New Zealand betting sites & sportsbook reviews 2024

New Zealanders may legally play at offshore betting sites, but finding reputable brands that actually serve Kiwis properly is much harder than you might think. We are dedicated to helping New Zealanders find the offshore betting sites that will serve them best - as Kiwis. The bottom line is that the highly familiar brands out of Australia may indeed serve bettors in New Zealand, but given Aussie regulations, they will do so in a way that ensures a poor experience for Kiwis in several ways. 

First, brands based in Australia do not offer NZD accounts, so Kiwis get hit with big foreign exchange charges by having to play in AUD. Second, they are not allowed to offer live, in-play online betting. Third, other kinds of online gaming like casino or poker are banned. Last, new customer offers are forbidden. That's a lot of attractive stuff that's not available at Aussie betting sites.

Compare this to all our recommended betting sites for New Zealand, which are all top-tier global providers, that operate from their international offshore jurisdictions, not from Australia. Thus, all our listed brands indeed offer NZD accounts, online in-play betting, other games like online casino or poker, plus they have new customer bonuses.

We list our recommended brands, but we know you may have questions about other familiar betting providers as seen advertised within Australian, European or American sporting broadcasts. Thus, we've listed some of the most visible betting brands so you may read whether or not they serve New Zealand, and if they do, why we don't recommend them. Simply click or tap your brand of interest to scroll directly.

#1 New Zealand Betting Site: bet365

You should be familiar with the bet365 brand from New Zealand. They've been highly visible through European football pitch-side ads for many years, but they've also advertised within the nearby Australian market, since they are one of the top brands in Oz. However, unlike all the Australian brands that serve New Zealanders from their Aussie-regulated platforms, bet365 serves Kiwis from their international gaming platform in Gibraltar. Via Gibraltar, bet365 thus supports NZD accounts, not forcing AUD usage with costly FX fees.

They can also offer a properly unfettered gaming experience. With bet365 that means a lot. Now serving over 90 million account holders worldwide, New Zealanders get what is essentially the world's best sports betting platform, which includes online, in-play betting and live-streaming of sporting events. Plus, you get access to online poker and an incredible array of online and live dealer casino games. You can't get any of this at bookies based in the Australian regime. If you don't have an offshore gaming account from New Zealand, bet365 should be your first - period.

#2 New Zealand Betting Site: Betway

Betway is a global sports betting brand, but they are not in the nearby Australian market. Thus, you may not have seen their brand if your sporting interest is focused on the Super Rugby, NRL, A-League, etc. If you follow European football, the NBA, or other North American sports, you can't miss their brand. They are in so many locally regulated markets, there are too many to name here.

From a New Zealand perspective, you need to know that Betway serves all the national markets that love rugby union, rugby league and cricket, so they have great coverage of these Kiwi favourites. So even though they might not be a brand at the forefront of your mind as an option, they should be. With their version for New Zealand operated from Malta, they offer NZD accounts and payment methods, and offer a properly tailored platform that is free from all the restrictions that come at Australia-based bookies. A top option for Kiwis.

#3 New Zealand Betting Site: MarathonBet

MarathonBet is again a global sports betting brand, regulated in several nations in Europe, as well as their international gaming jurisdiction of Curacao. They are not in the Australian market, so if your sporting focus is on events within the rugby union, rugby league, cricket and football events within the Australian and New Zealand landscape, their brand will never really enter your view. If you've watched the EPL, LaLiga or Italian Serie A in the last 10 years, you will likely have noted several of their major club partnerships.

Even if you don't care about football, particularly the European variety, you need to get over that. MarathonBet has incredible coverage of all the leagues and sports that New Zealanders love most. They have a wider array of markets, including unique ways to bet which are not found elsewhere. What's more, they take a low margin approach to their odds.  This means higher odds for you, more often, so when you win, your payouts are higher.  With NZD accounts, MarathonBet is a compelling option for Kiwi bettors.

#4 New Zealand Betting Site: BetVictor

In New Zealand, BetVictor should really only be familiar to watchers of the Premier League, given their several past sponsorships with top Premier League clubs. BetVictor does not operate within the Australian market. So, if your sporting interest lies mainly with properties like Super Rugby, the NRL, A-League or others in the region, you'll never have seen their brand advertised. That's why they need an introduction to Kiwis.

Since they operate from Gibraltar, not Australia, they can offer NZD accounts, proper online in-play betting, as well as their array of online and live-dealer casino games. Beyond this, know that BetVictor has created a tailored, dedicated version of their platform for New Zealand, so all your favourites are easy to access. With BetVictor's UK heritage, given the shared sporting interests between the two countries, you know you'll find excellent coverage of all the events that matter most to Kiwis.

#5 New Zealand Betting Site: Casumo

Again, Casumo does not operate within the Australian market. After all, they were first and foremost an online casino, that looked to add a premier sportsbook several years after its launch, in order to to provide a more complete gaming offering to their customers, while also providing a point of differentiation, since there are far more casino-only sites than there are sports betting and casino sites.  Casumo serves the UK, Ireland, Sweden and Canada among other markets.

As regulated from Malta, as opposed to Australia, Casumo is able to offer NZD accounts and a great sportsbook platform that is tailored to New Zealand tastes.  They can also offer online in-play betting and one of the largest offerings of online slots and casino games, including live-dealer options. These are all unavailable from bookies based in Oz. 

Which Australian bookies accept players from New Zealand?

The majority of betting sites based in the Australian regulatory regime will in fact serve players based in New Zealand. The biggest brands that fall into this category are BetFair, Ladbrokes, Neds, PalmerBet, SportsBet and Unibet.  We touch upon each of these operators with reviews from a New Zealand perspective, just click on the name to read more.  

Unfortunately, as a result of rules & regulations, these and other Aussie bookies have a lot of limitations placed on what they can offer their customers as compared to brands based elsewhere, like those we recommend. Australia-based brands can't offer NZD accounts, online in-play betting, casino or poker gaming options, or new customer betting offers. 

Given the close proximity, New Zealanders have absorbed decades of advertisements by Australian bookmakers within Australian sporting broadcasts. So, when someone in New Zealand looks for a betting site beyond the TAB, oftentimes the natural movement is to register at one of these Aussie sites, but given these drawbacks, that's pretty clearly going to be a poor choice in many respects. 

Thus, if Kiwis want a proper betting & gaming experience like the rest of the world gets to enjoy, which is fully tailored to New Zealanders with NZD accounts, they need to forget about, or ignore all the advertising they've seen from the Australian market. That's not really possible, but it's why we're here - to illuminate all these issues for our readers.

Do all Australian betting sites accept customers from New Zealand?

While most betting brands based in Australia take advantage of the fact that Kiwis may legally bet offshore, accepting their registration, not every Aussie operator has chosen to serve players based in New Zealand. The most prominent brands that are indeed for Australia-only include Betr, BlueBet and PointsBet. All of these brands have spent heavily on marketing, so you might be curious if they are open to you, but if you're only based in New Zealand, they are not an option.

Do US sportsbooks serve customers in New Zealand?

When it comes to the main sportsbook brands that legally serve various US state markets, none of BetMGM, DraftKings, ESPN BET or FanDuel serve players outside their local state jurisdictions. For example, if one of these brands is licensed to serve New York State, the given sportsbook platform for NY will only serve players that are physically located in NY. 

Furthermore, none of these US-focused brands offer websites based in international jurisdictions that might be able to serve players from New Zealand.  The only international sports betting brands that have looked to enter various US state markets, are our #1 and #2 ranked betting sites for New Zealand: bet365 and Betway.  We would refer to these as "global brands" that operate in various US states, as opposed to "US brands".

Do any UK sportsbooks serve customers in New Zealand?

Sites that serve the UK tend to be situated in the Gibraltar gaming regime. Brands like BetFred, which have sponsored global football giant, Manchester United, over many seasons, only serves players in the UK & Ireland, not New Zealand. It's the same story for PaddyPower, which also bars players from New Zealand. 

There are some UK-focused brands that serve New Zealand-based customers within their international jurisdiction, but if they do not offer New Zealand Dollar accounts, we don't recommend them to our readers, since there are several excellent NZD options. UK-focused brands that accept Kiwi customers, but would force you to exchange NZD into another currency include 888sport and William Hill. Another popular brand that is focused on the UK, but which also serves Kiwis from their international site is Stake.com. However, Stake.com also does not have NZD accounts - they only use cryptocurrencies for wagers on their platform.

There is one UK-focused sportsbook and casino brand that actually does have NZD accounts, since they also serve an international audience. However, since we really dislike their platform, we don't recommend LeoVegas to our readers. If you intend to bet on sports, you'll know why we think this, as you'll experience what is just an awful interface for betting.

Biggest scam betting sites for New Zealand

There are hundreds of scam betting sites that will serve New Zealand, but two brands have recently gained huge visibility, which need to be highlighted. If you're a football fan that watches LaLiga from Spain, Serie A from Italy, or the Bundesliga from Germany, you may have become familiar with betting brands that are displayed within the electronically-added signage as integrated into these respective international broadcasts.  These scam betting brands, 1XBET and MELBET, which are based in Russia, are related to one another.  Since their ads are added electronically to the football broadcasts, they are not actually seen in their local jurisdictions by people in the football grounds. 

1XBET and MELBET look to prey upon international customers that reside in jurisdictions that have not regulated their market for online gambling providers. New Zealanders fall into this category. These brands also frequently appear as "top picks" on shady "sportsbook review" sites with pages targeted at New Zealand.  Rest assured that neither of these brands are good options for Kiwis.  If you were to play there and be deemed a significant winner, you would never see any of your winnings. We've reviewed both sites from a New Zealand perspective. They both also feature within our write-up on the scam betting sites for New Zealand that should be avoided.

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