No Matter Your Desire, Online Pokies Have It All

When it comes to online gaming, the possibilities are virtually endless. There are thousands of online pokies that you can play, but how to find the best one? Playing online pokies can be an exhilarating experience, and for anyone who enjoys playing the slots or poker knows this. What is even better is that you can do it all from the comfort of your own home. Discover the possibilities in online gaming and find the best online pokies around.

Find free online pokies if you like, as with these there is no need to open an account to access them. You can enjoy the fun of playing your favorite games, without risking any of your hard-earned money. You can also learn new games and you do not have to worry about losing any money in the process. However, if you are interested in opening an account and wagering for real, you might enjoy the progressive jackpot slots, which can make you a lot of money if you get lucky at the right time. Many online casinos offer their new players a bonus on their first deposit, often 100% and sometimes even more. With reloading bonuses, deposit bonuses and bonus codes, you can play for real, but without using a lot of your own money. Play on the house for a while, with information on how to get the most bang for your buck.

Online pokies also offer the feeling of being treated like a high roller is treated at a traditional casino. With online casinos, you are not just another player ready to donate to the house, but a real person that deserves respect. With loyalty programs and rewards programs, online casinos cannot be beat. Discover the thrill of winning on your favorite slots. With popular games like Isis, Tomb Raider, Hell Boy, Wheel of Wealth and so many more, you can play your favorites or discover new ones. In addition to all this gaming fun, online casinos often offer slot tournaments with guaranteed payouts. Many of these tournaments are free rolls, which means you can join in the fun for free. They are generally played on one or two different games, and sometimes there is an entry fee to play. The tournaments that require an entry fee often pay out much higher amounts to the winners than in the free rolls.

Online pokies are not limited to slots however. If you are a poker player or enjoy the wide variety of table games offered in traditional casinos, you can play those games as well. With popular games such as blackjack, three card poker, Texas hold 'em and many others, you are sure to have a great time at an online casino. If that is not enough action, you can also find online pokies that offer bingo, race books and sports books. Similar to the online slot games, many of these offer bonuses and loyalty programs as well. You will not find that in a brick and mortar casino. No matter what your gaming need or want, online casinos have it in spades.

For all of your gaming pleasures, check out the variety that online pokies offer.

Laws Regulating Pokies in New Zealand

Laws and legislations can be very convoluted and difficult to understand, and gambling laws are some of the worst. New Zealand has its own set of gambling laws that regulate the operation of all forms of gambling including poker machines (also known as 'pokies') and slot machines. They also take a bit of deciphering to understand, so we've taken the liberty of decoding them.

Currently, all forms of gambling in New Zealand are covered under the Racing Act 2003 and the Gambling Act 2003. The regulation of slots and poker machines falls under the Gambling Act. According to this set of rules, players may take part in playing electronic gaming machines as long as they are permitted by the Gambling Act.

While not all forms of gambling require operators to have licenses, poker machines do. They fall under Category 4 of the Gambling Act: high risk gambling. This type of gambling is only permitted by corporate societies and may not take place unless it is raising money for community causes and not-for-profit organizations. Any venue that houses gaming machines and any operator that manufactures them must be regulated by the Department of Internal Affairs.

The Gambling Act also places limits on spending and payouts, as players cannot wager more than $2.50 on a single spin and the maximum prize for a single spin may not be more than $500. Additionally, the prize for a spin on any linked progressive game cannot exceed $1000. However, this type of limitation does apply to online slots, as the government is still considering its online gambling laws.

Slots can also only be placed in a select few venues, including bars, restaurants, hotels and casinos. They may not be hosted by sports stadiums, offices, private residences, fairs, fast food outlets or museums. It is also prohibited to have an automatic teller in the direct vicinity of poker machines.

A rather new initiative requires poker machines and other electronic gaming machines to inform players about their experience. In 2005, operators were required to post information on their machines: the odds of winning, the average payout and both the maximum and minimum spend rate of each player. Additionally, the machines also inform players about how long they have been playing, as well as how much money they have spent, lost and won over that course of time.

All of these laws have been put into effect in order to protect players from developing unhealthy gambling habits. As it stands, the New Zealand government has yet to come up with similar laws for online slots and other online casino games, but the drafting of such a legislation is not far off. Many countries around the world have passed online gambling laws which regulate the activity and New Zealand lawmakers are considering doing the same.

- Jessica Brinn, expert on gaming in New Zealand