The Pokies casino review

I was impressed with the fact I could pick up NZ$10 in bonus cash, just for verifying my phone number. Many casinos make you jump through hoops to get bonus cash, so this was a very welcome offer to receive. 

Unfortunately, the wagering requirements of 40x make it extremely hard to convert your bonus into withdrawable cash. Many other casinos, including Leo Vegas (20x), have lower wagering requirements, so this is an area where The Pokies could improve. 

These high wagering requirements also apply to other bonuses at The Pokies. So whilst you may see plenty of free play offers and deposit bonuses to claim, it is difficult to complete the promos and walk away with a profit. 

The VIP program at The Pokies is a big positive for the brand. The sheer fact that they have a VIP scheme immediately puts them above the likes of Bet365, but more importantly The Pokies VIP program is a very generous one. 

Unlike the other bonus offers at The Pokies, the VIP rewards are free from any wagering requirements, so any winnings from them are immediately yours to keep. This really makes The Pokies VIP program stand out from the crowd. 

I was hugely impressed by the quantity of games at The Pokies. The likes of Casumo (3,000 games) may have bigger game libraries, but having over 4,000 titles to choose from means you will never go short of pokies to play. 

Better yet, the quality of these games is consistently high. Seeing renowned developers such as Pragmatic Play and QuickSpin at the site, means that you can always be assured of a high quality gaming experience. 

One area where The Pokies could improve is in its live casino. Many other brands (including King Billy) have much larger live sections, so hopefully this is something The Pokies can address in the future. 

Overall, this is a strong area for The Pokies. It would be nice to have seen a few more live games, but the 3,500+ pokies more than make up for that and helps to make this a truly outstanding game collection. 

Let’s start with the positives. The payment platform at The Pokies is extremely easy to use, so it will never take you long to make a deposit or request a withdrawal. 

The list of accepted payment options is also perfectly satisfactory. However, it does lag behind some other brands (for example, 888 Casino), as you cannot make ewallet transfers using methods such as Skrill and Neteller. 

Many casino brands, such as SpinYoo, allow you to make deposits for as little as NZ$10, so I found the minimum deposit amount of $30 at The Pokies very disappointing. 

Similarly, the 7 day wait for withdrawals to be processed is a big negative for The Pokies. The best online casinos process withdrawals within 2-3 working days, so The Pokies fall below the industry standard in this department. 

Overall, I was somewhat underwhelmed by the payment options at ThePokies. The list of available methods is satisfactory, but slightly underwhelming, whilst the processing times and minimum deposit amounts are big negatives.

First things first, The Pokies is a fully legitimate online casino that is licensed to operate in New Zealand. So regardless of anything else, you can be assured of a safe and fair online gambling experience at The Pokies. 

I was also pleased to see a web page dedicated to the brand’s privacy policy. Having this in place is great for player confidence and puts pokies on par with leading brands such as Playzee. 

I was unable to find any responsible gambling tools on The Pokies website. There are a couple of paragraphs on the FAQ page relating to responsible gaming, but this is a very small section and does not adequately cover the topic. 

Overall, this is another slightly below par area for The Pokies. Yes, the brand is fully licensed, but I would have liked to have seen some responsible gambling information on the site, plus links to helplines and other responsible gaming services. 

Let’s start with the main positive in this section. The FAQs at The Pokies are very well-written and cover the majority of issues you are likely to encounter at the site. 

I would like to se a search option in the FAQs, but if you scroll down the page you should be able to locate the answer you are looking for which is better than the poor showing of SlotMafia. 

However, not being able to locate any telephone, email or live chat support is a huge problem for The Pokies. The FAQs mention live chat and email services, but there were no links or popups on the site. 

So until The Pokies address this very important failing, it is impossible to give them a high score in this section. This is especially the case when sites like Casumo do this so well. 
Yes, the FAQs are good, but players also need good quality support services when they encounter issues. 

It’s fair to say that The Pokies are not going to win any awards for website aesthetics. But whilst the site is fairly bland visually, it is very easy to locate the games you wish to play. 

In addition, making payment requests is also very straightforward and takes no longer than a few seconds, whilst viewing your VIP progress can also be done at the touch of a button. 

The lack of a mobile app is a minor negative, but the mobile compatible website does a good job of making up for this. It is slick, user friendly though operating with slow load times. 

A larger issue is that the website does not have a dedicated promotions page. Seeing all of a brand’s available offers in one place is essential in my opinion, so The Pokies are missing a trick by not having this page. 

Overall, I would like to see more features on The Pokies website. The main areas are present and correct, but with a little bit more attention to detail, this could become a casino site to rival the likes of Bet365.