Many online casinos in New Zealand use bonuses to attract new players to their site, as well as keep their existing players engaged. These bonuses can give Kiwis additional money to play with, or sometimes free spins on select pokies machines, but they will have terms and conditions that you need to understand. Having a good grasp of how these bonuses work is extremely important, in order to make good decisions and ensure you can withdraw your money. In particular, you need to learn what a wager is, and pay attention to wagering requirements.

Types of Bonuses at Online Casinos

There are various types of bonuses that can be found at online casinos in New Zealand. You will often see welcome bonuses, which are given to new users after they make their first deposit. You may also come across no deposit bonuses, free spins on pokies, cashback, reload bonuses, and loyalty programs.

How to Claim Bonuses at NZ Online Casinos

In most cases, you can claim a bonus at an online casino by making a deposit, using a promo code, or clicking a link found in an email from the casino. Occasionally you may receive bonuses or free spins without any deposit required. This can be automatically credited into your casino account. If you want to find out the biggest welcome bonuses in NZ in 2024, click here.

Wagering Requirements

When you claim a bonus at an online casino in NZ, you must be aware of wagering requirements. A wagering requirement (or playthrough requirement) is the number of times you must bet the bonus amount before you can withdraw any winnings made from it. For example, if a $100 bonus has a 25x wagering requirement, you'll need to place bets totaling $2,500 before you can withdraw any winnings made from the bonus.

Without meeting this, you cannot withdraw your winnings from the casino. Be aware of this before you get too excited about claiming a large bonus, as the larger the bonus, the higher your wagering requirements will be.

Game Weighting for Wagering Requirements

Another important point to note is that not all games will contribute the full amount towards wagering requirements. Slots will usually contribute the full wagered amount, but if you enjoy table games they are considerably lower, and the contribution may only be 10%. this means that a $100 bet only counts $10 towards your wagering requirements.

You can find the specific game weightings for your casino in the bonus terms and conditions.

Maximum Bet Limit and Maximum Win Cap

Some online casinos in NZ will have a maximum bet limit when you use your bonus to play. This means that you cannot bet more than a set limit otherwise it won't contribute to your wagering requirements. Also, there may be a maximum on the amount that you are able to win with bonus funds. 

Bonus Expiration

Most bonuses at online casinos will have an expiration, after which bonus funds and winnings are removed from your account if you haven't fulfilled the wagering requirements. This can range from a few days, to a week, to a month or more. You need to check the bonus terms at the casino that you are playing at, to know what is applicable to you.

Conclusion

Casino bonuses can be a great way to spend more time playing at an online casino without spending more money. However, there are also drawbacks associated with bonuses, such as an expiration date, and needing to meet wagering requirements. Ensure you read the terms of any bonus before you decide to claim or use it. 

For most online casinos in New Zealand, you will receive the bonus amount automatically after you deposit for the first time. If you don't like the terms of the bonus and you wish to play using only your own money, you can contact the casino via their support team. Ask them to remove the bonus so you can play freely and withdraw at any time. Remember to do this before you place even one bet or spin, otherwise you may be obligated to fulfil the wagering requirements.

Hopefully this article helps you understand how online casino bonuses work in New Zealand. To find the best online casino bonuses in NZ, see this article.

About the author 

Peter Clayton

Peter is one of Indivisible Gaming's developers and has been working with us since 2015. When he isn't busy working on an upcoming game, he loves writing about all the games that he has played and tested. His experience in the industry is second to none, and we are grateful to have him on our team.


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