Live Casino Guide – Best Casinos with Live Dealers for NZ Playersv
The latest gaming technology has made it possible for players to participate in live games without leaving the cozy comforts of their homes. If you want to enjoy the brick-and-mortar gaming experience, watch live croupiers in action, and interact with live croupiers and fellow players without leaving your home, you just have to navigate to the live casino section of your NZ online casino.
If you are confused about live dealer gaming, you have arrived at the right place. On this page, we have provided the following information:
- What are live casinos?
- How do live casinos work?
- How we choose the best NZ live dealer casinos
- Top 5 live casinos for NZ players
- Legalities of playing at live casinos in NZ
What Makes Live Dealer Casinos Special?
A live dealer casino often referred to as a live casino is the gaming section of an online casino that allows you to play games operated by real live dealers or croupiers. Although the games are played for real and run by a live croupier in a physical location, you don’t have to leave your home to participate. You just have to login to the NZ online casino that is offering the live dealer games.
While playing live dealer games, you can actually see the croupier in action. You can also see your fellow players and listen to familiar land-based casino sounds. This makes you feel that you are actually playing at a land-based casino and eliminates to a great extent the solitariness of playing at an online casino. You can also rest assured that the game is fair as the results are based on real-live gaming actions, not computer algorithms.
So how does it all work? In other words, what are the technologies that power a live casino? Before you even start playing at a live casino, you must understand that live casinos are technology’s latest gifts to online casino players. When compared to other online gambling products, live dealer casinos are relatively young.
Live casinos enable you to participate in live games on your desktop, smartphone, or tablet. The live dealer’s actions are converted into data through Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology. This technology records each and every thing that happens in the game studio and streams it to your computer or mobile device via video links.
The following are some of the major components of a live casino:
- Cameras – Live dealer casinos use small, but very powerful cameras to stream the live gaming action.
- Game Control Unit (GCU) – Each live dealer table has a GCU, which helps the live croupier to run the game.
- Live Croupiers – The friendly, professional, and well-trained croupiers make players feel as if they are in a land-based casino, not an online casino.
- Monitor – The monitor informs live croupiers exactly what players see on their computer screens. It helps them take action whenever required and keep track of the bets that online players place.
- Live Chat – Live croupiers and players can communicate with one another through the live chat functionality.
Best NZD Live Casinos – Learn How We Shortlist The Best
Since we are passionate about online and live casino gaming, we spend most of our waking hours researching live casinos. We know exactly what makes a live dealer casino great. We also know a lot about popular live dealer games and software providers in the NZ.
We don’t just stick to researching live dealer casinos. We spend a lot of time playing live dealer games, claiming live casino bonuses, interacting with fellow players, and testing the customer support at the live casinos we recommend.
In brief, we take the following criteria into consideration while selecting live dealer casinos for NZ players:
Licensing & Ownership – We select live casinos that have received licenses in reputed gambling jurisdictions such as Isle of Man, Alderney, UK, Malta, Gibraltar, and others. We also make sure that the parent companies of these live casinos are well-known, experienced, reputed, and financially fit.
Software Providers – The best NZ live casinos have partnered with one or many of the following providers:
- NetEnt
- Evolution Gaming
- Authentic Gaming
- Ezugi
- Playtech
Supported Currencies – If the online casino does not support NZD, we just don’t recommend it.
Customer Support – We select live casinos that offer 24/7 support through live chat, toll-free telephone, email, and social networking sites.
Bonuses & Promotions – The best live casinos for NZ players offer live casino bonuses, run promotions based on live dealer games, and offer cashback on losses incurred while playing live dealer games.
Game Selection – Signing up at a live dealer casino that offers just two or three live dealer tables will be a disappointing experience. For this reason, we take care to recommend only those NZ live casinos that offer several live blackjack, live roulette, and live baccarat tables.
We also make sure that the live casino lobby includes titles such as Live 3 Card Poker, Live Sic Bo, Live Caribbean Stud Poker, Live Texas Hold’em Poker, and other popular table & card games.
Fast Payouts – We have listed only those casinos that process payouts fast. At some online casinos, you may have to achieve a higher VIP level to enjoy express withdrawals.
Payment Methods – You can use safe, secure, and familiar banking methods such as credit/debit cards, electronic wallets, bank transfer, PaySafeCard, and others to make deposits and withdrawals.
Mobile Compatibility – Since our selected live casinos implement the latest gaming technologies, you can play your favorite live dealer games on the move.
Our Top 5 Live Dealer Casinos for NZD Online Casino Players
We have recommended several live casinos for NZ players, but here are our top five picks. We are sure that you will enjoy your live dealer gaming experience at the following casinos:
Party Live Casino
PartyCasino takes the brick-and-mortar casino gaming experience as close to you as possible through its live casino product. Powered by Evolution Gaming, it offers popular live dealer games such as Blackjack, Baccarat, Speed Live Roulette, and Casino Hold’em.
You can access the live dealer tables 24 hours per day and seven days per week. The live casino offers a wide range of betting limits and its friendly and professional live croupiers can help you with tips and advice whenever you feel stuck.
Some of the featured games at Party Live Casino are Deal or No Deal Live, Side Bet City, Lightning Roulette, Dream Catcher, and Immersive Roulette.
Dream Vegas Live Casino
You will find live dealer games from two well-known providers at DreamVegas – Evolution Gaming and NetEnt. You can play your favorite live dealer games on desktop or mobile devices.
The live dealer portfolio includes games such as Evolution Gaming’s Football Studio, Texas Hold’em Bonus Poker, Super Sic Bo, and Deal or No Deal Live. You can also play NetEnt’s live dealer games such as Automatic Roulette, Common Draw Blackjack, and VIP Roulette.
Dunder Live Casino
Dunder’s live dealer casino product brings the real life gaming experience as close to you as possible. You can interact with live croupiers as you play live dealer games such as Live Casino Hold’em, Live Three Card Poker, Live Blackjack, and Live Baccarat.
Dunder’s live casino portfolio, however, is smaller as it offers only six live game tables. Playing at Dunder Casino is safe as it operates under gambling licenses granted by two regulatory bodies—Malta Gambling Authority (MGA) and the UK Gambling Commission.
LeoVegas Live Casino
You will never have to wait for a table at LeoVegas Live Casino as the games are available round the clock and so are the seats.
The LeoVegas live dealer library includes 16 Chambre Separee games, 44 Roulette tables, 29 blackjack tables, 7 baccarat tables, and 16 card games such as Live Dragon Tiger, Live Three Card Poker, Baccarat Controlled Squeeze, and Live Caribbean Stud Poker.
In addition, you can choose from 22 fast play games such as Side Bet City, Lightning Dice, and Bookies Roulette Speed; 23 VIP games such as Live Blackjack Pro, Live Roulette Pro, and Live VIP Roulette; and 49 table games such as Dream Catcher, Lightning Roulette, and LeoVegas Roulette.
You can carry your LeoVegas Live Casino wherever you go as it is optimized for mobile play. LeoVegas Live Mobile Casino is the winner of the Mobile Casino Product of the Year award of 2017.
LeoVegas is special because it has not only partnered with well-known live casino software providers Authentic Gaming and Evolution Gaming, but offers its own customized live casino studio in partnership with Evolution Gaming.
Ruby Fortune Live Dealer Casino
RubyFortune offers a wide range of live dealer games for you to choose from.
If you are looking for the brick-and-mortar casino gaming experience in the cozy comforts of your home, you shouldn’t miss playing Ruby Fortune’s live dealer games, especially as they come from Evolution Gaming, one of the top providers of live dealer games in the world.
In addition to live dealer versions of Baccarat, Roulette, and Blackjack, Ruby Fortune Casino offers a variety of video poker games and progressive jackpot games. In addition, it keeps introducing new games into its portfolio.
Is It Legal to Play at Live Casinos?
The gambling laws of New Zealand allow you to play for real money at any live dealer casino. However, the live dealer casino should operate from a remote jurisdiction, not from within the boundaries of New Zealand. Also, you should make sure that the live dealer casino is licensed in a reputed gambling jurisdiction such as Malta, Alderney, UK, and Isle of Man.
New Zealand does not have any regulatory framework in place for online and live dealer casinos. The country has no regulatory body to grant online gambling licenses and oversee online and live casinos. You will, therefore, not find any live dealer casinos licensed in New Zealand. If you come across any live dealer casino that claims to be licensed in New Zealand, you can take it for granted that it is rogue site.
While you have to wait till you are 21 years old to play at any land-based casino within New Zealand, you can play at a live dealer casino only if you are at least 18 years old.
Since casino winnings are absolutely tax free in New Zealand, you don’t have to report your live casino winnings to your tax authority.
You just have to sign up at one of our recommended live dealer casinos, play live dealer games, win cash prizes, and withdraw every single dollar of the money you have won.
Live Casino Software Providers – A Glimpse into the Live Studios
As far as live dealer games, live casino providers, and live studios are concerned, NZ players have a wide choice.
The best NZ live casino providers have sophisticated game studios located in different parts of the world. Some of them have partnered with land-based casinos to give you the authentic brick-and-mortar casino gaming experience from home.
For example, you will find live studios in Canada; Asian countries such as Philippines, Singapore, and Macau; and European countries such as Latvia, UK, Malta, Isle of Man, and Ireland.
Some casinos partner with live casino providers to create personalized live casino studios of their own. For example, LeoVegas.com has partnered with Evolution Gaming to create a personalized live studio called Chambre Separee, which offers 16 games.
Here is a brief introduction to various NZ live casino providers:
- Evolution Gaming – With studios in several parts of Europe and a large portfolio of live dealer games, Evolution Gaming is the top provider of online casino gaming solutions in the world.
- Ezugi – Ezugi has live studios in Europe, Asia, and Central America. A tough competitor to Evolution Gaming, it offers several live baccarat, live roulette, and live blackjack tables.
- NetEnt LIVE – NetEnt has some high-quality live dealer games, but its portfolio is smaller.
- Playtech – Playtech is just as good as Evolution Gaming when it comes to developing live dealer games. Its portfolio includes unique blackjack variants such as European Blackjack and Vegas Blackjack along with games such as Spin a Win, 3 Card Brag, and Casino Hold’em.
- Authentic Gaming – Authentic Gaming has not only partnered with the US-based Foxwoods Casino, but also some top casinos in Europe.
Conclusion
If you would like to play at live dealer casinos, you just have to choose one from our list of recommended live casinos for NZ players. You just have to sign up to not only access the live casino, but also online casino games such as slots, table & card games, video poker games, and instant games. Depending on your choice of live dealer casino, you can also claim generous live dealer bonuses and cashback offers.