How DashTickets’ strict reviews help New Zealanders spot and avoid rogue casinos
DashTickets is a gambling magazine operated by Dash Tickets New Zealand Limited and founded in 2009 by Matthew Robert Davey. Ever since its inception, the magazine has focused on delivering high-quality online casino reviews from a player’s perspective.
“When we started DashTickets, finding an unbiased, non-sponsored review for a casino operating in New Zealand was pretty much impossible. The casino market is filled with paid advertisements, leaving little to no space for actual information that would be interesting to players. The situation hasn’t changed much in years, which is why we’re still one of the very few sources that New Zealanders rely on when choosing a safe and reliable casino,” says Mark Dash, editor-in-chief of DashTickets.
Nowadays, DashTickets is one of the leading niche websites in New Zealand, and its collection of reviews has become one of the most trusted sources for New Zealanders who want to ensure a quality casino experience and avoid any potential scams.
As Mark Dash explains, New Zealand finds itself in a fairly unusual position. While the government does regulate the gambling industry in the country and provides several important laws to ensure safety for locals, in practice, this mostly applies to land casinos and websites that operate in New Zealand’s jurisdiction. This leaves offshore online casinos pretty much unmonitored — and they are highly popular in the country.
An example of a casino review page from DashTickets
“With no way to legally ensure that these casinos follow the best practices and respect our players, we had to come up with other ways to influence them. As a magazine, we decided to provide comprehensive reviews that cover every single aspect of the casino experience, so that the players can learn what they can expect beforehand. We chose to rely on a mystery shopper approach to ensure that the casino will treat our reviewers in the exact same way as it would treat any other player,” says Mark Dash.
How do DashTickets’ reviews enable a safe casino experience for New Zealanders?
The team behind DashTickets has established a strict review guideline, consisting of 16 steps, to guarantee an extensive casino testing process. This includes analyzing the casino’s background and Terms and Conditions, playing casino games for around 10 hours using real NZ dollars, attempting to withdraw winnings, and contacting customer support. Not only that, the team will also evaluate the website’s general usability, the quality of the games, and other users’ opinions on the casino.
“For example, we’ve had several issues trying to withdraw winnings from certain websites, and some of them blamed New Zealand’s popular operators. However, we know for a fact that these operators worked well in any other case. Secondly, if you decide to operate in New Zealand and promote your services to locals, you have to ensure that they can withdraw their winnings. We might not necessarily call this casino rogue outright, but every part of our experience will be documented and reflected in our final score,” says Sophia Novakivska, author at DashTickets.
DashTickets’ DashScore is a metric that combines all of the aspects of the reviewer’s experience with a certain casino. Ranging from 0 to 100, DashScore enables New Zealanders to quickly understand whether they should interact with a particular website or not.
Currently, most casinos DashTickets reviewed are rated between 40 and 80+. As Sophia Novakivska explains, the quality standards and expectations are pretty high at DashTickets, and the team doesn’t intend to lower them.
While some casino owners may not be happy about their DashScore, some websites didn’t even deserve a spot in DashTickets’ database and were blacklisted instead.
The “Blacklisted casinos” page from DashTickets’ website
“As journalists, we have to be extremely careful when blacklisting casinos, so we gather as much information as we can before making that decision. However, when it is made, it means we are 100% certain that these websites are completely rogue and that any player should avoid them at all costs. We cannot forbid these casinos from operating here, and the government doesn’t pay enough attention to them, but at the very least we can keep our compatriots informed,” explains Sophia Novakivska.
Future expectations
While DashTickets has achieved a notable position in New Zealand’s gambling industry, the team behind it doesn’t plan on stopping there.
“Rogue and low-quality casinos are only a couple of pieces of the giant puzzle that constitutes New Zealand’s gambling industry. While we are proud to be one of the most trusted resources in the country, we want to expand our reach and cover the entire niche. Currently, we already write about market trends, legal issues, and problem gambling, and we will continue doing so on a larger scale,” says Mark Dash, editor-in-chief of DashTickets.
Want to connect with DashTickets?
If you’re interested in contacting DashTickets or collaborating with the team as an affiliate partner, reach out at https://dashtickets.nz/contact-us/.