Football Betting Sites

In this article, we are going to review the best online football betting sites in New Zealand, highlight their advantages, features and unique tricks. We will also tell you about the mobile football bookmakers apps available for local punters.

Sport in New Zealand is part of the country's colonial heritage - the archipelago was a British colony for nearly 66 years. New Zealand's football team has won the Oceania Nations Cup five times and participated in two World Cups. Not as cool as rugby, but they know how to play football too.

List of Football Betting Sites in New Zealand 

Online Football Betting Sites Regulation in New Zealand 

The betting market in New Zealand has been monopolised since 1950. TAB NZ is the only legal bookmaker in the country. However, New Zealand law allows locals to bet with international bookmakers. So we will consider the big international brands (like Betway or Bet365) in our review. These are reliable bookmakers, market leaders in terms of product, and it is legal to bet there.

However, it is worth remembering that foreign operators are not responsible under New Zealand law. So in case of a conflict, you will not be able to file a complaint to the local authorities.

How We Rate Football Betting Sites

Our rating only includes football betting sites that are officially licenced, though not in New Zealand. We verify the validity of a licence by checking the regulator’s website. We also take note of whether licencing information is easily accessible and visible on the site.

We evaluate a bookmaker's personal data processing rules, responsible gambling policy, and other official documents to ensure your safety and security when betting.

There are 2 criteria that help evaluate a betting site's rating:

A good bookmaker offers great odds due to low margins. The bookmaker's margin is the percentage of fee that the company charges when presenting the markets. The bookmaker never pays 100% of the bet, the usual payout is between 90% and 95%. The higher the payout, the higher the potential winnings from the bet. Our ranking shows the companies with the best odds for betting on football matches.

Almost all betting sites try to attract new users with some exciting bonus offers. There are loyalty programmes for existing customers, where the bettor can also take part in various promotions and receive rewards. These can be either Free bets, cash prizes and valuable gifts.

The level of a bookmaker is also determined by the quality of the In Play service. The best football betting sites offer fast betting and payouts, instant Cash Out and great live odds. In addition, football bookmakers with quality service allow you to follow the events on the football field via live streaming or infographics.

When ranking the best bookmakers for betting on football, we paid attention to the statistics provided on the football betting site and in the apps. The best bookmakers offer to check the position of teams in various tournaments, the results of recent home and away matches, the list of goalscorers and other statistical information directly on their website. In this case the bettors always have the necessary statistics at their fingertips.

The number of deposit and withdrawal methods is the main criterion in this case. The best online sports betting sites in New Zealand have many options, so their customers can choose the one they like best.

Most UK customers usually stick to just a couple of payment methods that they're comfortable with. However, if a bookmaker were to integrate many payment systems, it would show that the company cares about the clients and their needs. Therefore, UK betting sites that offer a wide range of payment methods have an advantage.

At some point, every customer may have an issue with their bookmaker. In these cases, it's important to have a customer support service that is responsive and helpful.

We highlight the advantage of bookmakers with support teams available for 24 hours a day and in several ways: telephone, email, live chat.

This factor is becoming more significant every year. Research suggests that by the end of 2022, around 92% of New Zealanders will be using smartphones. And the apps are getting better and better.

Of course, if you don't have an app, you can use the mobile version of the website in your browser. But, in our experience, if you bet often, it starts to get exhausting. It is much more comfortable to bet with a mobile app. Often we use mobile betting even when we have a computer at hand.

A good bookmaker should have an easily navigable and visually appealing website. Our team uses the following criteria when ranking and listing betting sites:

To place a bet quicker (or place more sports bets), you can use helpful options. If they are available, you have a modern bookmaker that is on trend.

Top 5 Football Betting Sites in New Zealand

The only legal betting site in New Zealand is TAB NZ. You can, however, register with international bookmakers if you wish to find higher odds and generous bonuses. Below we will take a closer look at the top football betting sites that are targeted at New Zealand users. 

Football Bookmakers: How To Bet on Football

Let's take a step-by-step look at how to bet on a football match in New Zealand.

Choose an online betting site or app

To start with, choose a football betting site for yourself. We have already explained in this article how to evaluate football betting sites. If you don't want to do the analysis on your own, pick a football bookie from our selection. Please visit Match.Center for a more complete list of all bookmakers with football betting for New Zealanders. 

Register an account

The second step is to register with the bookmaker you like most. This process is not complicated and takes a couple of minutes at most.

Instructions on how to register:

Verify your identity

To be honest, it is not really necessary. You can bet without verification of your account. But here's the thing. Without verification, the bookmaker will not allow you to withdraw your winnings and participate in the promotions. If you can, go through this procedure straight away and forget about it. All you need to do is send an email to the bookmaker with a copy of your passport and proof of residency in New Zealand. For example, a local bank statement or a utility receipt with your name on it.

Make a deposit

There are usually no problems with making a deposit. You can easily make a deposit, even without verification. 

Depending on the payment method, the period of getting money to your betting account will be different. But in most cases it is instant. Commonly used payment systems at international bookmakers include debit cards (Visa/Mastercard), Skrill, Neteller and PayPal.

Choose a match and place a bet

All that remains is to find a great football match, select the football market and place your bet. If you have never placed a bet before, the process is as follows:

All of the big international bookmakers (Betway, Bet365, 888sports, etc.) have different levels of football events. The most famous leagues (La Liga, Premier League, Serie A, Ligue 1) as well as minor leagues (Swedish, Japanese, South Korean championships, etc.) are available. There are also bets on international tournaments (UEFA Champions League, Europa League, Copa Libertadores, World Cup, Nations League, etc.).

If you choose the market, you can bet on 1/X/2, Over/Under goals of the match or a separate half, handicaps, correct score, odd/even, who will score, correct score of each half, etc. There are even bets on the team statistics - corners, offsides, shots on target, etc. In general, there's plenty to choose from!

Football Online Betting Sites: Types of Bets 

The most common types of bets that can be found in the football betting markets of international bookmakers.

Final result

A bet on the final result is a sports bet on one of three markets: Team 1 to win (1), a draw (X) or Team 2 to win (2). This bet involves the result of a game after the regular time is up. For example, a 2-2 draw in a match after 90 minutes. Even if the teams need to play extra time or a penalty shoot-out to decide the winner, the tie is still considered to be the winning bet. Although sometimes the terms and conditions may specify an outcome including extra time.

Correct score

The client must guess the exact score of the match. For example 1:0, 2:1, 1:3 etc. In general, such bets are always a lottery. The chance that such a bet will be successful is low. And guessing the correct score of matches on a regular basis is almost impossible. That is why bookmakers offer competitive odds on such bets. 

Half Time/Match

This is a combined bet. Two outcomes must be guessed simultaneously: the result of the first half and the match. In such bets, a win for the first team is 1 and a second team is 2. A draw is X. Therefore in the bookmaker's markets you will most often see the following: 1/1, 2/X, 1/2, etc. The value before the fraction is the result of the first half, after the fraction is the result of the match. For example, 1/X means team 1 will win the first half and the game will end in a draw.

Over/Under

The task of the punter is to predict the number of goals in relation to a certain value of total.

The total of goals scored is indicated as Over and Under, with the value of the total next to it. Fractional total clearly separates won or lost bets, there are no refunds. For example, the total over 2,5 (Over 2,5) means that at least three goals will be scored in the game. Only in this case the client will receive the winnings. If 2 goals or less are scored, the bet is lost.

On the other hand, a whole goal total implies the possibility of a push. For example, if a player bets on Over 3 or Under 3 and both teams manage to score exactly 3 goals at the end of the match, the bet will be settled as a push. 

Both Teams to Score

Betting on this market you need each team to score at least one goal in a game. The bet has two options - "Yes" and "No". If both teams score, the bet on "Both Teams to Score - Yes"wins. If one of the opponents fails to score or the match ends 0-0, the bet "Both Teams to Score - No" wins.

Who will score

This bet requires the bettor to guess who is likely to score in the match. Usually, the bettor indicates the names of the players who can appear in the starting line-up and potentially score in the match.

Over/Under corners

This is a type of betting on statistics. Many online bookies offer this type of bet to the locals. It can be number of corners per game, number of corners per team, victory by number of corners with a certain handicap, odd and even number of corners in a match, etc. 

Handicap

Handicap is a conditional advantage of one team over the opponent. A handicap can be negative (on the favourite), positive (on the underdog) or zero.

For example, with a handicap (+1.5) the underdog team must win, draw or lose by one goal difference. Correspondingly, the bet loses if the underdog loses by a margin of two or more goals.

If a customer bets with a handicap (-1.5) on the favourite, this team must win the match by a margin of two goals or more. A one-goal win, a draw or any defeat means losing the entire bet.

A zero handicap is a bet on a team winning by any score. In the case of a draw, the bet will be a push. The only way to lose a bet is if your team loses.

Football Odds: Important Information

In this section we will explain how to find competitive odds on football and earn more if your bets win. When setting betting odds, the bookmaker focuses on the statistical probability of each of the events offered, and then adds the margin. This causes the football odds to be lower than they "should be", or, as it is sometimes said, below "fair odds".

Example: how bookmaker's margin works

Let's take a typical bet with two possible outcomes - Over/Under. Total over 2.5 goals works of at least three goals will be scored in a match total under 2.5 goals works in case no more than 2 goals will be scored in a match. Suppose we have a game where there is statistically a 50% probability of both. Then the fair odds should be 2.0 for each market. But you'll never see such bets, because then the bookmakers won't make any money: they'll just give the money of those who lost to those who won.

To make money, the bookmaker lowers the odds - that's the margin. Let's say the bookmaker's margin is about 4%, which is often used by good bookmakers in betting on major football tournaments. With such a margin, we will not get the odds of 2.0 on Over/Under, but the odds of 1.92. If we bet equally on each outcome, the payout will be 96%. The bookmaker will get 4% for himself, no matter how many goals are scored.

That's how it works. Bookmakers doesn't care if you win or lose a particular bet. Odds below fair guarantee them a profit in the long term.

Different bookmakers put different percentages of margin into the same odds. On one football betting site you'll see the odds of 1.94, while on another you'll see the football odds of 1.90 on the same Over/Under bet. Does that mean that the first online betting site is better than the second? Sometimes yes, but not necessarily. Below we'll explain point by point what things to look out for so that you always pick the best odds. 

How to choose a bookmaker with good odds

The margin doesn't matter if you are looking for odds to place a particular bet. For example, you're hoping that teams will score at least 3 goals and you are just looking for which bookmaker will offer the best football odds. But if you know which bookmaker usually has the higher payouts, you won't have to check 10 bookmakers. Maybe it will be 2 or 3 sports betting sites with good odds, and you will already have the accounts there. And you can devote the time you save to analysing events.

So, how do you choose a bookmaker with good odds? We consider 4 factors.

Calculate the margin for your championships

For top events like the English Premier League, the football odds should be great and the margin should not exceed 5%. However, if you are betting on Turkish championship, it is important to estimate margin there. It will definitely be higher. Most importantly, it should be a moderate increase, and the payout should be at the same level for all games of a matchday.

Why does the margin depend on the match status? It is a question of mathematics and the bookmaker's profits. There are a lot of people betting on the matches of well-known tournaments and a lot of amateurs who are sure to lose in the long term. The bookmaker has a lot of information about the championship and the bets on it, so a small margin is enough to make a good profit.

It is the fans who more often bet on the third league football games. The number of bets placed is lower, the qualification of bettors is higher. At the same time the bookmakers have much less information to understand what odds they should fairly set. Therefore, to cover themselves, they increase the margin.

Pay attention to bonuses

Many bookmakers run promotions, e.g. football free bets, by sacrificing the margin: enhanced odds, boosted odds, bet boost or zero margin. The idea is the same: the bookmaker sets better odds on a particular event. If your bet wins, you will get more.

There are two important points to evaluate the benefits of such promotion:

Calculate the odds for LIVE betting separately

If you place an In Play bet, compare the odds there separately. Live betting odds are harder for the bookmaker to calculate, and the margin will always be bigger. Fortunately, the comparison in this case takes a few seconds: open the match page on several NZ football betting sites and see which bookmaker has the better odds right now.

Separately, pay attention to the number of blocked bets. This is an extra insurance for the bookmakers: when an event occurs on the field that significantly changes the probabilities, they block the bets and re-calculates the odds. The quicker the betting resumes, the better the quality of the In Play service.

Calculate the benefits for accumulators

Odds are even more important if you like to place accumulators.

Bookmaker A:

The final odds of the accumulator will be (1.50 X 2.10 X 1.80) = 5.67.

Bookmaker B:

And here the final odds will be (1.52 X 2.15 X 1.83) = 5.98.

Should I choose a bookmaker based on the odds alone?

Not always. It depends on your area of interest in betting. If you bet on big markets (on one team to win or total goals in a match), there are two factors you can use to rank bookmakers:

But if you're looking for unusual bets, you'll be more interested in betting on a football betting site where the range of football markets is as wide as possible. Like, for example, on the football online betting sites 888sport and 22bet.

If you want to watch live streams of matches on the betting platform, you'll have to deal with poor odds for live betting.

Football Betting Websites: Welcome Bonuses 

Here we will cover the main types of welcome bonuses that bookmakers offer. Remember that New Zealanders place bets on the websites of international betting companies. It is very important to clarify if you are eligible for a bonus that you like. Often, the bookmaker will only provide welcome bonuses to citizens of certain countries. It is important that New Zealand is on the list.

The first deposit bonus is a welcome offer from the bookmaker. New customers receive bonus funds for betting after making a deposit of a certain amount. The deposit bonus is often the same as the deposit amount, thus equal to 100% of it. Sometimes it also happens that the deposit bonus is credited at double the amount of the deposit (200%).

Getting a first deposit bonus is easy.

In most cases, bookmakers set limits on how much of a bonus you can get. For example, 100% of the deposit amount, but no more than 100 NZD. In this case a bettor can deposit a larger amount as well, but the bookmaker will only credit the customer a maximum of 100 NZD as a bonus.

Like any other welcome bonus, the first deposit bonus requires wagering. The conditions can be completely different. For example, place the full bonus on an accumulator of at least 3 events at minimum odds of 1.90 for each match.

A no deposit bonus is a bet without any risk. Because the customer is betting with the bookmaker's money. Almost none of the bookmakers today offer such a promotion. If you have found a no deposit bonus, you can consider yourself very lucky. In such a case, you can try to raise your bankroll, test your own betting strategy in practice, etc. without investing your own money.

The size of a no deposit bonus is usually small. Some bookmakers provide 5 NZD or 10 NZD to new customers.

How to get the no deposit bonus?

No deposit bonus is virtual money which in theory can be converted into real money and cashed out. But in order to do so you need to wager the no deposit bonus. Each bookmaker has its own specific terms and conditions for wagering the bonus. Here are the key parameters, which must be specified in the wagering requirements of the no deposit bonus:

Important point. If you successfully wagered the no deposit bonus, you will not be able to withdraw it immediately. Since no payment system is activated. You can solve this problem very easily. Just top up your betting account for a minimum amount. Yes, you will have to deposit your own money to your betting balance, so that you can withdraw the bonus later. There is no other way!

Another welcome bonus for newcomers. If a new user's first bet loses, the bookmaker returns part or all of the betting amount to the client's account. The refund may be in the form of a Free bet or real money.

Step-by-step instructions on how to get your first risk-free bet:

Risk-free bet is valid only for bets made under this promotion. For example, place a 50 NZD accumulator bet of 5 events at odds of 2 for each selection. If any of these three conditions is not met, the betting insurance will not be valid.

Tips for Online Football Betting

In football betting, as in any other sport, there are universal tips that never lose their value over the years. Let's take a look at the basics to help you save your bankroll from losing it completely, as well as the common mistakes that prevent newcomers from winning more or less consistently. 

Football Bookmakers: Deposits and Withdrawals in New Zealand 

The major betting sites have a large list of payment systems: debit cards, electronic services, bank transfers, etc. Let's explore these payment methods and the companies that represent them in more detail.

Top 3 Football Betting APPS in New Zealand

One of the leading bookmakers in the world, operating in a huge number of countries. Of course, we couldn't help but include it in both the top 3 bookmakers for betting on football in general, and also in the top 3 mobile apps. Although some users have questions about the design of the site, Bet365's betting product itself is always top-notch. 

Many of the popular football games are accompanied by boosted odds promotions. You will find them in the Popular section. Besides, there is a Bet Builder option - the possibility to build up to 12 markets of one match, which are independent of each other.

The bookmaker's margin is medium-high: 6-8% for top matches, the same for In Play bets.

This app is exactly the same as the well-known international brand 1Xbet. And it has the same pros and cons. 

Also note the controversial design. It's not a pure disadvantage, but the app probably won't be suitable for everyone. When you first select a sport it will immediately take the customer to the live matches. If you come to evaluate the pre-match betting, you will have to select the sport from the full list one more time.

Let's move to the pros.

The range of sports betting markets couldn't be wider: you can bet on leagues from 70 countries, including the lower leagues, and plenty of international competitions including friendlies, youth and junior matches. Even in countries where football isn't that popular, there's more than 1 league represented. Examples: 

If football is a bit popular in the country, you're likely to find anything you like.

Examples:

In the Europe big four (England, Spain, Germany, Italy) there are at least 5 tournaments in each country.

Now let's have a look at the markets available for the top games like Arsenal vs Tottenham in the English Premier League. We probably won't even count the exact number of markets, because there are a dizzying number of them. At least 1,000 options, that's for sure. There are not a lot of statistical bets such as corners and cards, but there is plenty of room for imagination.

The basic markets we are used to seeing everywhere:

And more.

The most exciting thing is the markets, which you won't find at every bookmaker:

Of course, some of these inventive bets are impossible to predict in any way. How can you predict that someone will hit the post or that all goals will be physically scored in the same gate?

We always say that betting is primarily entertainment. And that is exactly what 22bet does!

In total, 22bet has over 50 sports, including betting on Esports and politics. 

Betway offers a good selection of bets on football events and a complete app for iOS and Android.

In the Betway app you can choose from dozens of football competitions. There are more than 50 countries from all over the world on the bookmaker's list. The biggest focus is on the top 5 European championships, European cups and international competitions. However, even for the not popular national championships there is a big choice: Scotland (7 leagues), Japan (4 leagues), Mexico (3 leagues), Turkey (3 leagues).

On the Betway football page you can choose from over 500 options. Here are the niche bets the bookmaker offers:

If you are not satisfied with these, you can create your own combined bet for a match by using the Bet Builder option.

The odds for Betway football betting are about average. In the major national leagues (English Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A) the bookmaker's margin is between 5.10% and 5.35%.

FAQ