Age Limits at NZ casinos

Age Restrictions at NZ Casinos

Players who are underage are not allowed to play at land-based or online casinos. Additionally, underage individuals are not allowed to participate in any sort of betting activity at any official establishment. These include race tracks, sports books, bingo rooms and more. These establishments are generally quite strict about the age restrictions. They could get into serious trouble if authorities find out and could even lose their gambling license. The age limit rules are therefore firmly enforced. Online casinos are equally firm with their age restrictions, and despite the impression that players are able to bend the rules. This is not the case at reputable online casinos. That said, unlike land-based betting establishments, online casinos can’t actually see the player or the person signing into an account. Online casinos do their best to prevent underage gambling, although it is the responsibility of adults to ensure that their casino account details are kept safe and out of the hands of children.

How old must you be to play at an online casino?

The legal age for online gambling at real money casinos depends on the jurisdiction in which the casino is registered. Since it is illegal for an online casino to operate in New Zealand, the law of the country your chosen casino is based will apply. Depending on where you are playing, the legal age of playing at an online casino is 18 years of age. Although in some cases, this age limit is extended to 21 years old. While online casinos cannot physically see the players who are logging in, it is illegal to play at an online casino if you are under age. Casinos do adopt various measures to ensure that no underage gambling takes place. The sign-up process is very thorough based on a player’s virtual identity.

While the casino does take responsibility to protect your personal information to an extent, it is the member’s responsibility to protect their log in and credit card details from getting into the wrong hands. This means that players should not leave things like passwords, credit card numbers and identify numbers lying around for anyone to access. You should log out of their profile whenever you end your playing session at a casino. Always make sure that you clear your history and do not allow your computer to save your password. This is to prevent unauthorised players logging in to your account.

Before joining an online casino, players are required to read the terms and conditions. This is of course to fully understand the rules of the casino. Players should also take it upon themselves to find out about the laws of your country before joining an online casino. All reputable online casinos will mention the age limit within the terms and conditions and throughout the casino, usually in the footer of the site as part of its terms of use. If an underage player does manage to sneak in and start playing, the casino has the right to deny any payout owed and may even permanently close the account. This means that you will not be allowed to re-join the casino with your details. While it is easy enough to change your email or contact details, casinos will require your identify number or passport number, which cannot be changed. Well established, respectable online casinos will have a zero-tolerance policy regarding underage gambling, although there are some operators in the darker corners of the web who are willing to turn a blind eye. If this is the case, you are playing at the wrong casino and our advice would be to move onto a more reputable platform that actually respects the laws of the country and the wellbeing of its players.

Another point to note is that many online casinos allow free casino games. This means that not money is being exchanged. In this case, it might not technically be against the law for underage players to play at online casinos. That said, no online casino offers free games alone and will have a real money option. Because of this, casinos will strictly follow the age limit and prevent underage players from accessing the site. Free games are designed to attract potential depositing players. Online casinos operated under the assumption that free game players will be converted into real money players soon. That said, it does not benefit the casino in any way to offer free games to underage players.

Gambling is an activity meant for adults and not children. As much as online casinos impose strict rules regarding underage gambling, it is up to the players to ensure all the rules and laws are followed. That wanting to play illegally must understand that they are doing so at their own risk and must suffer whatever consequences may follow. This can include losing large amounts of money. It is therefore better to be safe than sorry and stay away from (online) gambling when you are underage.