Introduction to Sky City
SkyCity Online Casino is a reasonably new online casino that launched in August 2019. The casino offers new customers a generous welcome bonus of $100 along with an additional 90 free spins(20 of which are credited on registration). SkyCity is famous for its Auckland-based casino but the online casino is has grown in popularity over the course of its first 18 months in business.
SkyCity Online casino is owned by a Maltese subsidiary of the SkyCity Entertainment Group and utilizes the GIG casino platform. This has allowed SkyCity to leapfrog many online casino competitors utilizing their local knowledge and brand relevancy in combination with the online casino expertise GIG retain to create the premier online casino destination in New Zealand.
What people are saying about SkyCity
The professor has done his research and sourced reactions from players and news outlets on the ground in New Zealand to find out what the people really think of SkyCity.
Negatives
Recent gambling news is mixed in its criticism. The media is quick to point out the large welcome bonus offered by SkyCity but also criticize it for not offering any notable games. There have also been complaints on various forums that SkyCity can be slow to process customer withdrawals.
Question: Do you think SkyCity will continue to grow and attract gamblers despite the limited number of their games? Or will their slow withdrawal times hurt them in the long run?
Positives
SkyCity’s online casino has won numerous awards for from leading casino critics regarding their approach to player safety. They are the only online casino in New Zealand currently that enforces the 20+ gambling rule and verifies players upfront before taking their money.
There have also been a number of positives reviews regarding the live casino product and wager-free, free spins policy employed at SkyCity online casino.
SkyCity Online Casino Bonus
Most casino welcome bonuses require a deposit prior to you receiving your bonus. SkyCity however allows customers to claim 20 free spins as soon as they complete their registration. This allows customers to experience the online casino without risking any of their own money. The free spins themselves only equate to approximately $2 in real-world value but there is no reason to look a gift horse in the mouth.
The larger casino bonus can only be accessed by customers willing to deposit their money at the online casino with a 100% deposit match bonus available to new customers on their first deposit at the casino. This mean that in a customer deposits anywhere from $10 to $100 the casino will match whatever they put in with bonus credits allowing player to double their fun.
This deposit match bonus is complimented with an interesting 10 free spins a day carrot, whereby new customers receive 10 free spins every 24 hours for their first 7 days are the casino. The 10 free spins are only available for 24 hours and expire as soon as the next day’s free spins are assigned, so there is no storing them up. You will need to use them each day to claim them.
How to sign up to SkyCity Online Casino
The no deposit bonus available at SkyCity is a great incentive to sign up but how do you do this?
The first thing to keep in mind is that SkyCity’s online casino is only available to customers who live in New Zealand. This means that if you cannot access the website from anywhere else in the world. It is possible to use a VPN to gain access but it is unlikely that you would be able to withdraw any of your winnings or verify your account.
The registration process itself is simple if you are a New Zealander with quick registration and account verification available to players willing to utilize their driver’s license during the registration process.
Once you have completed the registration process, SkyCity will validate your account to ensure that you are a real person and that you are of age to gamble. They will also check if you have previously signed up at the casino or if you are someone that has registered yourself as a problem gambler. If everything checks out, you will receive an email indicating that your account has been approved and you are free to utilize your 20 free spins.
The Professors Verdict
SkyCity’s online casino promised to changed the online casino space when it first entered the market. The player protection mechanisms in combination with a generous but not outrageous welcome bonus indicated a responsible customer centric online casino.
The reality is that they have not executed this vision as well as they ought to have. There have been reports of delays in processing customer withdrawals and verifying new customer accounts. These delays are not acceptable for customers that are waiting on their winnings and need to be ironed out sooner rather than later.
The combination of these positive and negative attributes of SkyCity have led the professor to give SkyCity Online Casino a passing grade of 75%.