SNBET: New Zealand's best online sports betting

Interested sports bettors in New Zealand face a difficult problem. New Zealand itself has not regulated their domestic market for online gambling, but at the same time it is fully legal for New Zealanders to play at gambling sites based offshore. This is fairly unique, as most governments that fail to regulate locally also try to prohibit their citizens from playing abroad in one way or another. At best, this often leaves interested players open to online gambling operators that are not tailored to Kiwi sporting tastes, with highly-restricted gaming options. At worst, the offshore operators may be out-and-out scam artists that wish to prey on people that don’t know the reputable brands at which they should play.

At SNBET.co.nz, we understand the situation fully. Across our site, we explain where Kiwis can find the best sports betting experience – for Kiwis, from top-tier operators that treat your money like its actually yours. While we discuss some internationally prominent brands & the scammers to avoid, due to proximity, it is paramount to first focus upon and acknowledge that Australian online sportsbooks are not particularly good options for New Zealanders. We recommend just five New Zealand betting sites, but crucially, we also explain why all the highly visible brands that operate from across the Tasman Sea, actually don’t cater to New Zealand sports bettors at all, even though most will accept your registration.

Why are Australian online bookies poor options for New Zealanders?

Put simply, regulated Australian betting sites are designed for Aussies first, not with New Zealander customers in mind.  Due to the relatively close proximity and shared sporting interests, these highly visible Australian operators look to serve New Zealand's punters, since it is legal for them to do so and because most Kiwis don’t know that there are far better options available to them. 

There are three main issues where Australian sports betting sites prove to be far inferior options compared to those we recommend for players in New Zealand: The issues of 1) NZD account availability.  2) New customer bonus availability. 3) Highly-limited sports betting platforms and online gaming options. We delve into these now.

Australian bookies don’t offer NZD accounts, requiring costly FX fees

The first reason not to play at Australian bookies from New Zealand comes down to the fact that with every deposit or withdrawal, you will be subject to costly currency exchange fees.  Online sports betting brands that fall within the Australian regime only offer Australian Dollar accounts (AUD).  If you register and play at any Australian betting site, you will be required to convert your New Zealand Dollars for each deposit. When you look to withdraw funds, you’ll need to convert from AUD back to NZD.  

The expense of this foreign exchange can be significant.  Be it your bank or e-wallet provider, they will charge anywhere from 1.5% to over 5% of the overall transacted amount for each currency exchange.  A lot of people miss this as an issue because the fee itself is integrated into the rate of exchange: an amount of one currency simply becomes an amount of a second currency. As a result, people don’t generally see how big the fee is, or how much value destruction has taken place, but this significant cost happens on each transaction. Why should Kiwis pay for this unnecessarily?  Just because Australia is relatively close and their operators are so visible within sports media properties and broadcasts? 

There is no need for this waste!  All the brands that we recommend come to you from reputable companies that offer New Zealand Dollar betting accounts and payment methods, so you can play directly in your native currency and you never, ever have to pay currency exchange fees and all of your money, goes toward your own enjoyment.

Australian sportsbooks do not have new customer bonus offers or deposit bonuses for Kiwis

The second reason New Zealanders may wish to avoid Australian betting sites, is their lack of new customer offers. As a result of their large at-risk population, regulations prohibit operators from offering any kind of inducement offers, like a “free bet” or “deposit bonus” or “bet credits”.  Thus, if you wish to get started at a betting site or online casino with an incentive offer, you need to look outside the Australian regime.

All of our recommended sportsbook brands have New Zealand betting offers for new customers. Four of five actually have dedicated offers for New Zealand that directly quote the offer in NZD.  For the other brand, the offer is quoted in Euros, but is available in NZD (among other account currencies) at the current rate of exchange. For example, if the deposit bonus offer is quoted at 100 Euros, it would be worth about 170 to 180 New Zealand Dollars. You're still playing and getting the bonus in NZD, the offer display is just not tailored to each and every market they serve.

Australian sportsbooks only offer pre-match online sports betting: No live online betting, casino or poker

The final reason Kiwis should not look to play at Australian online bookies is the stripped-down gaming platforms on offer, which bears explanation. Australia is one of the oldest, regulated online gambling markets in the world. This came about out of necessity.  Historically, Australia as a nation had one of the highest per capita gambling spend rates.  As the Internet was exploding in the late 1990s, the government knew they needed to provide a safer environment for certain kinds of “approved” online gambling, while other kinds were banned.

As a result, regulated online bookies in Australia were only allowed to offer pre-match online sports betting. None of them are allowed to offer “live” or “in-play” online betting through their sites or apps, which is otherwise available in essentially all other jurisdictions around the world.  This kind of in-play online betting is seen as perhaps too stimulative for at-risk Australian audiences, so in-play wagers in Australia may only be placed by phoning in your bet.  Thus, if you wish to place online bets for sporting events as they happen, you cannot do this from New Zealand on Australian betting sites or apps. 

Furthermore, Australian betting sites are for just that – sports betting only.  None of the regulated Australian providers are allowed to offer other gaming types, including online or live dealer casino games, slots, or online poker rooms. Thus, if you would like the option to play these other kinds of games from the same account as your sportsbook, you need to use ones outside the Australian regime.  

All the online gambling brands that we recommend for New Zealand offer a combination of top-tier pre-match and live online sports betting, plus casino games, all connected to your New Zealand Dollar account. So our recommended brands indeed operate NZD casino sites. bet365 even offers access to their online poker room.

The dangers of offshore betting site scams from New Zealand

Beyond Australia, there is a huge world of “offshore” betting sites and online casinos.  Due to the relative wealth of the New Zealand market, many of these operators will try to cater to New Zealanders in some of the ways that we’ve outlined: NZD accounts, tailored bonus offers and better and broader gaming options compared to Australian ones.  The reality however, is that many of the more reputable brands are choosing to exit their “offshore” operations, while moving to only serve locally regulated markets. This means that there is actually only a very small number of reputable offshore betting sites and casinos that offer everything that New Zealand players could want.

Many of the thousands of offshore gaming brands that will serve Kiwis are actually scam operations. They may well look to offer all the things that New Zealanders would want in an online bookie or casino site, but once you’ve signed up and made your deposit, you’re at risk of having your money confiscated from a betting account that is situated outside of New Zealand’s laws, often with little-to-no oversight.  

We take the hassle and confusion out of this process for you. Not only do we identify the top New Zealand betting sites, with all you could want in a provider, but we also help you to avoid the scam betting brands that you might have questions about, given various advertisements or sporting sponsorship deals that may allow shady operator brands to become very visible to you.

As long as you have fully verified your identity, and the name on your source of funds matches your gaming account, our recommended providers are as good as it gets in terms of processing withdrawals with speed, so you get your money when you want it. We don't recommend any brand that has a track record of engineering withdrawal delays, through technical issues.  It's your money, and you should have access to it as and when you like.

Is it legal to gamble at offshore betting sites from New Zealand?

Yes, it is completely legal to participate at offshore gaming sites from New Zealand. Although we mentioned this above, it has been expressed in a literal fashion within the New Zealand government’s website, most recently in their review of online gambling in the country. There, you can read it is explicitly stated that: “Today, while it is illegal for online gambling to be provided domestically, except by authorised providers (Lotto NZ and the TAB), it is legal for New Zealanders to gamble on offshore websites."  So if you wish to find alternatives to the TAB, it is completely legal for you to do so.

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