Casino Planet

Casino Planet New Zealand Review (2023)

When Aotearoa New Zealand had been grappling with the pandemic lockdown in 2020, Casino Planet had come to the rescue of people not only here but in Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Finland, India, Norway, Sweden, and the United States. The online casino operator is part of the Genesis Global Limited Casinos stable of iGaming platforms. It runs in partnership with Casino Gods, Casoola, and Kassu. The other stablemate brands include Casino Cruise, Casino Dome, Casino Joy, and Spela.

“Our 12th brand is full of colour, advanced technology, and action,” Genesis Global Ltd CEO Ariel Reem had told iGaming industry hub Sigma Group, soon after the launching of Casino Planet in May. “Besides improving our players’ experience, we take our already strong portfolio further as we introduce new features to the casino, including full personalisation and an immersive experience.”

Despite a futuristic look to its website, Casino Planet’s fluorescent, teal-coloured theme has a minimalist feel about it in terms of outlining all the bells and whistles. The website doesn’t offer much to New Zealand gamblers in the way of individual game RTPs. However, its enticing bonuses and promotions, as well as a rolling winners’ list, will make New Zealanders want to dive in.

Casino Planet’s website creates an aura of a throbbing city where the neon lights illuminate the way for New Zealand players to navigate their way through districts that never sleep. Who needs sunlight, right?

Range of Games

Casino Planet NZ boasts having more than 1,300 games geared towards desktop devices on its virtual playground. More than 500 of them can be played on a mobile phone. They include pokies, “hot games”, jackpots, casino games, and live casino fare. Kiwi gamblers will be delighted to know that Casino Planet offers a selection of free games, so they can have a feel for them before making a commitment to wager with real money.

Pokies and jackpots

Simply hover over a thumbnail of a slots or jackpot game to see if you want to “play” or “try” it in Casino Planet’s pokies paradise. The online casino operator offers an exhausting catalogue of games from the popular ones, such as Gonzo’s Quest to Immortal Romance, as well as some of the random numbers, including the Beast Mode and Razor Shark. Casino Planet also offers games with box-office hit themes, such as Jurassic Park and Game of Thrones Power Stack.

New games include Coin Field, Mahjong Jinpai, and Monkey Pop. A click on the “trending now” button on the horizontal search bar displays the likes of Aztec Falls, Extra Juicy Megaways, Pushy Cats, and Warp Wreckers.

Card/table games

Click on the “casino games” to access baccarat, blackjack, roulette, and “other games”. The “other games” leads the Casino Planet charge with 78 thumbnails waiting to whet the appetite of even the fussiest player. Roulette is the runner-up with 43 games. Blackjack chimes in with 37, while baccarat rounds it off with 19 appetisers. Kiwi gamblers will be hard pushed to admit they won’t be able to find something that will give them a change of beat and scenery, when they want a break from pokies.

The “other games” category offers poker variations, a rash of scratch games, instant bingos, Keno, and Sic Bo. Auto Roulette, Dealers Club Roulette, European Roulette Small Bets, and Real Christmas Roulette catch the eye.

Sports-themed baccarat will capture the imagination of New Zealand gamblers with offerings that include Cricket War, Football Studio, and Match Day 2.

Live-dealer games

Welcome to the virtual reality room to not only find dealers and croupiers who will spoil you rotten, but Kiwi gamblers will be able to engage with fellow players around the table. Casino Planet’s iGaming lounge opens its live-casino doors to 47 blackjack versions. They offer such titles as Blackjack Silver 7, Exclusive Blackjack Green Diamond, and Unlimited Blackjack Autosplit Live. What New Zealanders must note here is that none of the games in this category offer a “try” version. Our sobering advice is to become well versed with the strategies, especially if you’re a newbie.

The “other games” category lays out a menu of 28, including Craps Live, Deal or No Deal Live, and Live Poker Lobby. Again, you cannot try these games.

Live-dealer roulette offers 24 games but there are no free plays on the table. They include favourites such as the Double Ball Roulette and Immersive Roulette, as well as the exotic variations of Deutsches Roulette (German), and Svensk Roulette (Sweden).

The 21 baccarat games, in keeping with the theme of no free plays, will excite the Asian immigrant gamblers in New Zealand. The library catalogue offers Andar Bahar Live, Bac Bo, and Golden Wealth Baccarat Live, among other games.

Payout Percentage

The Casino Planet NZ’s overall payout percentage hovers around the 96% to 98% mark. As referred to earlier, the online operator doesn’t have any links on its landing page or the murky, navy blue tail end where a cluster of logos live. The payout percentage range is within the comfortable cut-off mark of many reputable online casino operators. This is where the Kiwi gamblers need to do their homework in light of an attractive four-tiered $NZ1,500 welcome bonus, plus 200 free spins on the 100%-matched first deposit of $NZ300.

However, the Casino Planet website doesn’t offer any details like marquee online providers in the New Zealand cyberspace. Kiwi players are advised to read the terms & conditions that they can easily miss unless they’re reading the “Bonus” section on the right-hand side of the promotional page. What we can tell Kiwi gamblers is that 20 free spins are awarded on entering the iGaming lounge and the remaining 20 each are spread over nine days, on the Book of Dead. It pays to know that bonus codes (listed on the landing page as WCP2, WCP3, and WCP4) are required to redeem the remaining three deposits, albeit on account of lower percentages of 50% and 25% match-ups, respectively.

To fully understand payout percentage, New Zealand players need to comprehend what return to player (RTP) is. RTP is the result of comparing the money paid out from wins against the sum of cash wagered at any given online casino. At Casino Planet, for example, an average RTP of 97% comes with the understanding that for every $NZ100 a Kiwi gambler wagers, the online casino will have to fork out $NZ97 in winnings. However, it’s vital to note that this is in theory a six-figure number of gamblers wagering over an extended time, rather than some perceived sense of religious returns on spontaneous individual bets.

That also brings into play the Casino Planet’s 40x wagering requirements. Also referred to as the playthrough, New Zealand gamblers have to meet the requirements before they can withdraw any winnings. Casino Planet’s wagering requirements rate isn’t excessive when compared to those of rival online casino operators whose playthrough can be anywhere from 50x to 70x.

The maximum amount a player can withdraw from bonus money, once all wagering requirements have been met, is $NZ2,000. Read the details in the “Deposit” section of how casino bonus monies are exempt from certain software providers’ platforms, such as Push Gaming or Real Dealer Studio, as well as a cluster of pokies listed on the website. Some pokies, such as Big Bad Wolf, Hot Ink, and Supernova, only make leeway for a contribution of only 20% towards the wagering requirements.

Here is a template of the playthrough percentages Kiwi players can expect from different types of Casino Planet games:

• Classic pokies: 75%
• Blackjack games: 5%
• Table games: 10%
• Video pokies and other titles: 100%

New Zealand gamblers must note that a minimum $NZ10 deposit is required and a maxim of $NZ5,000 a day can be placed in one’s account.

Pokies and video pokies are capped at $NZ5 a wager, while all other games carry a cap of $NZ30 a bet.

Software Manufacturers

When it comes to investing in the digital wizardry of iGaming providers, Casino Plant doesn’t take short cuts. Its website offers a “game providers” button that starts off with a Play’n GO selection along the horizontal search bar. Rick Wilde’s Book of Dead, Def Leppard Hysteria, and Wild Hound Derby offer a snapshot of some of its offerings.

The world-class Evolution Gaming needs no introduction in providing live-casino fare for Kiwi gamblers. NetEnt and Skywind have the jump on pokies king Microgaming in the viewing order. Whether New Zealand players should read too much into that is open to debate, but the former two gaming manufacturers provide more fruit and animated wildlife-themed variations. No points for guessing that Microgaming has all the heavyweights in the mould of films and TV shows. It’ll please Kiwi gamblers that Casino Planet isn’t afraid to mix it up with its software merchants to pave the way for them to realise the ultimate gaming experience.

The other studios that help create Casino Planet’s matrix of iGaming material are iSoftBet, QuickSpin, Red Tiger Gaming, Wazdan, Yggdrasil, Push Gaming, GAMOMAT, Ezugi, 1x2 Network, and Gamevy. That range of game providers is a reflection of Casino Planet’s commitment to providing a quality iGaming lounge on a contemporary virtual playground that is competing against long-established rivals.

One software provider, Pragmatic Play, deserves a special mention, even though it’s not listed with others along the Casino Planet’s horizontal search bar. Pragmatic Play provides the pokies Drops & Wins Tournament. It’s pertaining to the leader board where every Kiwi gambler is guaranteed a portion of the total pool prize. The catch, of course, is that only Pragmatic Play games qualify for the Drops & Wins Tournament. A slice of the weekly prize is in the vicinity of a whopping $NZ125,000. The Kiwis who find themselves in the pole position will pocket a lion’s share, while the other placegetters will divide the spoils on account of a diminishing pecking order. A minimum $NZ5 wager is required.

Loyalty Programme

To glow in Casino Planet’s neon city, the online casino operator assures New Zealanders that it has a VIP Villa that houses a dedicated team of industry-savvy individuals who will cater to you on an around-the-clock routine to ensure deserving Kiwis will collect a rich VIP tan. However, the website then asks the Kiwi gamblers to “light me up”. That is a blunt request to plug into Casino Planet’s energy powerpoint. New Zealand gamblers can only flick on that switch by registering.

What we can do is list from the Casino Planet website some of the perks can play on its virtual playground:

• Account manager
• Bonuses and promotions
• Exclusive holiday packages
• Monthly VIP prize draw
• Personalised birthday presents
• Personalised emails
• Personal withdrawal plan
• Rapid response times

Mobile site/Apps

We always give credit where it’s due. Casino Planet’s mobile platform is up there with the best. It is designed to suit multiple types of portable devices. That means New Zealand gamblers can cut to the chase to access the online operator’s platform via the browser of their digital gadgets.

Casino Planet doesn’t provide for a manual, native, downloadable APK-type of app. Kiwi gamblers can play on its platform with the help of desktops, tablets, and mobile phones. That is, Android, iOS, and Windows users should all be in for a digital treat.

Regulation & security

The Malta Gaming Authority, and the British Gambling Commission have issued licences to Casino Planet to ply its trade in the New Zealand cyberspace. That should allay any fears Kiwi players may harbour about the online operator’s transparency and accountability.

Casino Planet spares no investment in protecting its Kiwi customers. It subscribes to the security of some of the safest encryption technology out there in the online gambling industry. Independent thirty-party agencies, such as eCOGRA, TST (Technical Systems Testing), and GLI (Gaming Laboratories International), to audit its extensive library of games. The high-calibre trio monitor the random game generators (RNGs) to remove any doubts about the online operator’s fairness when opening its iGaming doors to New Zealanders.

Customer Support

It’s not obvious when New Zealand gamblers touch down on Casino Planet’s landing page, but it has a live-chat service. Unfortunately, it’s only available to those who register. A phone service is provided but it’s not a toll-free one. However, don’t despair as there are other forms of around-the-clock methods of seeking help from the online operator’s dedicated and knowledgeable support crew:

• Contact form: Drop down window offers several options, plus “other queries”, that works like FAQs.
• Emails: support@casinoplanet.com or complaints@casinoplanet.com
• Live chat: Only for those who register.
• Phone: +35627782826

Payment Methods

The array of payment-method providers on the Casino Planet website is an indication of why it doesn’t muck around. They include bank transfers, debit/credit cards as well as a range of e-Wallets and prepaid cards. The online casino accepts kiwi dollars, so that means New Zealanders will save money on currency exchange rates from the payment providers.

New Zealand gamblers prefer to make instant deposits via:

• ApplePay
• ecoPayz
• eZeeWallet
• MasterCard
• Maestro
• MuchBetter
• Neosurf
• Visa
• Visa Electron

It’ll excite Kiwis to see the PayPal logo, nestled among the others, at the bottom of the landing page but not on the casino’s list. However, we advise New Zealanders to read the welcome offer “deposit” clauses on the right flank. It’s enlightening to know that deposits made through ecoPayz, Neteller, Paysafe, and PayPal are not eligible for the new-player Welcome Bonus that Casino Planet offers.

Furthermore, click on the arrow of the payment provider to become familiar with intricate details. The diligent Kiwis should visit terms & conditions to learn how they can incur fees on deposits through inactivity. Casino Planet reserves the right to retrieve its costs.

As for withdrawals, all e-Wallets pay out instantly whereas credit card is between 1-3 business days, once a withdrawal is approved. The online bank transfer can take 3-5 working days. Here’s what Kiwis prefer when it comes to opting for withdrawal methods on the Casino Planet platform:

• ApplePay
• Bank transfer (online)
• ecoPayz
• MasterCard
• Neteller
• Visa

A minimum $NZ10 kicks in and a ceiling of $NZ2,300 is required for each transaction to be processed. You can withdraw no more than $NZ5,000 a week, or $NZ22,000 a month, “for your protection”. More importantly, withdrawals incur fees. Where the deposit/withdrawal payment methods don’t marry, a $NZ10 fee will be levied, on top of a 2% processing fee. In other words, ensure you use the same form of payment to minimise the cost of withdrawals. Read the terms & conditions thoroughly.