The effect of Modern Technology on Online Gambling in New Zealand

When you talk about online gambling on a global scale, there are few countries that immediately spring to mind. These include UK, Sweden and Germany but with the tightening of rules and regulations, online casinos are now making their way into new territories.

New Zealand is one such territory that has seen an influx of gambling brands. The powerhouse that is the Sky City group have powered up with GiG to launch their own online casino called SkyCity online casino. This is perfectly legal as the GiG are based in Malta and SkyCity casino is licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority. As per current gambling laws, you cannot set up a casino in New Zealand. The law does not prohibit kiwis from accessing online casinos that have their HQs set up outside of New Zealand.

A lot more Kiwis are therefore accessing these gambling sites and casinos themselves are doing everything in their power to stay up to date with current trends. As the competition heats up in New Zealand more and more online casinos will think of innovative ways to attract the players. Some will go down the route of big welcome offers and promotions while others will tempt you with their huge library of Online Pokies. In this article we will explore the main trends in the online gambling space that casinos are latching onto.

Mobile Gambling

Gone are the days when you had to navigate through poorly built sites to find your favourite games. Online casinos of today not online provide you with a great desktop product but also optimise the offering to suit your mobile device as well. Regardless of what operating system you prefer, online casinos of today will provide you with an optimised mobile site. Some have even gone as far as to create stunning looking mobile apps. LeoVegas prides itself in being called the ‘King of Mobile’ and sees a good percentage of kiwis playing their favourite games on the smaller screens.

The rise of mobile when it comes to gambling was inevitable. The mobile device is all encompassing tool that holds your contacts, maps and multitude of apps. It has become an extension of the human body and allows you to play a game of roulette while on the move. The mass spread adoption of smartphones in New Zealand has given a boost to the gambling industry. A decade ago, the gambling industry had a growth rate of 6%. Fast forward to now and that growth rate has increased by nearly 95%.

Rise of Cryptocurrency

When you visited the cashier section of an online casino a few years ago, you were bound to find the traditional banking options. These included your debit and credit cards and e-wallets such as Skrill, Neteller and even Paypal at some casinos. This all changed when cryptocurrency burst into the scenes a few years ago. Bitcoin had been there for a decade but no one was willing to take it seriously until the crypto boom in 2017. Major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ripple and Ethereum experienced a surge in demand. More and more kiwis became aware of the many benefits that the currency had to offer.

Benefits such as anonymity, instant transactions and lack of fees were advantages that were simply too big to ignore for the gambling industry. As a result, more casinos started to offer cryptocurrency as both a deposit and withdrawal method. It is argued that over time cryptocurrencies will replace cash, cards in the gambling industry and online casinos that have integrated these payment methods already will reap the benefits once it has become regulated.

Virtual Reality Gambling

Do you remember the Nintendo Virtual Boy that came out in 1995? Don’t worry if you don’t, it was abomination that was quickly discontinued by the gaming giant. The idea was to provide an immersive experience for the player. This was done by using a head set and joysticks. Unfortunately for the player, the headset weighed a good amount and the graphics gave the player a nauseating headache.

Nearly two decades on and we can see that virtual reality is making a strong comeback. Everyone from Playstation to Google to Facebook has invested resources in providing the ultimate VR experience. The gaming industry is jumping on the bandwagon as well and is trialling VR experiences in land based casinos. With VR gaming you can enjoy a game of poker by holding virtual cards, chat with other players and the dealer in this immersive experience.

This takes the gambling experience a step beyond than what is being offered via your computer or mobile screen. As time goes on, the immersive experience will surely get better and will get to a point where it may no longer be required to leave the comfort of your home to experience a land based casino!