888 Casino Review NZ

Expert Review

888 Casino is one of the pioneers of the online gambling industry. Introduced way back in 1997, it is easily one of the most recognisable names among top online gambling sites. 888 Casino has stood strong ever since and has evolved over time according to the rapidly changing standards of online gambling. I was excited to review this casino and see how it compares to my current list of best casinos in NZ. Upon my first visit, I was introduced to the other two branches of 888 Casino, which were 888 Sports and 888 Poker. I had the option to enjoy casino gaming and sports betting in one place. I then created an account and was instantly provided access to all features of the platform. The same account was used for the sports version of 888, and I did not have to create a separate account for it. I was offered some really interesting welcome bonuses for both casino and sports, along with many regular promos, occasional deals, as well as a loyalty program.

888 Casino boasts over 3,000 titles across all popular gaming categories. Their sportsbook features thousands of betting markets for Kiwis to check out. All this comes with instant and secure banking options, fast customer support, top security, and no compromise on the rewards. In this 888 Casino review for New Zealanders, I will dive deep into every feature and service they provide and share my experience betting and playing there s.

Games: 9.8/10

888 Casino might have started with just a handful of casino games back in 1997, but today they have a diverse selection available for Kiwis to explore. I was able to find over 3,000 titles in their gaming catalogue spread across different popular casino gaming categories. While slots have the most variety of titles, I also found a lot of live casino games, jackpots, table games, card games, and poker. 888 Casino has a dedicated domain for poker games that you have to access separately to play the related titles. No matter what your taste is in casino games, you will be taken care of at 888 Casino. With such a massive gaming library, plenty of options in each category, and new titles added almost every week, 888 Casino will keep you entertained.

I also love how 888 Casino has designed their interface, allowing players to easily navigate and explore all the available options at the casino. Featured games have their own dedicated section, and the same goes for new games, top games, and even exclusives, which had some titles that I had not played anywhere before. If you don't want to spend time exploring entire categories or sections, you can use the provided search bar. I could search games by entering a keyword, theme, or game studio name to see related results. 888 Casino has partnered up with top-notch game developers, including some very popular names like Pragmatic Play and NetENT.

Using my laptop, I started playing a variety of games across different categories at Jet Casino, making sure games with different types of specifications were tested. The games all loaded within 20-30 seconds, which is actually quite fast. The graphics and visuals were brilliant and looked sharp. I loved the game themes, ranging between gods, animals, survival, universe, and more.

The gameplay was smooth and lag-free. My laptop handled all the titles well without consuming much memory or processing power. The addition of interactive music also made the games more enjoyable and fun. I played several live casino games as well, which worked exactly as they should. They all had HD-quality live streaming, a professional agent to interact with, live chat option, a well-designed interface to place bets, and the option just to watch and enjoy. The streaming for live games was a bit laggy for me, but it was due to my slow internet speed. A decent internet connection would be enough to handle live games, and you won’t face any buffer or lag.

Additionally, Jet Casino provides you with the option to mark favourites, enter fullscreen, switch between demo and real money mode, or check out past participants once you click on a title. I recommend keeping a check on these features before you start playing.

Betting: 9.7/10

I knew my sports betting experience at 888 was going to be good when I found out they have a separate domain and an entire site dedicated to it. I simply clicked on the 888 Sports button at the upper-right corner to get redirected to the sportsbook. On the homepage, I found all popular upcoming and featured events, along with live betting markets and pre-match betting markets. The left-hand side was dedicated to all the sports available that I could bet on. The list had around 30 worldwide sports, including football, cricket, rugby, MMA, F1, horse racing, virtual gaming, and many others. There was also a “Made for you” section, which had all the hot events for the next 24 hours to check out and enjoy excellent odds and great coverage. Live betting also had its dedicated section, and I could switch between that and pre-match betting with just a click.

At the time, I wanted to place a pre-match bet on my favourite football team, Barcelona. I looked up the particular event by using the provided search bar and was able to find it within seconds. There were more than a hundred markets to choose from, for that single event. The first thing I did was compare the odds with other popular sportsbooks and found 88 Sports to be equal or better. I then added an event to my bet slip and placed a bet. I was also given the option to place an accumulator bet or multi-bet, but the risk factor is always very high with such bets, so I don’t usually consider them. 

I also took a look at a few live games. Some matches had the live streaming option, which made it easier to assess the game and place a bet accordingly. However, most of them didn’t. But the good thing was almost all of them had animated simulations projecting all the movements of the game. Additionally, the score was updating almost instantly, and I even compared the score to other sports websites, and it was always accurate. The odds also changed rapidly as the games proceeded. Once I placed a bet, I also had the option for an early payout, but it was available for a very limited time only.

888 Casino provides bettors with the option to change the odds format, enhance the appearance of the interface, and even check out the blog to stay updated with the latest news.

Bonuses: 9.5/10

888 Casino has excellent promotions that start pouring in the moment you sign up at the platform and keep on coming until you decide to leave the platform. When I registered my account, I was offered two different welcome bonuses to start my journey with. The first one offered me 100% up to $1,000 on my first-ever deposit at the casino. The second one offered me up to $1,500 on the first five deposits I would make there. This is how the second welcome bonus is divided across your deposits:

However, I had to choose between these two welcome bonuses as both cannot be claimed simultaneously. So, I decided to stick with the first welcome bonus of 100% up to $1,000 as I was only reviewing the casino and did not plan on making several more deposits.

One important thing to note is that these casino welcome bonuses come with a few terms and conditions that you must keep in mind. A minimum deposit of $10 is required to claim the first deposit bonus. Moreover, 40 times wagering requirements must also be completed in order to withdraw the winnings.  The good thing is I was offered a full 90 days to fulfil the wagering requirements and keep my winnings. For the second welcome bonus, the minimum deposit amount required is $20, and the wagering requirements are set to 30 times. The later deposits only need to be wagered three times, which I don’t think anyone will have trouble with.

888 Sports also has a welcome bonus for sports bettors. I was offered a free bet of $30 along with $10 casino credits on placing my first bet of just $10. However, the initial bet must be placed on an event with odds of 1.5 or higher to be qualified for the bonus.

888 Casino and 888 Sports have a wide range of regular promos. They treat casino users with daily wins, drops and wins, jackpots, prize drops, tournaments, and much more. Sports bettors can also enjoy free bets and cashback every now and then with 888 Sports. 888 Casino has a VIP program where they treat their users as celebrities. There are different VIP statuses that come with many perks like fast withdrawals, exclusive rewards, special events, fast support, increased limits, VIP promotions, and much more. 888 Casino even assigns a personal manager to their high-profile players, ensuring their experience is the absolute best.

Deposits and Withdrawals: 9.6/10

There are a number of safe, secure and accessible banking options at 888 Casino for New Zealanders to use. However, all payments at the casino are made in USD, as NZD is not yet supported. So, if you make a deposit through your NZD wallet or bank, the transaction will automatically be converted to USD. For the payment options, I was given the choice between popular bank cards, e-wallets, voucher solutions, and other methods. However, there was one thing that 888 Casino should sort out: their welcome bonuses cannot be claimed with Neteller and Skrill deposits. With this policy, many Kiwis have to go with their bank cards or use the other available options.

That is why I chose to use my Visa debit card to make my first deposit. Fortunately, everything went smoothly. The transaction was processed instantly, the credits were transferred in no time, and no fee was charged to my account. For the complete list of banking options at 888 Casino, take a look below:

Deposit methods

• Visa (Min. $10 - Max. $3,000)
• Mastercard (Min. $10 - Max. $3,000)
• MuchBetter (Min. $10 - Max. $10,000)
• Neteller (Min. $10 - Max. $10,000)
• Skrill (Min. $10 - Max. $10,000)
• LuxonPay (Min. $10 - Max. $10,000)
• Paysafecard (Min. $10 - Max. $1,000)

Withdrawal methods

• Direct bank transfer
• Visa/Mastercard
• MuchBetter
• Neteller
• Skrill
• LuxonPay

Limits for withdrawals may vary according to the user’s account level. Processing may take up to three business days. Moreover, I was asked to verify my ID at 888 Casino before I could initiate my first withdrawal request. 888 Casino does this to ensure there is no fraudulent activity.

Mobile Gaming: 9.9/10  

888 Casino brings the ultimate mobile gaming experience for Kiwis with their dedicated mobile apps available for Android and iOS devices. For sports bettors, there are separate apps dedicated to betting. I did a quick search on Google Play and iOS App Store, and the apps were available to download instantly. However, for players like me who do not want to install multiple apps, 888 Casino brings their mobile-responsive website to any mobile device. You just need an updated browser such as Google Chrome or Safari. I also had the option to switch between 888 Casino, 888 Sports, and 888 Poker without worrying about several apps. I first started exploring the 888 Casino site and evaluated how it worked. The interface seemed very similar to what I had seen on my laptop. The entire gaming library was also available, with the exception of a few unsupported titles.

I then started exploring the individual categories like slots, live games, and table games. I decided on a few titles and started playing them on my phone. I felt a small difference in loading times compared to my laptop, but it was not very noticeable and did not create any problems. The graphics also looked brighter and sharper, and even more immersive on a smaller screen. I entered fullscreen mode, which made the in-game navigation quite easier. I changed the bet amount, checked out guides, tried other settings, and was able to play games smoothly. There was no lag or stutter, and the games ran flawlessly.

Then, it was time to check out 888 Sports and how it holds up on mobile devices. Again, the interface was quite similar to the desktop version, and it was really easy to navigate through the available events. All the live and pre-match betting markets were available, selected events also had live streaming, and simulation was available for most of the games. The entire customisable bet slip was also available, and I could place single, accumulator, or multi bets.

888 Casino and 888 Sports also give mobile users full access to their account features. I was able to access the cashier to make deposits or withdrawals, contact support, claim bonuses, or change my account preferences.

I also recommend installing the dedicated apps for a faster and smoother mobile gaming experience. It will save you the trouble of accessing the site from a browser or logging in each time.

Customer Support: 9.8/10  

The customer support at 888 Casino is very good, considering they have the option to live chat with the agent or email them directly to get a prompt answer to any query. To get in touch with the support team, I simply clicked on the Question Mark button available at the top right corner of 888 Casino. A window appeared with several FAQs as well as the option to get help from an agent. I opted for the live chat and was greeted by an AI bot first. From there, I had two options: either get help from the AI or request to be connected with a live agent. I first tested the AI bot by asking a query regarding withdrawals and was provided with in-depth info. Then, I requested a live agent and was connected to a very professional person who asked my question again. He provided a simple and fast solution, and the entire experience went smoothly.

You can also send 888 Casino an email and they will respond within a few hours. However, I urge my readers to read FAQs, blogs, and the articles available in the help centre to get their basic queries answered. Contact support in case you are not able to find an answer or need urgent assistance.

Security and Licensing: 9.9/10  

888 Casino is operated by different companies based on jurisdiction. In the UK, 888 Casino operates 888 UK Limited; however, for European and other markets, 888 Casino operates under Virtual Digital Services Limited (VDSL). 888 Casino has licences from the Gambling Commission of the UK and Malta Gaming Authority. I have attached the licence certificate provided by MGA to VDSL, which authorises 888 Casino to provide their services legally without any restrictions.

888 Casino provides users with different security options. I was able to set a strong password, add a security question, and enable notifications for both email and phone numbers. SSL encryption also works as added protection to ensure your data is kept safe on the platform. Moreover, the games at 888 Casino are audited and approved by eCOGRA, which means that they are 100% fair and safe to play.

Verdict

Who wouldn’t want to join a platform that has thousands of games to offer, a massive sportsbook, generous and regular promos, and premium customer support? 888 Casino has all these, along with many other features that I found hard to resist. Their diverse range of casino games blew me away, and then their sportsbook treated me with hundreds of markets and opportunities. The welcome bonuses, the VIP program, and regular promos kept me hooked till the very end, and I earned a lot of extra cash with them as well.

With dedicated mobile apps and the mobile-friendly site of 888 Casino, I could bet and play casino games wherever I wanted. The banking options are fast and secure, and there are many options to choose from. On top of that, I could contact the live chat support anytime in case of any problem or query. Overall, I recommend checking out 888 Casino and signing up for them to enter a whole new world of online gambling.

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