We read about them, we see them in the movies and on TV, we even follow them on social media. But for most of us, that’s as near as we get to being a celebrity, let alone having their spending power.
And it’s not just a distant reality, it’s an all-but-impossible one to attain except for a tiny minority of the world’s population, especially as the super-rich do own a huge majority of the world’s wealth.
For the rest of us, we could only ever find ourselves in the world of private jets and superyachts, drinking vintage champagne like water and having priceless pieces of art on the walls, if we won the lottery or came into quite a remarkable amount of money.
So, to see just how the mega-rich spend their money and to put it into some context for the average New Zealander, we’ve taken a look at some of the most extravagant spending sprees and purchases that have been reported to date. Then we’ve looked at just how far from most people’s everyday experience they are, as well as how hard we’d have to work if we wanted to even get close to that kind of lifestyle.
The really big-ticket items that celebrities tend to buy fit quite neatly into five categories. So let’s take a look at each one in turn and see just where the big spenders’ cash has been going. We’ve converted all the amounts into New Zealand dollars, even though the original purchases were mainly made in GBP or US dollars.
Transport
When they do get out into the world, there’s no doubt that today’s celebrities like to do it in style. There’s no waiting around in airport lounges or in line at the departure gates to eventually be able to show their boarding passes. It’s private jets all the way and some, like John Travolta, even like to pilot the aircraft themselves. However, most tend to just satisfy themselves by owning the plane in question.
Before he took to Air Force One, President Trump spent a cool $156 million dollars on a Boeing 757 to fly him around, landing deals everywhere from Scotland to Moscow. As if this wasn’t indulgent enough, he also decided that it didn’t quite have the requisite amount of bling, so he even installed a gold-plated toilet in the already very lavishly-fitted-out aircraft.
Although it pales in comparison, the $56 million that Tom Cruise splashed out on a Gulfstream jet as a wedding present for Katie Holmes is still quite an impressive sign of his commitment – sadly not one that lasted. But one couple that’s still together made a similar gift to each other when Jay-Z and Beyoncé bought a private jet costing a cool $62.5 million.
And it’s not just up in the air that the golden couple have indulged themselves. In return for him putting a ring on it, Beyoncé also treated her husband to a top-of-the-range Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport, yours for a cool $3 million. It just goes to make the $692,000 that Diddy splashed out on the Phantom Drophead Coupe look positively restrained by comparison.
Clothes and self-care
When you’re in the public eye, it’s important that you take care of your image and appearance. After all, the last thing you want to do is appear to be like a mere mortal. Your clothes must be couture, your complexion must glow, your hair must be perfect. In short, you have to appear as if you’re quite simply not of this world.
So, it’s no surprise that there are some pretty extravagant examples of how the celebrity elite make sure they stay on-trend, or preferably ahead of it, no matter the cost.
So let’s kick off with the boy wonder Justin Bieber. He’s said to spend nearly $1,200 per haircut to keep his locks in shape. It’s not known whether his barber gets a tip on top, but at 10% that would be a very handy bonus. An even more extravagant example of self-care comes from Jennifer Aniston who, it’s said, has a beauty routine that costs $12,500 a month and which includes a moisturizing cream that contains mineral crystals apparently obtained from the surface of Mars.
Turning to clothes, you’d expect Victoria Beckham to be quite lavish in her spending habits, and you’d be absolutely right. On one shopping spree in the international fashion capital of Milan in 2010, she was reported to have spent a quite staggering $1.8 million, although she did claim that not all of the clothes were just for her.
Our last example again comes from the high-spending Beyoncé, who once bought a $156,000 gold Balenciaga leggings and bra set – but then we are talking about a woman whose favourite tipple is Armand de Brignac champagne which retails at $430 a bottle.
Property
For most of us, paying for our homes is probably the biggest single expenditure of our lives. And this is at least one thing that we have in common with most celebrities. For all the cars, clothes and other trappings of their success, it’s the property that they own that probably makes the biggest single dent in their finances.
Sometimes it’s not just property, it can even be whole islands. Of the many examples of this empire-building urge to own a whole, self-contained piece of land, two really stand out.
When Johnny Depp saw that Little Hall’s Pond Cay in the Bahamas was on the market for $5.6 million he snapped it up without a thought, not to mention considering the $1.5 million a year it would cost him for the upkeep of the 45-acre island. There was a similar story when Leonardo DiCaprio happened upon Blackadore Caye off Belize and paid $2.7 million for it with the intention of turning it into an eco-resort.
But this is nothing when compared to the $31 million that 9½ Weeks star, Kim Basinger, spent on Braselton, Georgia, again hoping to turn it into a tourist destination. Unfortunately, this venture failed and even led to her subsequent bankruptcy.
While they were married, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were certainly not reticent about spending money on homes for their ever-expanding family. At one point, they owned both a $104 million French chateau and a $120 million home in Italy too, not to mention various other properties in the States and the UK.
Art
Once you’ve bought that mega-million-dollar mansion, you’re left with the question of how to fill it with objects that either show off your extreme wealth, make your life more comfortable or, preferably, do both of these things.
One of the most obvious ways to achieve the former is to start putting together your own personal art collection – and there is no shortage of examples for this.
Starting with the Beckhams, their collection is said to be worth around $41 million and to be themed around love. Among the artists whose work they’re known to collect is Damien Hurst. They’ve even called up the services of the controversial artist to create a bespoke picture called Daddy’s Girl for their daughter, Harper.
Over in the US, film director and Star Wars creator, George Lucas, has one of the world’s largest private art collections. Featuring many paintings by Norman Rockwell, it’s said to be worth nearly $940 million, dwarfing the $15 million collection owned by Leonardo Di Caprio.
Children and pets
While there’s an element of egomania to being a celebrity, it doesn’t mean that they’re not prepared to share some of their massive wealth with loved ones of the human and animal variety.
So, let’s take a look at the indulged little ones to begin. First for an honourable mention is little Zachary, son of Elton John and David Furnish. They thought he needed some space of his own, so they treated him to his own Los Angeles apartment costing a cool $3 million. Extravagant yes, but for a couple who reportedly spent $454,000 on flowers over a 20-month period, it’s all relative.
Mariah Carey’s twin boys, Morocco and Monroe, also had plenty to look forward to for their first birthday when they received matching mini white pianos and toy Ferraris apiece. After all, it’s never too early to get them ready for the high life.
Another lucky tot is Beyoncé’s Blue Ivy, who started being showered with gifts even before she was born, including a Swarovski crystal-encrusted baby bath from Kelly Rowland – price tag $8,000 – as well as $1,500 Bugaboo stroller from Gwyneth Paltrow.
Moving on to pets, Mariah Carey shows almost as much love for her dogs as she does for her children by spending $73,000 a year on their grooming, and Paris Hilton famously spent $500,000 on a dog mansion, complete with TVs to entertain them.
But the record must surely go to Mike Tyson, who bought three rare Bengal tigers for $110,000 each and then had to spend $300,000 a year feeding them. It was only later that it was revealed that he didn’t have a license to keep dangerous animals, and they were sent to a far more suitable, if considerably less lavish, home.
How Much Money is Enough to Last You a Lifetime?
It’s a commonly asked question, and one that many people dream about or aspire to achieve, so we decided to put out a survey for the people of New Zealand to gauge just how much money people think that they need to live their life without the need to work or rely on savings.
The complete six-question included questions concerning: how much they think is needed to no longer need to work or rely on savings; how well they’d live if said amount of money was won; what they’d do about their current career; how private they would keep the announcement of their big win; how much they’d give to friends, family, or charity; and if they’d stay in New Zealand.
The focus of the questions was around the thinking that X amount of money would last them for 40 years without having to work again or rely on savings, so people in the age groups of 35-44 and 45-54 provided the most acute data for the question as 40 years for them will most likely see them through retirement and to the end of their life, but the other age groups still provided valuable data, which we will also examine.
Before we delve into the results of the survey, we further need to define how much someone would actually need to win all at once to be able to live for 40 years. According to the US-based CNBC, it was found that US$1 million may only last someone 12 years, meaning that for 40 years, people would need US$3.2 million, which converts to NZ$4.7 million. Money Wise, a UK finances expert website, found someone who plans to live on £12,000 per year, which would only entail a need for £480,000 (NZ$927,000) over 40 years, but less frugal and more normalised calculations clocked in at a need for £1.6 million (NZ$3.1 million) for 40 years of living.
The cultural and societal differences will certainly have their say in these calculations, so the truth for a fair amount to live off of without being overly frugal for 40 years likely sits in the NZ$3 million to NZ$4.5 million range. In New Zealand, the 2018 Living Wage stood at an annual income of NZ$42,744, leading to the baseline over 40 years from this living wage being NZ$1.7 million, but this would likely entail a rather frugal existence, so we extended the range to allow for unexpected expenses, entertainment spending, rent or mortgage payment, basic household goods, and all other expenses that would need covering over 40 years and still allow the pot to last for that period of time.
Question 1: How much money do you think you’d have to win to last you 40 years (without having to work again or rely on savings) [in NZ$]?
Question 1 was split into seven answers, with participants selecting one of the following: 1 million to 1.99 million; 2 million to 2.99 million; 3 million to 3.99 million; 4 million to 4.99 million; 5 million to 6.99 million; 7 million to 9.99 million; 10 million-plus. As has been famed by American media, people dream of winning US$1 million as it’s portrayed as being enough to solve all monetary problems, so we decided to set the low-end of the survey at NZ$1 million.
A dominating 28 per cent of the respondents ticked the 10 million-plus answer, with the next most popular answers being the 2 million to 2.99 million range with an 18.4 per cent of those surveyed, closely followed by the 16 per cent who thought that 1 million to 1.99 million would be enough money to last them for 40 years without having to work again or rely on savings. Across the two categories, a combined 20 per cent of voters saw in line with our calculations of the quantity needed to live for 40 years.
The age groups of particular intrigue, 35-44 and 45-54, combined for a majority that saw 2 million to 2.99 million as being the amount needed with 23.1 per cent. 10 million-plus followed with 20.5 per cent, shortly followed by 17.9 per cent going for the 1 million to 1.99 million option.
Given the fantasy context of this question, it makes sense that many would select the NZ$10 million-plus option as it’s a huge amount of money reserved for the biggest of wins. Take the world record-breaking jackpots from progressive slot game Mega Moolah, for example; it currently holds the official world record payout at NZ$25.4 million as well as the not-yet officially verified new world record of NZ$31.3 million. In fact, the most recent Mega Jackpot win on the game by a New Zealander clocked in at NZ$8.3 million, which followed fellow Kiwi wins of NZ$1.6 million, NZ$10.1 million, and NZ$1.1 million. Then there’s the added hype around the biggest gambling event in the world, the World Series of Poker, which has offered huge first place prizes of NZ$26.7 million, NZ$22.3 million, NZ$17.5 million, and two lots of NZ$14.6 million since 2006. So while these wins aren’t unheard of, even in New Zealand, they are still considered fantasy and considered in line with the fantasy of never having to work again.
Overall, it’s understandable why more people would select the highest value because it would give them more leeway in their day-to-day lives and allow them to live more extravagantly. The highest option was also the safest as the even the least financially or mathematically savvy person would be safe selecting 10 million or more as a big enough win to live off of for 40 years. The two lower values received a strong chunk of the votes, likely representing those who interpreted the question as the amount needed for them to stay exactly as they are now for the next 40 years, or something similar to this notion.
Question 2: If you won the amount of money indicated in Question 1, presuming you had no other income, would you be able to:
To answer this question, 8.2 per cent said that if they won the amount that they selected in Question 1, it would enable them to live frugally for 40 years, 29.5 per cent said that the amount would let them live a moderate lifestyle, 42.6 per cent would live comfortably with the amount that they selected, and 19.7 per cent said that they would live luxuriously. Given that a combined total of 45.6 per cent selected options from 5 million to 10 million-plus, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the majority (62.3 per cent) reckoned that they could live comfortably or luxuriously for 40 years if they won that amount.
Strangely enough, of the group which selected live frugally, 50 per cent were from the group that picked 10 million-plus in Question 1, meaning that they consider an average of NZ$250,000 per year at a minimum requiring a frugal lifestyle. But this somewhat anomalous finding is nicely countered by the 52.4 per cent of those who selected the live luxuriously option being in the 10 million-plus group.
Of those who were in line with our estimations in Question 1 (selecting either the 3 to 3.99 million or 4 to 4.99 million option) 47.1 per cent saw these amounts as being enough to allow them to live moderately or comfortably.
Question 3: If you won enough money to last you 40 years (without having to work again or rely on savings), what would you do in terms of your career?
The voting for Question 3 was split fairly evenly with 27.1 per cent of respondents opting to continue working as normal, 25.4 per cent reducing the working hours at their current job, 25.4 per cent choosing retirement, and 22 per cent changing their job.
Across the age groups of 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, and 65-plus, 31.8 per cent selected retirement (the most selected option when combining these four groups), which is understandable as having enough money to see them through 40 years is quite possibly enough to see them to the end of their lives in many instances. The results also showed some disparity between males and females, with 32.6 per cent of males retiring on their selected amount of money to last them for 40 years compared to only 21.2 per cent of females doing the same.
The relatively small number of respondents selecting the retire option is somewhat of a surprise given that the premise is that the amount of money that they select is enough to last them for 40 years, with the majority thinking that their selected amount of money should see them live a moderate or comfortable lifestyle. Of the percentage of people who would continue to work as normal, a significant 23.3 per cent also selected 10 million-plus as being a win big enough to see them no longer need to work or rely on savings. This desire to continue to work in some capacity, as shown by 74.5 per cent of participants, could come down to workplace friendships, the need to keep occupied, the voters having a genuine fondness of their job or the prospect of a different job, or the societal influence to contribute and make more money.
Question 4: If you won enough money to last you 40 years (without having to work again or rely on savings), would you want it to be publicly announced or kept private?
Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of people answered that they would keep their big win private, with 82.9 per cent ticking keep private, 7.2 per cent going for a public announcement of the win, and 9.9 per cent simply not caring either way.
Despite the view of younger people being somewhat brash when it comes to money, the largest representation of an age group among those who would make a public announcement was of the 45-54-year-olds at 14.3 per cent, with that same age group being the only one to tally a ‘kept private’ percentage below 80 per cent (76.2 per cent).
Curiously, 42.9 per cent who would publically announce the big win also believes that the win noted in Question 1 would only allow them to live frugally for 40 years. Of the vast majority of those who would keep the big win private, a 51 per cent majority would continue to work as normal or just reduce their work hours at their current job.
Question 5: If you won enough money to last you 40 years (without having to work again or rely on savings), what proportion would you donate to charity or gift to family/friends?
This is the classic question posed to many figurative jackpot winners, and while the vast majority of people say that they would share the wealth with their friends, family, or charity, the results of our survey found that a good portion of those questioned were a bit stingy. Of the respondents, 10.8 per cent said that they would give 0 per cent, 18.0 per cent said that they’d give 0.01 to 4.99 per cent of their win, 19.8 per cent said that they’d give between five and 9.99 per cent, the most popular option was to give 10 to 19.99 per cent with 31.5 per cent choosing this option, and then 19.8 per cent would give up 20 per cent or more of their newfound wealth.
It was found that females are generally more generous than males, with 63.2 per cent of all females surveyed opting to tick the 10 to 19.99 per cent or 20 per cent-plus box while only 43.6 per cent of males did likewise. The results revealed the age groups of the most interest (35-44 and 44-54) accounted for 65.7 per cent of the selections of the two most generous options. Somewhat of an odd finding was that 9.5 per cent of those who would give 20 per cent-plus also thought that their big win that would be enough for 40 years would also lead to them leading a frugal life.
Question 6: If you won enough money to last you 40 years (without having to work again or rely on savings), would you stay in New Zealand or move abroad?
For this question, there was a simple set of two answers: stay in New Zealand or move abroad. A massive 86 per cent of the 107 respondents declared that they would remain in New Zealand if they won enough money that they wouldn’t have to worry about work or rely on savings for 40 years.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the 18-24 age group was the most venturous, with 33 per cent stating that they’d go abroad compared to only ten per cent of those aged 65-years-old or over. Possibly tied to these findings: 40 per cent of those who stated that they’d move abroad also selected that they’d change their job if they reeled in the big win. While not as low as the 65-plus age group, but only 15.2 per cent of people in the 35-44 and 45-54 age groups would leave New Zealand in this instance.
The activity of the majority
There you have it: if someone was to win enough money to last them 40 years, the majority of people would expect that amount to be in excess of NZ$10 million and for it to allow them to live comfortably. After landing the big win, they’d most likely continue working as normal but would keep their newfound wealth private. But being private doesn’t mean being greedy, as the majority of people would gift 10 to 19.99 per cent of their win to charity, their friends, or their family, most likely staying in New Zealand to enjoy the rest of their money.
Plans are being set by the New Zealand government for tackling problem gambling
Ministry of Health of New Zealand is taking the help of technology for addressing problem gambling in the nation. This is being done with public consultation for preventing and minimizing harm caused by gambling. The consultation plan was launched last month by MoH, New Zealand. It is refreshing the strategy every three years and the consultation process runs through to September 21st. The feedback of the consultation will help in shaping the direction further for the Ministry’s Strategy to Prevent and Minimize Gambling Harm 2019-20 to 2021-22.
Included in the strategy are draft proposals for the plan which will help in setting general priorities and directions for the government for addressing the issue of problem gambling. In the framework, there is proposed funding levels for the Ministry along with strategies of activities that help in gambling harm prevention and minimization. The draft also has proposed service plan for three years from 2019-20 to 2021-22. There is also mention of proposed problem gambling levy rates and weighting options per gambling sector.
The Gambling Act 2003 was enacted by the New Zealand government for developing an integrated strategy for minimizing and preventing gambling harm. This is reviewed after every three years. Latest reviews are important and crucial as they help in ascertaining the rapidly changing and evolving gaming market. With the reviews the government can change their policies and strategies and makes ones which are suitable for the times.
Various factors are taken into consideration when it comes to developing a service plan for Strategy to Prevent and Minimize Gambling Harm for 2019-20 to 2021-22. Since the gambling industry is rapidly developing and evolving, new ways might be needed for combating the various problems. Online gambling is growing in demands and there is also a great convergence between gaming and gambling.
As per latest reports, it has been seen that there have been slight changes in percentage of the population, which is affected by gambling harm. However, when seen in line with population growth, the change is not that worth mentioning. There are some risk groups, which have been identified by the MoH who are more vulnerable to gambling harm. These include Pacific people, Maori and people who have extremely low incomes. Research shows that more than 50% of electronic gaming machines are located in areas, where there is evident socio-economic deprivation. These are areas where there is a concentration of Pacific and Maori population and they have high rates of gambling harm.
The main areas of harm are from non-casino gaming machines, which are also known as pokies. These are mostly seen in pubs and clubs. There is also a steady and rapid increase in lotteries presentations and expenses, which rivals casino expenditure. Internet based gambling and convergence of gambling and gaming are also areas of concern.
However, the industry has shown great gesture towards fighting problem gambling. There are greater scopes of improvement in this sector, but the active participation has made the government quite happy. Various means are being sought for improving the attempts. Help from technology can also be sought if necessary.
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Casino Trends to Keep an Eye Out for in the Next 2 Years
If we can say anything about technology in the year of 2018, it’s that it is continuously evolving. Everyday something new is designed, older technologies are improved on and people are just keeping fresh ideas flowing. Thanks to all of the above, sites and online businesses are also budding by becoming better, with state of the art graphics, improved quality, smart user interfaces and so on.
So how does this affect kiwi online casino enthusiasts, how do they benefit and what trends can they expect in the not so distant future?
All of these questions are addressed in the article below, just a little something to look forward to within the next two years. And avid watchers will begin to see the signs of the dawn of a new era. The year 2020 holds the flame for many casino players, making it an exciting journey to witness some great changes to come.
Virtual Reality Casinos
Virtual reality is fast becoming a thing of the present; in fact there are many online casinos which have adopted this technology. Some casino operators are committed to delivering virtual games such as poker, roulette and other table games to their members as a gaming option. Technology has improved so much over the past few years that casino players have reaped the benefits in terms of gaming quality. Virtual reality casino games are all about portraying games in real life, which improves the overall experience, especially for casino players who enjoy interactive games but would prefer to enjoy them from the comfort of their homes and ditch the inconvenience of frequenting gaming halls at land based casinos. With that in mind, players can expect more virtual reality games from their favourite online casinos. The next two years holds the promise of even more online casinos being established either as a wholly virtual casino or simply supplying games to their virtual fans.
BTC and Other Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are fast becoming a preferred method of transacting deposits and withdrawals. With no charges or fees attached to the coin, players are saving money on larger transactions. As such and based on demand, we can already see an increase of Bitcoin casinos and games. The currency is only gaining traction and if we had to make a prediction for the next two years, we would say more online casinos will be accepting this form of payment and there will be a spike of BTC online casinos across the web.
Casino Applications to Mobile Devices
Smartphones and devices are also being upgrading, practically on a monthly basis. With this in mind, people tend to want the latest and best gadgets on the market. This means companies are competing with each other to release better upgrades, better graphics and pretty much better everything. As such, online casinos are keeping up with the fast paced trends and creating mobile versions of their casinos for their loyal members. It is predicted that within the next two years, if an online casino doesn’t already have a branded app, all casinos with a large database will have a mobile application which can be downloaded to access all the best games instantly and on the move.
Sign Up Deals and Promotional Offers
It is difficult to say what online casinos will be offering their members in the not so distant future, but we can tell you this. Top online casinos may not be directly in competition with one another due to gaming laws which prohibit players from accessing certain casinos in different countries, but they are in competition when it comes to reputations. Each online casino strives to be the world’s leading casino accessible through the internet. Players benefit by this in so many ways, but one of the biggest is sign up deals, promotional offers, VIP programs and the like. It is definite that online casinos will be offering sublime sign up packages and we cannot wait to see what they will be about in the two years fast approaching.
Legal Regulations
Unfortunately online casinos are not available in some countries or rather some countries have laws prohibiting them from playing at certain online casinos. This is an incredibly sore point for many gamblers as they are missing out from some of the best online casinos on the net. However, we do see ongoing battles for positive change. We could predict a shift in the movement where online casinos won’t have to move to offshore countries to establish a database and where players across the world will unite as whole, although that may take longer than two years.
eSports Betting
Just when nobody thought eSports betting would be a thing, 2016 proved a massive incline of viewers and the aggregate pot pool increased from $100,000 to $6.7 million in just 5 years. It is now projected that eSports betting will become something of the future with millions more taking note of the lucrative betting industry. Keep your ear to the ground and when you hear about it, get your bets in!
Card Payments and Transaction Turnaround Time
Currently, some banks charge a fee to transact with certain online casino deposit methods. This usually varies from bank to bank or from one online casino to the next, but since the introduction of cryptocurrencies, we think it’s safe to say banks will try and keep as many of their clients as they possibly can and this would mean taking drastic action. It is believed that banks will either create new means of transacting or they will improve their rates and turnaround time for transactions to clear.
The transformation of the online gaming realm is a magnificent thing to witness and with the kind of changes predicted within the next two years, players have ample trends to look forward to. To improve your gaming pleasure, keep an eye out for some of these tell-tale signs and join in on the trends. Gameplay will never be the same and you will always be the first one to get in on fantastic deals and a unique gaming experience that cannot be mimicked, but only bettered.
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- Awarded best in two categories at EGR 2015
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- Established in 2001 and eCogra certified
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HIGH 5 Vault
Leading creator of online casino, land-based, and social gaming High 5 Games has been making waves in the mobile gaming market with its Remote Game Server known as High 5 Vault. This is a highly optimized HTML5 platform that has been designed to provide a consistent stream of new High 5 games to bet365, beginning June this year. This move was thought about after the commendable performance of High 5 Games’s land-based platforms for European operators. After this success, the company was encouraged to deliver its award-winning content on its mobile platform.
Anthony Singer, CEO of High 5 Games, believes that the partnership between High 5 Games and bet365 makes one fine operator that delivers the most premium and engaging slot games. He added that High 5 Games will keep expanding the selection of titles by adding titles from its vast libabry to the mobile platform.
This newly designed HTML5 pipeline will now offer some of the most successful land-based content by High 5 Games to players on the go around the world. High 5 Games has the exclusive rights to hundreds of the most popular Bally Tech and IGT land based slot titles in the gaming industry, including some recognized slots like Thundering Buffalo, Chicago the Musical, Hoot Loot Golden Knight, Gypsy, Valkyrie Queen, Jaguar Princess,etc.
High 5 Games continues to work together with governing bodies all over Europe for content distribution for all Regulated Territories from its global headquarters in New York.
Best Kiwi Casinos
- Crowned as the "King of Mobile Casinos"
- Tons of great games to keep you entertained
- Awarded best in two categories at EGR 2015
- Safe and secure with superb banking support
- $1000 Free split over 3 deposits
- Progressives Slots, Blackjack, Roulette, Video Poker and more
- Established in 2001 and eCogra certified
- Secure banking and fast withdrawal times
- Claim $1600 Free over 2 deposit match bonuses
- Play New Zealand's favourite casino brand on Mobile, Desktop or Browser
- Many deposit options incl; Visa, POLi, Neteller, Ukash
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Playtech and Betfred
The world of online casinos is ever changing. Once upon a time, casinos were only landbased, and available only in regions like Las Vegas. Today, there are websites apps where gamblers can easily play their favorite games. There is also something called live casino, where online gamblers can directly play with those in land based casinos.
This live casino phenomenon has caught on, and various casino platforms have got into partnerships with land based casinos to offer this experience to online players. Casino software developer Playtech and Warrington-based casino provider Betfred have recently announced that they will be carrying on with their ongoing partnership and also developing a live casino experience together based in Playtech’s casino location in Riga, Latvia. The two companies extended their partnership in 2017, and have been in business together for 10 years prior to that. The live casino experience has revolutionized online casinos and brought added excitement to the industry.
Rakesh Chablani, Betfred’s managing director, said that the partnership would bring about many changes. Betfred will now be able to give their online players a live experience. The relationship between Betfred and Playtech is mutually beneficial. The casino industry has both popularity as well as competition. Partnerships can help companies get ahead of the competition. Playtech and Betfred both offer something different by bringing together the skills of both companies.
When the live casino experience comes about, Playtech and Betfred with jointly offer live blackjack and live Roulette. The live casino experience is growing in popularity, because it gives a real world feel to online players. This VR offering helps both the casino developers and the online platform. Playtech are known for their game-changing ideas and going one step ahead of live casino is a huge coup for them. By combining live casino with how people like to play online, Playtech are moving forwards. Constant development and change helps give gamers the best possible experience.
The new live casino experience will also have a mobile platform. This will allow players to engage in over 20 different games on the move. Mobile gaming is also a hot trend that is only growing in popularity. Players feel restricted if they cannot play on the move. That is why most successful gaming offer a mobile version. Several players often don’t choose a gaming platform if there’s no mobile version. Playtech is a renowned name in the mobile casino world. They have been the first to offer mobile versions of several popular games.
Playtech has proved several times in the past that they are at the vanguard of casino technology. Their video slots take the form of various brands, franchises, popular characters or series. They also offer different themes from pop culture and history. The dynamic and original content enhance the experience of players. It makes sense that they would be going ahead with ways to revolutionize the casino industry. Collaborations like the one between Playtech and Betfred will help the industry grow, as well as keep everyone excited and enthralled with the technology that makes Playtech a leading casino software developer.
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ELK Studios Enhances Line of Top-Notch Games
ELK Studios is on a roll these days. The studio started on a small scale, but its fan base is growing fast. Its new releases have hogged headlines and they have been lapped up by the players. Now, Platooners is what’s making the headlines and its exciting gameplay dynamics is enticing too.
Platooners is one jungle-warfare slot game where the player battles the enemies with three battle specialist characters pitted against Snakes of Fortune. The prize amounting to 250,000 coins, the slot will woo the Canadian players for sure.
The game boasts scatter symbols, wilds and random features. There are 4 rows, 5 reels and 178 paylines. This ELK Studio slot offers gameplay enhancing betting strategies. There are 3 characters with red, green and yellow attires. These characters also appeared in the company’s previous offering Bloopers.
ELK Studios games are often lapped by top notch Canadian online casinos. The games score owing to thrilling features and winning scopes. Platooners is also heading the same way as it seems.
ELK Studios has many other enticing slots in their portfolio, apart from the newest one! The Birthday slot is another popular one. It has amazing features and game play is thrilling to say the least. Lake’s Five has also got a huge fan following in Canada. This heist-themed slot has fun characters like Mr. Lake and Mr. Romano.
The most popular slot of the company however is Kaiju. The players have to battle huge beasts and salvage the city. The players actually have to don the virtual avatar of a human-android character named HA-42.
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Australia’s online gambling surges with mobile betting opportunities
Gambling is quite popular in Australia. It has been seen that now more numbers of Australians use their mobile phones for betting on various sports events. There has been a downhill trend for the numbers of punters in the last few years.
Roy Morgan Research, the Melbourne-based market research company, has come up with an extremely interesting gaming report. It says that almost 4-fold increase has been seen in numbers of Australians who use mobile phones for betting. This has driven immense growth for online betting. From mere 5.6% in 2012, presently 22.7% Australians gamblers use mobile phones for betting. There has been virtually no change in the numbers of betters who use PCs for betting – it was 15.2% in 2012 and 15.1% in 2018.
Percentage of Australians who used the internet for betting rose considerably from 15.7% in 2012 to 34.1% in 2018. Though the online gaming numbers show to be healthy, there has been a drop in the numbers of Australians betting – in 2012 the numbers were 3.7 million and in 2018, the numbers are 3.4 million – a drop of 8.7%.
It is clear from these available statistics and figures that quite a large number of Australians bet, but they don’t use the internet for the same. Almost 2/5th of Australians who have bet did not use the Internet for betting. This section of customers need to be targeted so that they can be turned to online betting and the companies can earn better revenues.
In the latest report issued by Roy Morgan, it was seen that gaming giants like Australian unit of Paddy Power Betfair Sportsbet and Tabcorp Holdings Ltd. have great dominance in Australia’s online betting industry.
As per calculations, minimum 17.9% Australians put their bets through betting sites of Tabcorp including UBET, TAB.com.au, Tatts.com/Tattsbet and Luxbet.com.
The second most popular online betting site is Sportsbet of Paddy Power Betfair with 12.9% participation from Australian betters visiting the site to bet. Crownbet owns about almost 6.5% of the online betting industry in Australia. Innumerable online betting sites are owned by Crownbet and include names like Sportingbet, William Hill, Centrebet, TomWaterhouse and Betfair.com.au.
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Release of New World Cup Live Dealer Game from Evolution Gaming Casinos
Evolution Gaming has developed a live dealer game for the World Cup, complete with live football fixtures, goal celebrations and match commentary throughout the tournament.
Recently, Evolution Gaming released an exclusive live dealer game for the World Cup that players can enjoy on desktops as well as mobile devices throughout the tournament. Called Live Football, the high-quality product is dedicated to the World Cup and presents an exciting new card game that is combined with football fixtures, goal celebrations and match commentary for every single match during the world-renowned tournament.
Evolution Live Football Studio
Players are invited by Evolution Gaming to kick-start a memorable football experience with an enthusiastic sports commentator who hosts the game while you get up-to-date information on every world-class football match during the World Cup. All of the action takes place in an incredible football-themed environment with a simplistic and super-fast card game that will definitely keep you on the edge of your seat.
The Live Football product from Evolution will also allow you to celebrate every goal as it occurs. You will also get the opportunity to engage in conversations about football with live dealers as they focus on the game and react to big moments during every match at the same time. Current match details are featured in real time along with a hand history feature that displays the previous results on the user interface. While Live Football will be appealing to football enthusiasts and sports betting customers, it will also attract everyone else who loves online casino games.
How to Play Live Football
The new Live Football game from Evolution Gaming further expands on the selection of card games from the developer with a brand new category called Top Card. All players have to do is place a bet on one of two possible outcomes in each round. At the start of each round, the live dealer will draw two cards – one for the Home Team and the other for the Away Team – with both cards facing down on the table. Players will then need to make the right prediction on which of the two cards will have the highest card value.
Win and Draw are the game’s two betting options. If you correctly predict where the highest card value will be displayed and get a winning bet, you will receive a 1 to 1 payout. Furthermore, if you predict that the same value will be displayed in both cards, you will receive a 1 to 11 payout by placing a bet on the Draw option. The lowest amount you can bet on Live Football is $1.00, while the highest amount you can bet peaks at a whopping $10,000. This way, both novice players and high rollers can participate in and enjoy the game.
Where to Play Live Football
You can enjoy the new Live Football game at a large number of online casinos that feature Evolution casino software. If you want to play the game via an instant-play platform that does not require downloading anything extra, go to Stakes Casino to play Live Football. With fantastic promotions, quick payouts and an amazing selection of live dealer games, Stakes Casino is perfect place to go online for all your gaming needs during the World Cup.
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Tokoroa Region in New Zealand Protests Against Gaming Machines
New Zealand’s Torokoa Region could put an end to the operations of local gaming machines.
As the Torokoa town government in New Zealand has given the green light to the operations of a new gaming salon, local newspapers have reported that a local anti-gambling lobby has begun a legal battle to keep the business from starting. Operations at the salon have not started yet, but it faces a legal battle against the group already.
Spokesperson for “Feed Families Not Pokies” which is a newly formed group, Colin Bridle revealed that the case has been taken to the Justice as the group believes that a gaming salon with 30 slot machines will cause damage to the development of local families.
He said that the group has gathered plenty of material under the Official Information Act and fortunately, two experts in this area of the law, a barrister and a senior policy analyst, have reviewed all of the collected material without any charge. The experts advised them that they have a clear case for judicial review as there were a number of significant flaws in the official processes of decision making.
Colin Bridle said that a loophole in the Gambling Act was exploited when the new venue to create a mini-casino was proposed for Torokoa. According to the Act, a maximum of 9 slot machines are permitted in new venues. The Act’s loopholes means that if there is a merger between RSAs and other genuine clubs, it is possible for up to 30 machines to be permitted in one venue. Bridle concluded that that did not want to see 30 pokie machines at a venue in their community, which is basically a commercial venture under the guise of a club.
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