Every casino we recommend has been tested with real money using New Zealand payment methods. Here's exactly what we check — and how we score it.
Most online casino review sites award ratings based on marketing materials, not real play. They copy bonus terms from press releases, list payment methods without verifying them with NZ accounts, and publish reviews for casinos they've never deposited into. Our approach is different: we only publish ratings after completing our full testing process with real NZD deposits from New Zealand bank accounts and payment methods.
New Zealand players face specific challenges that generic review sites miss: NZ bank blocking of casino card transactions, POLi deposit compatibility, NZD currency acceptance without conversion fees, and customer support that understands NZ-specific issues. Our team tests every casino specifically for these factors.
Publishing our methodology publicly also serves as an accountability mechanism. If our process changes, we document it. If a casino changes its terms after review, we note when and why our rating was updated.
Before any testing begins, we verify the casino's licence with the issuing regulator. For MGA licences, we check the Malta Gaming Authority public register. For Kahnawake licences, we check the Kahnawake Gaming Commission register. For Curaçao licences, we verify through eGaming Curaçao's master licence list.
Casinos with lapsed, suspended, or unverifiable licences are immediately disqualified — we do not review unlicensed operators.
We make a minimum deposit using a New Zealand payment method — POLi bank transfer, Visa/Mastercard debit card issued by an NZ bank, or Skrill funded from an NZ account. We never use complimentary credit or casino-provided test accounts. The test deposit is our own money.
We record: deposit processing time, whether NZD is accepted without conversion, minimum deposit amount, and any deposit fees. If the minimum deposit is above $10, we note this as it limits accessibility for budget players.
We assess the casino on both desktop (Chrome, Safari) and mobile (iOS Safari, Android Chrome). We check lobby navigation, game filtering, banking page accessibility, and customer support access from mobile. Casinos that are difficult to use on a smartphone are noted in our review — a significant portion of NZ casino players use mobile exclusively.
We also check page load times, whether registration is simple, and whether the cashier flow is intuitive for a first-time depositor.
We claim the welcome bonus through the same link we share with readers. We verify the bonus credits correctly, check that the nominated slot or game is available, and record the exact wagering requirement from the account's bonus terms page — not the marketing page, which is sometimes different.
We play through at minimum 25% of the wagering requirement and project the full clearance time. We note whether slot contributions are 100%, whether table games count, and what happens when the bonus expires before wagering completes.
We request a real withdrawal and measure time from request to funds received in our NZ account. We note whether identity verification (KYC) is required before the first withdrawal, how long KYC processing takes, and whether the casino contacts us proactively or waits for us to chase.
We test at least one withdrawal per casino per review cycle. Casinos with withdrawal reversal periods (where they try to encourage you to keep the money and play) have this noted explicitly in their review.
We contact support with a standard set of five questions covering: bonus terms, withdrawal limits, POLi deposit availability, responsible gambling tools, and how to close an account. We evaluate response time, accuracy of answers, and whether the agent appears to be reading from a script or engaging with our specific questions.
We test at least two support channels (live chat and email) per casino. Casinos that push hard sales during support interactions have this noted in their review.
Each casino receives a score out of 5 based on weighted categories. Our weighting prioritises the factors that matter most to NZ players with small budgets.
A casino must score at least 3.5/5 to appear on Hay Baleman. Casinos that pass licence verification but score below this threshold are excluded from our recommendations until they improve. We maintain a private list of casinos we've tested but do not recommend — contact us if you want to check whether a specific casino has been assessed.
Our reviews are written by the same people who do the testing. We don't outsource casino testing to third parties or pay per-review contributors.
Responsible for bonus testing methodology, wagering requirement analysis, and primary NZ-market content. Has personally tested over 60 online casinos with real NZD deposits since 2021. Certified in Responsible Gambling awareness by the NZ Problem Gambling Foundation.
Handles all table game RTP analysis, live dealer evaluation, and strategic content. Mathematics background with statistical modelling applied to casino game testing. Conducts all blackjack and roulette session testing for Hay Baleman.
Manages slot game database, tracks software provider updates, and analyses volatility profiles across the NZ-accessible game libraries. Tests new slots on their release day at each recommended casino to ensure availability claims are accurate.
We assess each casino's security posture as part of our review process. This goes beyond checking the licence number — we evaluate the practical safety of player funds and data.
| Security Check | What We Verify | How |
|---|---|---|
| SSL Certificate | 256-bit encryption on all pages including cashier | Browser certificate inspection + SSL Labs report |
| Licence Currency | Licence is current and not suspended | Direct check on regulator's public register |
| RNG Certification | Games certified by eCOGRA, GLI, or iTech Labs | Certification logos + verification via certifier's website |
| Responsible Gambling Tools | Deposit limits, self-exclusion, reality checks available | Account settings inspection |
| KYC Process | Identity verification before first withdrawal | Actual withdrawal request and documentation review |
| Terms Clarity | Bonus terms, wagering requirements clearly stated | Full terms read and compared to marketing claims |
We test every payment method we list as available. A payment method is only included in our review if we have successfully deposited using it with an NZ account. We do not list payment methods that appear in the casino's banking page but return errors during actual use from New Zealand.
| Method | Deposit Test | Withdrawal Test | NZ Account Required |
|---|---|---|---|
| POLi | Tested | N/A (deposit only) | Yes — NZ bank account |
| Visa/Mastercard Debit | Tested | Tested | Yes — NZ-issued card |
| Skrill | Tested | Tested | Funded from NZ account |
| Neteller | Tested | Tested | Funded from NZ account |
| Bitcoin | Tested | Tested | NZ exchange (Swyftx/Easy Crypto) |
| Neosurf | Tested | N/A (deposit only) | Purchased at NZ retail locations |
We contact every casino's customer support with a standardised set of five questions. The same questions are asked at every casino so results are comparable:
We record the time to first response, whether all questions were answered correctly in the first reply, and the overall quality of interaction. Casinos that deflect the account closure question or push sales during support contact have this noted in their review as a significant negative.
Hay Baleman earns affiliate commissions when readers register at casinos through our links. The commission is paid by the casino and does not affect the price or terms you receive. Our ratings are based entirely on testing results — not commission rates. We have removed casinos from our recommendations when their service quality declined, even when doing so reduced our commission income.
Casino quality and terms change constantly. Bonus offers change. Payment methods are added and removed. Withdrawal speeds fluctuate. Licences expire. We re-test all active casino recommendations on a quarterly cycle to ensure our ratings remain accurate.
If we detect a significant change to a casino's terms, ownership, or quality between quarterly cycles, we update immediately. The "last updated" date on each casino review page reflects the date of the most recent re-test, not the original publication date.
Our internal testing is the primary basis for ratings, but we also monitor player feedback from third-party sources to identify trends that our testing may not capture. We regularly check:
A casino with strong testing results but consistently poor player feedback is investigated further before we maintain or improve its rating. We have downgraded ratings based on an emerging pattern of player complaints even when our own test sessions were satisfactory.
If you've had a notably positive or negative experience with a casino we recommend, contact us. Player feedback directly informs our quarterly re-testing priorities.