Among casinos with time-tested reliability, 888 Casino is a top choice. It has been around since 1997, employs up to 1000 workers across the globe and is licensed by two prestigious regulatory authorities: Gibraltar and UK Gambling Commission. Surprisingly, they have around 380 pokies as of writing, which many would consider to be a scarce number for a long-established and popular casino like this. But the point is that 888 Casino handpicks pokies carefully instead of publishing whatever turns up. What’s more, the Holding that owns the online casino has established a software development division that releases fairly good pokies under the brand of Section 8 and these proprietary pokies are on offer in 888 Casino.
For many years in business, 888 Casino has been rewarded with numerous industry accolades that serve as another strong argument of why NZ users should sign up and play there. The awards for excellence include EGR Best Operator 2013, Best Digital Operator 2014, and others. Players can be assured the online casino is completely safe and fair, which is manifested by numerous socially relevant awards. For example, 888 Casino is proud to have been winning EGR awards for 8 years in a row. If players need help, they can contact the casino by phone or dropping a line by email at any time.
Banking options in 888 Casino
All transactions in the casino are safe all the way as it employs the most stringent security and safety measures, which is confirmed by independent audits. Players residing in New Zealand can use bank transfer, PayPal, Visa and MasterCard debit/credit cards, Discover and online banking transfer. Complete guidelines on how to make payments are provided in the FAQ sections. The min deposit limit for all methods is $10. No bitcoins can be used for depositing, as of writing the review.
When on the banking page, a player should select a withdrawal method, keeping in mind that it must be the same as used for depositing (cards, bank transfer or other). There is also the minimum withdrawal limit of $10 for bank transfer and $20 for PayPal. It is worth repeating that bitcoins are not cashed out. The maximum limit is envisaged at the level of $30,000 per month. Bank transfers and PayPal stay pending for 2 and 3 days, accordingly.
In-house pokie development studio
888 Casino is an exclusive place where Section 8 pokies can be found – this is because they are designed by the in-house division. The implication is that NZ users who have registered with the online casino will have access to a handful of one-of-a-kind games, which are published exclusively in 888. Their pokies are rather basic, for example, a 25-line Bella Italia has a scatter, a 15-free-spin round and a wild symbol. The max win is 9000 coins for five wilds.
Another pokie, Oktoberfest, has respins activated after a no-win round, Expanding Wilds, a second-screen feature and a random local progressive. As for jackpots, some games have more than one, for example, Valentine’s Victory, an appetizing pokie with cookies and candies as symbols, has Cupid’s Jackpot and Valentine’s Jackpot, both won at random. Generally, pokies designed by Section 8 are allegedly above average in terms of overall quality, attractiveness and features. Recommended to NZ users!
888 mobile casino
As one could expect from such a serious operator, the online casino provides a good selection of pokies. There are some 60 games from NetEnt, 20 pokies from WMS and around 20 video and classic pokies from the rest of the providers. Most 888 Originals (in-house pokies) are also compatible with mobile operating systems. Devices that run on Android or iOS show perfect performance when playing at 888. Other mobile OS’s, like Blackberry and Windows Phone, are not supported.
NetEnt and WMS pokies in 888 Casino
As is said above, the casino has a carefully picked selection of games. It is not extensive but includes very good titles from a few companies. The bulk of pokies comes from their in-house division, reviewed above, Net Entertainment and WMS. There are also just a handful of pokies from other providers, like Cryptologic, Barcrest, NextGen and Playtech.
NetEnt’s pokies in 888 Casino number around 80 titles. When picking the collection, preference was given to the most feature-packed games that have many bonuses, special symbols and flexible bet options. For example, a genie-themed Wish Master, which is available in the online casino, has a whole lot of bonus features such as Extra Wild, Wild Reel, Expanding Wild, Multiplier and Random Wild. Fans of sci-fi themes should take a look at Space Wars that features waggish aliens, Stacked Wild, Respins and the maximum bet size of $200 per spin. And do not forget about Gonzo’s Quest, which has long become an iconic classic pokie with millions of plays all over the world.
WMS is another groundbreaking provider that has a limited geographical coverage, with New Zealand being an accepted country. They released over a hundred fantastic pokies that provide incredible experience. 888 Casino visitors are strongly recommended to try Bier Haus, a 5×4 pokie that takes players to Oktoberfest. It has stacked symbols, wilds, a massively generous bonus feature and up to 80 free spins that can be won on one round. Its bet size spans from $0.40 to $40 per spin. NZ players will also find interesting The Wizard of Oz, loosely based on the same-name classic film. Playing at max, one can grab $50,000 when hitting 5 Jackpot symbols. The pokie has a multi-leveled bonus feature where a player, Dorothy and her companions will travel down the yellow brick road and win exciting cash prizes.
Overall, the collection of pokies in the online casino is very good as it seems to put quality before quantity. Instead of packing its pages with hundreds of mediocre pokies, 888 Casino focuses on top, new and popular games only.
Variety of table games in 888 Casino
Players can choose from five blackjack tables, available anytime. These include two classic blackjack tables (bet ranges are $1 to $1000 and $1 to $3000), Multihand Blackjack with a Perfect Pair side bet ($1 to $1000), Blackjack Blazing 7s ($0.1 to $100) and Atlantic City Blackjack ($25 to $1000).
Roulette also comes in five tables of all major varieties: European, American and French. There are three possible bet ranges: $1–$1000, $0.1–$200 and $1–$2000. Baccarat is represented with one punto banco table only, which allows for bets of $0.5 to $500 per round.
Authentic live dealer casino from Evolution
The fairly small collection of pokies is greatly offset by a huge number of live games developed by Evolution. Most games show the branded 888 logo at the background, on tables or at other places. Players of New Zealand will enjoy over 10 roulette variants with different bet sizes (the minimum is usually $1 or $2, while the maximum reaches $40,000). All roulette tables run by live dealers are supported by mobile devices.
The collection of blackjack is also very impressive as Evolution has brought to 888 over 12 tables such as Blackjack Party (min bet $0.50 / max bet $1000), Diamond VIP Blackjack for high rollers (min $2000 / max $10,000), 888 Plus Blackjack (min $10 / max $5000) and many other interesting variants.
Bonus program in 888 Casino
Promotions in 888 cater well to all categories of players. The very first bonus that every user receives on registration is a $20 free chip (no deposit needed) with a low playthrough of x30. Next comes a $2000 welcome pack that covers two deposits, each bearing the x30 WR.
There are daily deals that unlock a new bonus with each day of the week. As an example, 10% Monday Cashback, a 100$ Tuesday free chip wagerable on roulette, blackjack and classic pokies, and 10% Wednesday cashback up to $20. Besides, legal NZ users earn comp points for real-money wagering and exchange them into real currency.
All in all, the online casino offers over 20 bonuses, most of which run permanently. Some promotions are organized for limited time and they tend to have very friendly playthrough percentage and generous bonus amounts.