Online poker in New Zealand currently exists as a legal pastime for players – but only if they’re willing to look outside of the country. The nation’s laws make it illegal for anyone inside the country to operate an online gambling site, but are careful not to prohibit players from participating on sites that are operated outside of New Zealand. This has led to online poker becoming quite popular in New Zealand, particularly with the relative dearth of live poker in the country. Below we can see the top rated poker sites for those who reside in New Zealand.

Best Poker Sites for New Zealand Players

Depositing to New Zealand Poker Sites

Because there are no laws that seek to outlaw online gambling (see the section below), it is simple to make deposits to online poker accounts. Virtually any method of payment you can think of will work, and you’ll rarely see a credit or debit card rejected when attempting to deposit.

Visa and MasterCard-branded credit or debit cards are a quick and convenient way to get money into an online poker account. You can also use most major e-wallet sites, including Neteller, Skrill (Moneybookers), and WebMoney. It is often possible to make deposits through a bank transfer as well. Finally, if you’d prefer to use cash to play, purchasing a prepaid voucher from a group such as Ukash is yet another viable alternative.

New Zealand Online Poker Laws

New Zealand’s online gambling laws are similar to those found in neighboring Australia. It is considered illegal for firms or individuals in New Zealand to operate online poker sites. However, playing on foreign online gambling sites (including poker rooms) is considered legal, and as such, most online poker rooms accept players from New Zealand. However, these rooms are not allowed to promote online gambling in New Zealand through advertising.

A recent case found that these laws did not prohibit websites from advertising the play money “.net” versions of their poker rooms, as the URLs for the sites were distinct, and the ads made it clear that these rooms were only for practice without any real money at stake. Interestingly, that same case determined that live poker tournament advertising (such as those for the Asia Pacific Poker Tour) was legal, as players were not “gambling” by winning and losing money on the outcome of poker hands, but rather pooling money together for a poker competition and then splitting the money between players based on where they finished in the contest. However, this ruling was reversed on appeal, and as such, the APPT cannot run advertisements on New Zealand television.

New Zealand Poker Taxation

New Zealand uses a two-tiered approach when it comes to taxing gambling winnings, including those earned through online poker or other internet gambling. For the vast majority of people, gambling winnings are not considered taxable income. However, there is an exception for professional gamblers who use gambling primarily as a way to produce income.

Note that the amount won isn’t the determining factor here. A casual poker player who wins a tournament isn’t expected to pay taxes, even if that win was for millions of dollars. On the other hand, a player who goes into a year expecting to play poker professionally is expected to pay taxes on their winnings.

Because it is difficult to distinguish between professional and amateur players, it appears that even most professional poker players in New Zealand rarely pay taxes on their winnings. However, the Inland Revenue Department has said they are aware of the situation, and it is possible that professional gamblers could come under more scrutiny in the future.

Live Poker in New Zealand

Interestingly, despite the rather liberal stance on online poker that has been taken by New Zealand, the amount of live poker available to players is rather limited. Most of the biggest action in New Zealand occurs at SKYCITY Auckland, which offers both Texas Hold’em and Omaha, and SKYCITY Queenstown, which has only hold’em games.

Both of these sites have been host to some major tournaments. The Asia Pacific Poker Tour has stopped in Auckland on three occasions, and Queenstown played host to an APPT event in 2011. These casinos are also frequently used as stops on the Australia and New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT), with Queenstown scheduled to host an event on the tour in July 2012.

Future Regulatory Outlook for Online Poker in New Zealand

It is unclear whether the New Zealand government has any real interest in regulating online poker or other forms of online gambling. While there has been some talk about increasing regulations pertaining to poker, this has mostly been in relation to live poker, where players are hoping that the government might license more cash games and tournaments with significant prize pools. Some believe this action would likely also have a desirable side effect – running the increasingly common illegal poker games in the country out of business.

However, when it comes to online poker, it appears that the status quo will stay in place for some time to come. With no serious push in either direction, it is highly unlikely that players will either face restrictions on their ability to play on foreign poker sites or see sites regulated by the New Zealand government any time soon.

Poker Room For New Zealanders – William Hill Poker

William Hill Poker (www.williamhill.com) is popular the world over, and as part of the largest online poker network, is extremely popular with players from New Zealand. With a terrific player base, a number of different games to choose from, and some of the best promotions in online poker, William Hill Poker has everything an online poker player could hope for; not to mention offering Kiwis a 100% deposit bonus up to a maximum of $600 that you can claim by following the link on this page.

William Hill Poker also makes it extremely easy for New Zealand online poker players to deposit and withdraw their funds from the site. New Zealanders can use a host of easy deposit methods at William Hill including: Visa or MasterCard, eChecks or a Cash Transfer to name a few.

Poker Room For New Zealanders – 888 Poker

888 Poker (www.888.com) has been in operation for a very long time and has built up a solid reputation in the world of online poker. The popular online poker room is known for its loose games and fishy players that wander into the poker room from the site’s sports-betting and online casino arms.

Another reason that it makes our list of the best New Zealand poker sites is the solid of 100% up to $800 deposit bonus they offer first-time players! You can cash in on this huge bonus by following the link we have provided on this page.

Online poker players from New Zealand will find 888 Poker’s deposit options very accommodating. In particular credit card poker deposits are favored by New Zealanders but 888 also offer many may more methods.

Poker Room For New Zealanders – Bet 365

Bet365 Poker (www.bet365.com) first appeared on the online poker scene around the year 2000, and was one of the first poker rooms to market specifically to New Zealand poker players. Much like Sportsbook Poker, Bet365 is known for very soft games since the site also operates a successful online sports-book, which brings a lot of hardcore gamblers to the Bet365 poker tables.

In addition to their numerous promotions and VIP rewards program, right now, first-time depositors from New Zealand will receive a 200% up to $1000 deposit bonus by following the link we have provided on this page.

When it comes to deposit options Bet365 offers players more choices than virtually any other online poker room, which makes it easy to deposit and withdraw from Bet365. The site accepts the following methods from New Zealanders: Visa, Mastercard, Maestro, Visa Electron, Laser, Cheque, Bank Wire, Moneybookers, MoneyTT, EntroPay, Click2Pay, Instadebit and Neteller.

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