Australia is an unrealistic gambling nation, ranking fourth in the world in terms of the amount of money its residents spend on gambling. More than 80% of Australian adults are involved in some sort of gambling activity. A ban on online casinos looks very strange against this background. It seems like a lot of money can be made in taxation. 

An average Australian player spends $1,292 a year at a casino. How much is that if you compare it with other markets? For example, an average Canadian gambler spends $568, a Finn spends the equivalent of $553, and a Norwegian spends $448. So the amount an Australian spends at a casino is insane compared to players from other parts of the world. 

Online casinos in Australia

In fact, Australian online casinos are all illegal. Even if they are licensed by Curacao, Malta, and MGA – in the eyes of the government, they are all operating in the black. There is no prosecution for playing at online casinos, but fast withdrawal casinos Australia are still blocked. And still, players prefer to play online.

This is despite the fact that there is a regulatory system in place. It is similar to the Russian TSUPIS, only it is not aimed at online casinos. Under this scheme, it is perfectly possible to legally place sports bets with licensed bookmakers. Online casinos and poker rooms cannot obtain an Australian government license. Nevertheless, residents are still actively looking for an app for their energy. Meanwhile, offline land-based casinos are legal, thriving, and regulated at two levels: state and federal. 

Slot machines in New Zealand

As far as New Zealand is concerned, things are the same. Offline casinos, gambling halls, and poker tournaments have been thriving for decades and are providing excellent returns to the government. New Zealand allows the installation of video poker terminals which, as well as in kindred Australia, have a slang name, “pokies.” The pokies can be placed everywhere – in pubs, near shops, and in other public places.

Incidentally, all slot machines installed outside the casinos and outside the gaming halls are connected to a single monitoring system. It discreetly monitors information coming from all gaming machines in the country. On its basis, statistics are compiled: which machines the players prefer, how much they win, and what income the machine gives to the treasury.

The percentage of return to the player from such a machine has been legislated, which should be 78-92 percent. Just like in Australia, online gambling is strictly prohibited in New Zealand. New Zealand and Australian citizens are not allowed to organize it. Everything else is unregulated. If you make it through the blockades, play at your pleasure. 

Payment methods

The biggest problem for players – is in conditions of blockages to transfer money to the deposit of the selected online casino and withdraw winnings. The main payment methods for gambling in Australia are as follows:

• Visa and MasterCard – the most convenient, popular, and common method;
• UPayCard and Neosurf prepaid cards;
• payment system POLi – it is just an intermediary between client and bank which operates only in these two countries: if a player makes a deposit, he should select the bank’s website and make the payment through the bank profile
• BPay is a popular method that allows you to make small deposits of about A$5 and make small withdrawals;
• cryptocurrencies are accepted and withdrawn by almost all gambling operators.

Features of playing at online casinos

Online casinos on the Australian market don’t differ much from those on the global market. Unlike permitted legal online casinos in European countries, where there are requirements for limits for player disconnection, there is nothing of the sort here. If you like an online casino, register, and play. You can play a demo version, or you can play for money. But there’s an age restriction – you can only play from 18 years old. 

Here is a bit of statistics on Australians who are happily tinkering with their keyboards and smartphones in the hope of online casino jackpots:

• Every year, people’s spending on the online industry grows by 7.7% to 10%;
• The average gambler spends about $18 a week on gambling;
• 80% of the population play at least once a year, a figure we have already seen;
• 39% of adults regularly spend money on online gambling every month;
• The audience for online gambling is proportionate: 54.2% men and 46.8% women. 
• 64% of those surveyed stated that they are between 30 and 64 years old.

Online gambling is the fastest-growing gaming market in the kangaroo country. Its annual growth rate is 15%. And the mobile gambling market has quadrupled in the last six years. That’s a crazy number. Australians reckon mobile online gambling is about quality and convenience – so they select well-known, popular games from global publishers. At the same time, 57% of players choose online slots as their pastimes, and 26% choose online poker.

What is it about online casinos in Australia that attracts players so much more than a land-based casino or a night out at a real one-armed bandit or video slot? It’s a convenience, of course – good quality mobile applications allow you to play anywhere: in a café, on the street, at university, at home. You don’t have to go anywhere to try your luck. Online casino mobile apps are well adapted to the local area and offer a full range of payment tools, a wide range of games, and great bonuses.

Online casino bonuses 

Land-based casinos have virtually no chance of giving you any of the good bonuses that are available to play for free. Of course, land-based casinos in Australia have their chips designed to motivate players. These can be free drinks and free snacks, raffle draws with high-value prizes, and hotel room pay-per-view prizes. But there are no bonus games at land-based casinos.

At online casinos real money nz you can get minimum wagering bonuses for literally everything: for registering on the site, downloading a mobile app, for your first deposit, for your birthday, and for reaching a new level in the loyalty program. Of course, you’ll have to use social networks, news subscriptions, or online casino messenger channels such as Telegram to find out which bonus is better. But it’s worth it. 

All sorts of loyalty programs with cashback are actively offered. Not only does the player get bonuses when moving from one level to the next, but they also get increasing cashback on funds lost. This allows you to not get too upset about the losses and always have in the account even a minimum amount of money. 

Promo code bonuses are usually tracked by promotions. A lot of promotions are run in online casino messenger groups. You can catch even more bonuses there than by regularly checking the promotions news on the online casino website itself. This is the main and foremost reason why Australians choose online casinos for their daily entertainment. 

Online casino games

Just like the rest of the world, most players prefer online slots. They play licensed slots from well-known online casino software providers. A wide variety of games and the ability to play for free are not the only reasons for the popularity of virtual machines. 

The payout percentage of slot machines at online casinos is generally higher than that of land-based machines. If the land-based casino machines can operate with a return of 78%, the online casino from 90%, and most often offered slots with a return of over 95%. This is the policy of online slot manufacturers. They all use random number generators, which are tested regularly (once every six months).

Australians also play a few card games. Poker is considered one of the nation’s recreational activities. It’s no coincidence that Australia is home to the Asian Poker Tour. You can play poker in any nearby pub. Better still, play in an online poker tournament. Aussies are quick to evade blockades and bans and play competitively in the live poker sections of casino games or poker room tournaments.