'll have to input your personal details. This varies from casino to casino but generally speaking you will have to provide your full name, date of birth, home address, email address, and mobile phone number. You may be expected to verify your email address or mobile number with a verification code but like we said above – pay close attention to casinos that offer no deposit bonuses as a reward for doing this, particularly minimum deposit casinos, including $1 minimum deposit casinos, $5 minimum deposit casinos, and $10 minimum deposit casinos. You'll also have to make a decision regarding marketing. We recommend opting into at least one channel of marketing so you can keep up to date with any active promotions, but if you do choose to opt out, each of our recommended NZ casinos to play the best slots online will honour your decision.
Finally, you'll have to create a password, and potentially even a memorable word or pin. That's it – we told you it was simple! You do have to be careful to input your details correctly when you're signing up however, especially since it is now industry standard that casinos offering the functionality to play the best slots online must verify their customers through a process called ‘Know Your Customer' (KYC). This means that you must be prepared to verify your identity, address, and payment methods – so it's imperative that your details match those on your official documents, or you may find the situation stressful to resolve.
Like we said, if you click ‘Claim Bonus' anywhere within this guide, our Hideous Slots recommended casinos to play the best slots online will have your bonus ready and waiting for you. If you're nervous and want to double check this, however, you can visit the Promotions area of the New Zealand casino you have chosen and make your deposit through there – whilst you're there you can also check in on any payment methods that will render you ineligible for the offer, like an e-Wallet. You can also check if there are any promotional codes required, for example ‘HIDEOUSSLOTS'. Don't forget, a welcome bonus is a first deposit bonus – you don't get to store it for later.
We've covered a lot so far in this guide, and we still have more to get through, so at this point we're going to shorten things down a bit and provide you with a succinct list of bullet points that you should be keeping your eye out for at any of the best online slots NZ casinos – not just those recommended by Hideous Slots, but any casino in New Zealand.
You don't want to have to return to this guide and scour through thousands of words to get the answer to your question in the future, which is what this list is for. We recommend saving this guide in your browser favourites, or even copying and pasting this list and saving it in your phone – so it's always on hand to help if you need it.
So, here's our list of what you should look for at the best online slots casinos.
When you're looking for the best online casino to play the best free slots you'll probably stumble across a number of new casinos, and you might find yourself wondering if a new NZ casino is as trustworthy as an established one. Well, we're here to tell you that they absolutely are – especially where Hideous Slots is concerned. As a casino review site, we have considered many casinos offering the best free slots, and ultimately have recommended those we believe will give players the best possible experience. We don't give established casinos a free ride because they have age standing behind them, and we don't give new casinos an easier review process just because they're new. No matter what casino you find within this guide, or on our site as a whole, you know it's one that's fair, safe, and secure – no matter how long it has been on the market. Remember also that many new casinos are actually new sites within a group that is established, meaning the casino itself might be new, but the overall group is not.
With that in mind, there are some differences you'll notice when searching for casinos in New Zealand that offer the best free slots, particularly in terms of the age of the brand. Firstly, you'll notice a difference in the selection of games available. Established brands will often have more games on offer – this could be 5,000 slots and games or more. On the other hand, many newer brands will have fewer slots on offer in total, but they will often have newer releases, as they are building their catalogue from scratch. Like we said above though, think quality over quantity – as long as the slots you personally like are available, the total number is less important.
Secondly, newer casinos that offer the best free slots have to try harder to compete with established brands to entice customers – which means they will usually have a more lucrative welcome offer. This is great news for players though – new casinos go through the same scrutiny as established brands which means they are fair, safe, and secure but they also have the added bonus of a better welcome offer – win win!
We take our job in reviewing the best slots casinos NZ seriously – which is why our review process is so meticulous. There's a reason our Hideous Slots seal of approval is a coveted one – you won't find any other review site that puts a casino through its paces like we do, or one that offers the same standard of written casino reviews. We want to ensure that players have a seamless journey from the moment they choose a best slots casino, through making a deposit, playing their favourite slots, to requesting a withdrawal. Because of this, we scour the internet for the best of the best, putting each casino we consider through its paces to bring you a selection of the finest casinos in New Zealand.
The first thing we consider is the safety of the best slots casino in question. We keep saying it, but it bears repeating – when you sign up to a casino in NZ, you provide your personal details, including your home address, and your payment details. It makes sense then that you want to look out for casinos that offer a safe experience, treating your personal information with the respect it deserves – don't worry though, every best slots casino recommended by Hideous Slots will guarantee you a fair, safe, and secure experience.
After safety, we take a look at the welcome bonus on offer, mainly focusing on two aspects – is it rewarding, and is it fair? It's important that as a player you are suitably rewarded for signing up to one of the best slots casinos, which is why the bonus itself is important, but it is also important that the bonus is fair – with terms, conditions, eligibility requirements, and restrictions that are manageable. We look at all of this so you don't have to. Bonuses can include cash bonuses, free spins, no wager free spins, loyalty points, welcome packages, or even no deposit bonuses at some of our recommended no deposit casino brands.
Next up is the support available. Look, we don't want to have to use it, but it's important to have access to support just in case – preferably in the form of a dedicated support team. We particularly like to see a 24/7 live chat but if this isn't available, a live chat during peak hours, FAQS, email address, phone numbers, or contact forms are all great options.
What's the main reason you're signing up to a best slots casino in New Zealand? To play pokies of course! This is why one of our main focuses is on the selection of real money slots available – both how many are available, and how recently they have been released. During this process, we also look at casino games, including live casino games like roulette, blackjack, baccarat, and poker, and live casino game shows – we seek to ensure there are more than enough options for players at the best slots casinos we recommend to give them entertainment for hours at a time without getting bored. We also want players to have the best chance possible, which is why we look for best slots casinos that offer high RTP slots.
Next, we focus on payments – specifically payment methods and withdrawal speeds. It's imperative that the best slots casinos we consider offer a variety of payment methods to players, and fast or instant withdrawals – no matter the method in question. There isn't much more to say on this one – we don't like to wait on our payments, so we don't expect other players to have to wait either.
Finally, it's ongoing perks and rewards, and verification. Rewards don't have to stop after your initial welcome bonus, which is why we pay close attention to any of the best slots casinos NZ that offer ongoing rewards – this can be cashback, cash bonuses, free spins, no wager free spins, or no deposit bonuses. We also look for best slots casinos that offer loyalty programs, wherein players can earn points to progress through levels to unlock specific rewards like faster withdrawals, cash rewards, or even VIP days out. Then, as we said, we finish off with verification. This is again something that can affect the speed of withdrawals, so we like to ensure we include best slots casino options in New Zealand that offer fast verification (in 30 minutes or less), or the ability to verify yourself upon sign up.
As you can see, the process is an extensive one – our seal of approval is a highly respected one for a reason. When you sign up to one of our best slots casinos you know you're getting a fair, safe, and secure experience at one of the best brands.
We've covered a lot of information within this guide, but it all seeks to better equip you to make the best decisions for you. The experts in our team, along with their decades of experience, can spot a good casino from a bad one in a heartbeat, along with spotting the best online slots in New Zealand with ease. They have scoured the internet to find the best deals possible, bringing you a carefully curated selection of NZ casinos that will guarantee you a fair, safe, and secure experience – what more could you ask for.
So don't let yourself continue to be bogged down by the stress of finding the best online slots – or a place to play them. Let our team help you. By taking the information you have learned within this guide and applying it to the casinos we offer you, you know you're going to be happy. Sit back, relax, and let us do the hard work.
When you sign up to one of our recommended best slots casinos, you know you're going to be rewarded for your custom – through a welcome bonus. This can be in the form of cash bonuses, free spins, no wager spins, no deposit bonuses, loyalty points, or welcome packages – where you receive a combination of awards over multiple deposits.
There are no fixed rules in deciding the best slots to play, but our advice is to choose slots with the highest RTP. By choosing high RTP slots, you give yourself the best possible chance. Pay close attention also to slots with great audiovisuals, and remember to focus on the volatility of the maths model – low volatility slots give more frequent wins that are likely to be smaller, whilst highly volatile slots give wins less often, but the wins can be higher.
You sure can – in fact we recommend looking out for any casino offering ongoing perks as a priority, to ensure you continue to be rewarded. Ongoing rewards can include cashback, cash bonuses, free spins, no wager spins, no deposit bonuses, or loyalty schemes – where you can progress through levels unlocking rewards like cash bonuses, faster withdrawals, or VIP days out.
Believe it or not, there are a number of casinos offering the best slots to play that also offer fast or instant withdrawals – where you can receive your withdrawal in as little as two hours no matter which payment method you choose to use.
We leave no stone unturned when looking for NZ casinos that offer the best slots to play, reviewing the safety, the welcome bonus, bonus eligibility requirements and terms (including wagering), the support available, the selection of slots, casino games, live casino games, and live casino game shows, payment methods, withdrawal times, ongoing perks and rewards, and verification. There's nothing we don't consider during our review process, so if a casino in New Zealand makes it to the end, you know it's a great choice that is fair, safe, and secure.
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