Best Online Casino Tournament Sites
Online casino tournaments stir the competitive spirit and promote excitement amongst gamblers. If you value a lively atmosphere and an extra incentive to play, casino tournaments are your best bet.
Read on for our complete guide to casino tournament sites in New Zealand. Our team of experts covers gameplay, prizes, bonuses, and everything you need to know to find the top online casino sites where you can enjoy the thrill of tournament play.
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How do we Review Casino Tournament Sites?
Picking the best sites for online casino tournaments can be confusing because there is so much choice. We want to make the process easy for you, so we review the leading casinos to find the best online casino sites, tournaments and promotions.
When running the rule over an online casino, Gambling.com reviewers look at specific criteria to ensure the best experience:
- Tournaments: Gamblers want access to the best online casino tournaments (such as a free pokie tournament or casino poker tournaments) and as often as possible. All the online casino sites we recommend host casino tournaments that are available across different games.
- Gameplay: Joining a tournament and competing against other players should be exciting and dramatic. Our team of reviewers has years of experience playing online casino competitions, so we know which online pokies tournaments and other competitions are the most exciting.
- Prizes: Of course, while it's plenty of fun to play in a casino tournament, the main goal is to win a prize. By scouring the online casino world, we can find and recommend the best sites with the most exciting and lucrative tournament prizes.
- Reputation: When we review an online casino, one of the most important steps is going straight to gamblers to find out the pros and cons of a site. By checking customer reviews, we ensure that we only recommend the most trustworthy, reputable casino tournament sites.
- Licensing: When you play at an online casino, you must share personal and financial information. As your safety is our primary concern, every online casino tournament website we recommend on Gambling.com is fully licensed by the New Zealand Gambling Commission or respective regulatory body.
- General Casino Performance: Using decades of combined online casino experience, we check the overall quality of a casino, including promotions, design, payment methods, customer support, game selection, mobile compatibility and how easy it is to register and play.
| Brand | Testing Agency | Payout % | Bonus | Visit Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| eCogra | 96.00% | 200% Welcome Bonus up to NZ$2500 + 50 Free Spins | Play Now |
| eCogra | 95.35% | Welcome Bonus of 200 Free Spins | Play Now |
| eCogra | 95.45% | 100% Welcome Bonus up to NZ$1,500 Bonus + 150 Free Spins + 50 Extra Spins | Play Now |
What to Consider When Choosing Online Casino Tournaments
There's a world of options out there, and each casino tournament brings something different to the table.
- Big prizes: Because many players contribute to the prize pool, casino tournaments can have larger prizes than single-player casino games.
- You know the cost: In the online casino realm, how much you bet dictates how much you can potentially win. However, sometimes you can bet without winning and end up spending more to get a prize. Tournaments have a fixed-price entry, so you know exactly how much you're spending, even if you don't win.
- Play for longer without paying more: Because of the fixed fee, you can end up playing longer, even if online casino promotions do have time limits. More importantly, you won't have to pay extra if a tournament lasts a long time.
- It's just fun: There's something special about a competition that's hard to recreate playing alone. When engaged with other players in a tournament, you get drama, excitement, unexpected situations, and even the chance to improve your skill playing casino games.
Types of Casino Tournament
There are many different types of casino tournaments. Understanding the differences and finding the best competition can seem like a big ask, especially if you are new to online casinos. But worry not! If you want to know more about the different types of online casino tournaments and how they differ from each other, here's our quick list to get you started:
Seasonal Tournaments
Online casinos love to get festive and celebrate certain holidays and special days throughout the year. Sites may also celebrate a season with a special competition, such as a summer or winter tournament. These are common types of tournaments you'll find at most casino sites, lasting between one week to a month.
Daily and Weekly Tournaments
You can consider these the regular tournaments at a casino site. Daily tournaments and promotions don't really change and run on specific days of the week or a particular week of the month. These are the go-to casino tournaments that you can always find at your favourite online casino.
Game Launch Tournaments
When a new game launches, online casinos want as many players to check out the title as possible. A casino tournament is a great way to get gamblers interested in the newest pokie games or online roulette game. Casinos work in direct collaboration with software developers like Microgaming, NetEnt and others to create online casino tournaments themed on a new game. What makes it even more appealing is that the software developer will usually contribute a prize.
Casino Celebration Tournaments
If the casino has a special milestone specific to the site, it may host a tournament to celebrate. A good example is a birthday for the casino (the day it was launched) or the launch of a new section.
Knockout Tournaments
Another common tournament is the good-old-fashioned knockout competition, especially if you want to play a card game tournament like poker. Essentially you face off against other players, with each winner progressing to the next round. Players are gradually eliminated until the highest-scoring player is crowned the winner. There are usually prizes available for runners-up as well.
Buy-in Tournaments
If you prefer to take a nice and easy approach to online casino games, buy-in online casino promotions could be for you. Think of these as open tournaments that allow you to purchase an entry, and repurchase your way back in should you lose. Casinos use time limits to decide when a tournament ends and reward top players with prizes.
Limit Tournaments
For gamblers interested in online pokies, time-based and bet-based tournaments will be a frequent sight. This type of casino tournament has a bet limit or a time limit for you to achieve the highest possible score.
Free Tournaments
No word in the online casino industry is better than "Free"! Who doesn't want to have the chance to win prizes without needing to pay any money? As you can probably guess by the name, free pokies tournaments are casino events that don't require you to stake any money to win. You probably won't get massive prizes, but hey, it's free!
High Roller Tournaments
So, what if you want to access the big prizes? Free pokies tournaments won't do, and if you like big wagers, regular competitions won't be enough either. In this case, you could try a high roller casino tournament. These are special casino events that only the highest wagering players are invited to play in. Perfect for those who take significant risks for potentially big rewards.
| Brand | Live Software Providers | Live Games | Live Roulette | Live Blackjack | Visit Site |
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| 3 | 38 | 5 | 12 | Play Now |
| 3 | 127 | 50 | 34 | Play Now |
| 2 | 25 | 13 | 6 | Play Now |
Casino Tournament Games
Many gamblers will be looking for online casino tournaments for games they are familiar with to maximise the odds of winning. Still, both experienced players and total beginners should keep their options open. Commonly available tournament games include:
Online Pokie Tournaments
Online pokie tournaments are one of the most popular competitions you'll find at a casino site. Usually, a tournament is set up for a new game or a group of games from the same developer. A common reason to host a tournament is to celebrate the launch of a new online pokies. However, progressive jackpot pokies are rarely part of a tournament.
To enter an online pokie tournament, you must pay the entry fee and be allocated a pokie machine number. You also receive credits (based on your entry deposit) and a time limit to play. During the tournament, you'll play against other players to accumulate the most points. The player with the most credits at the end of the competition wins the first prize, with other rewards going to runners-up.
Casino Poker Tournaments
When people think of casino tournaments, there's a good chance they think of poker. Over the last two decades, poker has become a massive industry that rivals many sports and the best poker tournaments attract huge numbers. Casino poker tournaments are televised live, and millions of people have started entering tournaments.
It is now possible to play the biggest casino tournaments online and play in poker competitions with prizes running into millions of pounds.
You can also play in video poker tournaments based on poker machine variations. In video poker, you play by yourself but accumulate points. Players with the most points receive prizes. Think of video poker tournaments as similar to online pokie tournaments.
Blackjack Tournaments
Blackjack is a casino favourite because of its solid house edge, excitement, and fast-paced action. In tournament form, blackjack becomes even more dramatic. Most online blackjack casino tournaments are fix-entry, so you'll need to pay a fee to participate. As in regular blackjack games, you play tournaments directly against the dealer. The goal is to have more chips than other players by the end of the tournament.
Roulette Tournaments
Online roulette tournaments usually use a format built on rounds, with players who win each round progressing to the next. Like blackjack competitions, roulette tournaments decide winners based on the number of chips.
Live Casino Tournaments
In recent years, live online casino games have become increasingly popular. Gamblers love the drama and realism of playing against a live dealer through a video feed. Online casinos host numerous live casino tournaments covering most competition formats such as sit and go, time limit, and regular. You can play live casino poker, blackjack, and roulette tournaments at many leading online casino sites.
Mixed Casino Games Tournaments
Mixed casino game tournaments are unique because they combine several games under one competition. For example, the casino will allow you to play poker, pokies, and blackjack to accumulate points towards your tournament score. Usually, these tournaments will include many types of games, with a few exceptions.
Sportsbook Tournaments
Many of the casinos we recommend to you also have online sports betting sections where you can wager on sports events and competitions. Online casinos and sportsbooks often run tournaments to allow gamblers to compete against each other to win prizes.
Casino Tournament Rules
Whatever the game on offer, online casino tournaments tend to have the same few basic frameworks, though each will have specific nuances to consider. Still, there are some universal rules you will often see when playing these tournaments:
- Time Limits: It is common for casino competitions to have a time limit, which is a specific time you have to play the pokie or table game. During this timeframe, you need to fulfil the tournament goals better than everyone else to win the top prize. That could be playing the most times, having the most points, or having the highest winnings.
- Betting Limits: When you enter a tournament, you may have to buy your way in. Even if the tournament is free or has no set buy-in, you will likely have a betting limit. Whether it's a maximum bet at the poker table or a fixed price per spin at the pokie machine, players must check that the rules suit their strategy before signing up.
- Only wager with given credits: During online casino promotions, especially online pokies tournaments, players are given a specific number of credits (money) to use. It's important that you only wager with credits given by the casino. Players who top up their credits will likely be disqualified from the competition.
- Use all your credits: During a casino tournament, the credits you are given are your ticket to the potential prizes on offer. If there are any credits left at the end of an online pokies tournament, they will be lost and are not added to your overall result. You also cannot use the remaining credits on games after the tournament.
| Brand | Pokies | Mobile Pokies Providers | Total Pokies Providers | Visit Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| 1421 | 107 | 112 | Play Now |
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| 1672 | 107 | 107 | Play Now |
| 1386 | 106 | 109 | Play Now |
Casino Tournament Leaderboard
When you play an online casino tournament – whether it's pokies, poker, blackjack, or other games – the leaderboard is an essential part of the competition. In fact, you should think of the leaderboard as your hub for the tournament you're playing. This is where you'll find all the information you need about the tournament.
You can track your progress and compare it to that of other players. As well as seeing which gamblers are topping the leaderboard, you can also view the tournament rules and the prize pool and how the prizes are shared. Leaderboards are updated in real-time to reflect the fluid nature of online casino tournaments.
Casino Tournament Entry
When you are ready to participate in a tournament, there are some essential things to consider:
- Buy-Ins: You can buy a specific number of chips or a cash value to compete in the tournament. When you lose the chips/money before your rivals, you're out. Some tournaments allow multiple buy-ins, which means you can rejoin a tournament if you bust out. However, these tournaments can get expensive and hand a huge advantage to players with a big bankroll.
- Loyalty/Member Tournaments: These are tournaments reserved for valued members. In some cases, members can use their loyalty points to pay the tournament entry fee.
- Unlimited Spend: In online pokies tournaments, players can sometimes spend as much as they want in search of the biggest winnings or most spins. Commitment, focus, and a large bankroll are key to victory, so this entry type is for high rollers only. Everyone else should proceed with caution.
Entering a Casino Tournament
If you're wondering how to enter online casino tournaments, it's worth noting entry methods can vary depending on the type of competition. However, there are some core steps you can follow to enter a tournament at your favourite casino sites:
- Choose an online casino from our list of recommended casino tournament sites.
- Sign up and redeem your welcome bonus.
- In the tournament section of the online casino, select your preferred tournament.
- Read the rules of the tournament and enter through the instructions.
- Wager your way through the competition and compete with other players to win prizes.
Casino Tournament Prizes
Many gamblers play online casino tournaments simply for the thrill of competing against other people. Still, let's be honest, we all have that not-so-secret desire to win one of the prizes! Let's take a look at the most common prize types:
- Prize Pools: A percentage of entry fees/buy-ins is collected to form a prize pool, split between the top players at the end of the tournament.
- Fixed prize pots: A fixed prize for the top players is determined before the start of the tournament. It is guaranteed regardless of the number of entrants.
- Jackpot Tournaments/Winner Takes All: A large grand prize is announced and sometimes linked to the number of entrants. The overall winner takes it, and everyone else leaves empty-handed.
- Bonuses/Free Spins: Some freeroll/low entry tournaments will offer bonus rewards and free spins as the prize. These tend to be less fiercely competitive and represent good sport for those playing for fun.
It's worth remembering online casino tournament prizes are not all about cash. In fact, you can win some really cool prizes, such as vacations, cars, or gadgets. Who knows, you could be driving around in a new car or playing pokies on a new iPhone if you win.
Casino Tournaments Terms and Conditions
By now, you should be familiar with the rules and basics of online casino tournaments. Still, that does not mean you should ignore the terms and conditions of the tournaments you enter. Only by checking the T&Cs of your chosen tournament can you avoid disappointments and misunderstandings.
Even if you are thinking about entering a casino tournament just for fun, it is recommended to familiarise yourself with the rules and small print.
Mobile Casino Tournaments
In the modern online casino scene, many gamblers play only on their mobile devices. The good news is online casino tournaments work on your smartphone and tablet. Operators create mobile casinos that are optimized to work on desktop and mobile, while some also have dedicated apps available. In fact, you can often find the top casino sites, such as LeoVegas, have casino promotions that are exclusive to mobile players.
High Roller Casino Tournaments
If you are a high roller willing to spend big at an online casino, there are casino promotions set up with you in mind. Casino sites host tournaments that cater to big-spending players thanks to higher buy-ins. These competitions will also have unlimited spending during tournament play, making it more advantageous for high rollers. However, note that some high-roller tournaments are closed to the general public and are open by invitation only.
| Brand | Mobile Games | iOS App | Android App | Bonus | Visit Site |
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| 2120 | Yes | Yes | Get 100% Deposit Bonus up to $1200 + 20 Free Spins | Play Now |
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| 1444 | Yes | Yes | 200% Welcome Bonus up to NZ$5000 + 50 Free Spins | Play Now |
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| 1096 | Yes | Yes | 100% Welcome Bonus up to NZ$1,500 Bonus + 150 Free Spins + 50 Extra Spins | Play Now |
New Tournament Casino Sites in New Zealand
While online casino tournaments are common, not all sites host events or do so very frequently. Some operators use casino promotions to keep players interested, but others don't use the same marketing tactics. When we review new online casinos in New Zealand, we always check whether the site runs frequent tournaments. If the site does have a good selection of casino promotions and meets our other criteria, we recommend it to you here on Gambling.com.
That is why new online casino sites are essential to gamblers who love playing online casino competitions. It is worth checking them out regularly to keep up-to-date with the best online casinos and offers.
Casino Tournaments Deposits and Withdrawals
Our selection of the best online tournament casinos provides you with the top sites that provide a variety of payment methods. You can deposit and withdraw money using bank transfer, debit card, pre-paid cards, e-wallets and more. Whether you are using a mobile or desktop device, our recommended casinos are likely to support your chosen payment method.
Some tournaments may be limited to a specific selection of payment methods, so it's worth checking the tournament terms and conditions to see which payment methods are accepted.
Casino Software Developer Tournaments
Online casinos will often partner with a top software developer to run a tournament. There are several reasons developers want to host a tournament, which include promoting a new game, highlighting a series of games with a similar theme, or simply rewarding players. When scouring the online casino realm for tournaments, we often see competitions from the following software creators and recommend them to you:
- NetEnt
- Playtech
- Microgaming
- Elk Studios
Advantages of Casino Tournaments for Players
Tournaments are a great way to expand your horizons when playing online casino games. Not only do you get more enjoyment and drama, but you can also win some big rewards if you're lucky.
If you want a chance to win big prizes, compete with other players and have great fun and excitement, check out a recommended online casino tournament site! While you're at it, don't forget to claim a generous welcome bonus.
More Recommended Casino Sites
FAQ
Do casinos run progressive jackpot tournaments?
Very rarely. Online casinos don't include progressive jackpot online pokies in tournaments often, simply because people could win vast sums of money, making the tournament less cost-effective for the casino. It can happen, but it's very uncommon, so better not count on it.
Are online casino tournaments fair?
Yes, especially if you check out our list of featured online casino tournament sites. We never recommend an online casino that is not fully licensed and does not have a stellar reputation for security and fairness.
Will all casino games be allowed in a tournament?
Probably not. Most online casino tournaments are set up around a specific game or selection of games. Always read the tournament rules to see which games are eligible.
Are casino promotions considered a type of bonus?
Yes, casino promotions and tournaments are usually considered a bonus. It is because they provide players with potential wins from stakes that the casino sponsors. While some promotions have guaranteed prizes, others offer chances to win for relatively low spending. Like other bonuses, tournament prizes may be subject to wagering requirements before withdrawal.
What can I win in a casino promotion?
Cash, cars, gadgets, event tickets, vacations and more great merchandise! While most people associate online casino tournaments with cash prizes, casino sites like to change things up with other rewards. You don't always need to come in first to win a prize, with most tournaments providing rewards to several top players.
Why do some casinos run more tournaments than others?
It is a question of marketing and what the casino thinks is right. Some operators use tournaments as a way to entice new players and keep current players interested. Other casinos prefer other marketing techniques and may offer more bonuses or other perks. There's also the fact that some casino sites are simply better equipped than others to organize a competition.
Are there mobile-only casino tournaments?
Yes, there are. You can participate at a casino tournament using your smartphone or tablet. This is possible through a mobile browser or native casino app. Players at mobile casinos will also be happy to know that some casino sites will have exclusive tournaments for mobile users.
Are there personalised casino promotions?
Yes. Online casinos sometimes reward VIP players, high rollers and loyal customers with invitations to special exclusive tournaments and promotions. These exclusive events tend to be small and cater to each player's personal tastes, providing a personalised experience.
Are online casino tournaments actually worth it?
Absolutely yes! One of the enormous benefits of online casino tournaments is you can play for a relatively small outlay. You may win big if you're lucky, but even if not, you will have a fantastic time in the process. So it is definitely worth it.
Contributors
Hi, I'm Lee James Gwilliam
"With over 10 years as a poker player and 5 in the casino industry I’m here to share my experience and passion."
- Poker
- Online Slots
- Casino
Reviewer since February 2016
