Every profile on this site is scored out of 10 against the same five weighted benchmark parameters, applied in the same order, by Emma Harper, our Lead iGaming Auditor. The weights are published below and total 100%, and they are never adjusted to move a profile up or down a list — see our editorial policy.
The scoring model
| Criterion | Weight |
|---|---|
| Payout Speed | 30% |
| Trust & Fairness | 25% |
| Game Variety | 20% |
| Customer Support | 15% |
| Mobile Experience | 10% |
| Total | 100% |
Payout speed carries the most weight deliberately. A bonus you cannot withdraw is worth nothing, so the question "does the money actually arrive, and how fast" outranks every promotional consideration.
Payout Speed30%
We record two separate parameters from the operator’s own published terms and cashier documentation: the stated approval (pending) window, and the settlement time of each payment rail. Weekend and public-holiday handling, withdrawal limits and fees are scored alongside, because bank settlement, not the operator, is usually what stalls a payout.
Limits: A benchmark reflects stated parameters on a dated check, not a guarantee. Verification status, withdrawal method and amount all change real-world timing.
Trust & Fairness25%
We check transport encryption, whether an independent game-testing certificate exists and is current, what the terms say about how player balances are held, and whether account-closure and dispute rules are stated objectively.
Limits: Security checks describe what an operator publishes and how its site is built; they are not a promise of good behaviour. No New Zealand agency regulates offshore operators, so local recourse is limited.
Game Variety20%
We catalogue pokies, table games and live dealer tables and their studios, and read the published RTP in each game’s own information panel — not a third-party listing, because the same title can ship at different RTP settings at different operators.
Limits: A large library is not a better library. Published RTP and studio quality are weighted over raw game counts.
Customer Support15%
We score which channels exist (live chat, email, phone), their published hours against New Zealand time, and whether the help centre answers checkable questions — withdrawal limits, verification requirements, bonus terms — consistently with the operator’s own terms.
Limits: Documented support and the support you actually receive can differ by shift and agent.
Mobile Experience10%
Platform compatibility and responsive design capabilities are evaluated based on official operator infrastructure data and software provider standards. We record whether registration, the cashier, game launch, verification upload and withdrawal requests are supported on iOS and Android, and how easily protection tools can be reached.
Limits: Platform data describes what an operator supports, not how a particular phone or connection will behave. Older hardware and low-bandwidth connections may perform differently.
How a review is produced
Trust is the only thing we are selling here. We do not accept paid placements, and no operator can adjust its own score. Every profile is put through the same 8-step desk-research protocol below, led by our Lead iGaming Auditor, Emma Harper. If a profile's own published terms fail our non-negotiable standards for player protection, verifiable licensing or honest wagering terms, it is not recommended — see what disqualifies an operator below.
- 1
Capture the source documents
We archive a dated copy of the operator’s terms, bonus terms, payments page and responsible-gambling page. Every later score points back to this snapshot, so a finding can be checked against exactly what was published.
- 2
Verify licensing independently
Company name and licence number are looked up on the named regulator’s public register, and any game-testing certificate is checked with the issuing lab. An unverifiable claim scores as absent.
- 3
Benchmark the payments matrix
For each NZD rail we record stated minimums, fees, approval windows and settlement times, including weekend handling. The "fast payout" label is reserved for profiles whose stated end-to-end window is within 24 hours.
- 4
Benchmark game maths
Published RTP is read from each sampled game’s own info panel, and the wagering terms are costed with the turnover × house-edge method from our wagering-maths guide.
- 5
Audit the costly clauses
Maximum bet while wagering, cash-out caps, dormancy fees, withdrawal limits and excluded games. These decide whether an offer is worth anything, and they are the clauses operators bury.
- 6
Score player-protection tooling
Deposit limits, time-outs, reality checks and self-exclusion are scored on whether they exist, how easy they are to reach and whether increases carry a cooling-off delay.
- 7
Apply the mobile and support criteria
The same fixed criteria are applied to every profile’s published platform and support information, so differences in the score reflect differences in the product rather than in how it was examined.
- 8
Score, publish, re-benchmark
Scores are calculated from the weights below, never adjusted afterwards to change a ranking, and re-benchmarked on the next cycle or whenever a reader reports a change.
What disqualifies an operator
Some findings are not a deduction — they remove an operator from our lists entirely:
- Documented refusals or repeated stalling of legitimate withdrawals
- Terms that let the operator void winnings without a stated, objective reason
- A licence claim that does not appear on the regulator’s public register
- Marketing that targets anyone under 20, or contact with a player who has self-excluded
- No working deposit limit, time-out or self-exclusion tooling
- Support that cannot answer basic questions about its own withdrawal terms
What a score cannot tell you
- A score is a snapshot of dated benchmark parameters. Operators change ownership, payment providers and terms, and a site that paid quickly last quarter can slow down this one.
- Your own experience depends on your verification status, payment method, withdrawal size and bank. Benchmarked windows are evidence, not a guarantee.
- No New Zealand authority regulates offshore operators, so a high score is not a substitute for local consumer protection that does not exist. Read how New Zealand gambling law applies before you decide what risk you are accepting.
- Nothing here changes the maths. Every game keeps a house edge regardless of its score — see what wagering requirements really cost.
Challenge our findings
If an operator disputes a finding, or a reader’s experience contradicts a timing we published, email [email protected]. Disputes are resolved by re-benchmarking against primary sources, not by negotiation, and we publish the corrected result either way.
Gambling should cost you no more than you decided to spend before you started — our responsible gambling page lists free New Zealand support and the tools worth setting up first. Casinos that fail our checks or have documented player-harm complaints are listed on our blacklisted casinos NZ page.