Online casinos are enjoying a rapidly expanding fan base in New Zealand. The possibility of playing wherever you are and whenever you want is compelling. Online casinos are certainly entertaining and for a lot of people, the probability that they could win is a major incentive. Unfortunately, some players have realised that after winning, they are having issues withdrawing money from the casino.
The ability to withdraw money must be one of the most important considerations when choosing an online casino. This article takes a look at the standard process for cashing out your online casino winnings and what to do if you run into hurdles while doing so.
Steps to Withdraw Money
1. Verifying Your Account
Online casinos will almost always want to verify your credentials before you can initiate a withdrawal. There's a good reason for this. Besides complying with KYC/AML regulations, reversing a transaction sent to a wrong or fraudulent beneficiary can be tedious. Verification may take various forms but often comprises proof of identity (such as government-issued ID card, passport or driver’s licence) and proof of residence (eg: phone number, utility bills and bank statements).
2. Choose Withdrawal Method
The most popular withdrawal methods in NZ are e-wallet (like Paysafecard, Neteller, PayPal), bank transfer and credit/debit card. Some casinos will go one step further to offer less conventional methods such as cryptocurrency and checks. Pick the payment method that will be most convenient for you in terms of fees, speed and simplicity.
3. Initiating the Withdrawal
Go to the cashier or banking section of your online casino account. Select “Withdraw”, pick your withdrawal method and indicate the amount. Go through the information to check if all information is accurate before you confirm the transaction.
4. Processing Time
Processing time varies by online casino, withdrawal method and sometimes even withdrawal currency. E-wallets are usually fastest and can take less than an hour to complete. Bank transfers require longer processing and could take as long as a week.
Potential Issues and How to Resolve Them
Unfulfilled Wagering Requirements
Many online casinos will offer bonuses to attract new players and keep existing ones engaged. These include welcome bonus, reload bonus, referral bonus and deposit method bonus.
Nearly every bonus will come with wagering requirements to prevent abuse of the program. These state how many multiples of the bonus amount you need to bet before you can make a withdrawal. Withdrawals will be unsuccessful if you are yet to meet the bonus’ wagering requirements. Continue playing until you satisfy the conditions before you attempt a withdrawal.
Verification Problems
If the information you provided during verification is flagged as incorrect, inconsistent or suspicious, the withdrawal request may be unsuccessful or delayed. When that happens, you should get a notification via email and within your casino account indicating there was a problem with verification. Countercheck the information you provided and correct any errors you may have made. But if the data you shared is accurate, contact customer support for assistance.
Delayed Payments
Payments may be delayed for a number of reasons. Apart from verification failure, the root cause could also be system failure, high transaction volume and payment provider delays. If a payment takes longer than expected for the chosen payment method, contact customer support for a status update and the expected timeline for transaction completion.
Tax Implications
New Zealand law exempts gambling winnings from taxation. It treats gambling as a hobby and winnings as one-off. That said, the law does allow gamblers to report their winnings and pay taxes on the same if they wish. This is voluntary and so there is no risk of prosecution for those who opt not to file a report.
There is however an important exception to this general rule. Professional poker players that win money on an online casino are required to report that income and pay taxes accordingly. The rationale is that the professional player makes their livelihood from employing their poker playing skills. In this case, winnings are effectively income for the player unlike the case for recreational gamblers.
Likewise, any income earned from investing online casino winnings (by both professional and recreational gamblers) is taxable.
Frequently Asked Questions
There could be multiple reasons but the most common ones are unmet wagering requirements, account verification failure, casino system problems or delays at the payment provider. If you are unsure of the cause, contact customer support.
It depends on the payment method you choose and the online casino’s internal withdrawal process. E-wallet withdrawals are often complete in no more than 48 hours while bank transfers could take up to 7 days. Casumo Casino has near-instant withdrawals for most of their transactions.
Reputable online casinos have no problem paying out winnings to their players promptly. They are subject to regulatory oversight and regular audits, and are committed to fair play and ethical practices.
Conclusion
Wrapping up, withdrawing money from an online casino in NZ involves verifying your account, selecting a withdrawal method, indicating the amount and confirming withdrawal. Thereafter, the time it takes for the money to get to your account will depend on your casino and the selected payment method.
In case you run into difficulty anywhere along the process, first confirm that you have done all that is required to perform a withdrawal. If you cannot tell what the root of the problem could be, contact the casino’s customer support for assistance.