A small team, a specific job

The team behind the reviews

Nikau Tangaroa — Senior Gaming Researcher

Nikau leads the research programme and writes most of the on-site analysis. Ten years of work in statistical testing at a Wellington actuarial consultancy before moving into gaming-sector writing in 2020. Nikau owns the wagering calculations, the bonus-value modelling, and the quarterly re-test cycle. When a casino changes the wagering on an offer without updating its marketing, Nikau is usually the person who notices and files the correction.

Marama Puketapu — Payments & Banking Editor

Marama covers the cashier side of the operation — POLi settlement behaviour across ANZ, ASB, BNZ and Westpac; crypto-to-casino wallet hops; card-gateway failure patterns; KYC document handling; withdrawal-cycle timing. Background in retail banking compliance, which turns out to translate well to spotting when a casino's published payment terms don't match its actual cashier behaviour.

James Whelan — Technical & Game Verification

James handles the game-floor verification: confirming that RTP figures published in a pokie's information panel match the operator's published figure, that a casino's live-dealer studios are the ones it claims they are, and that the licensing body cited on the footer is current and not expired. James also runs the mobile testing cycle across iOS and Android, flagging any regression in the app or browser experience between quarters.

Our six-criterion testing method

Every casino listed on the home page has to pass the same six-part test. A failure on any one criterion is a removal, not a demotion — we do not rank a casino that we cannot verify.

1. Genuine $1 deposit: we put $1 NZD through the cashier with our own bank account, from our own New Zealand IP. If the cashier rejects the dollar or quietly raises the minimum, the casino leaves the ranking.
2. Valid regulatory licence: a current, verifiable licence from Curaçao, Malta, Alderney, Gibraltar, or Kahnawake. We check the regulator's public register, not just what the casino claims in its footer.
3. Real bonus mechanics: the bonus terms we describe on this site are the terms you experience at the cashier. We check wagering multipliers, max-bet clauses, game weightings and withdrawal caps personally.
4. Catalogue depth & provider mix: at least one thousand titles from first-tier providers such as NetEnt, Pragmatic Play, Evolution, Games Global, Play'n GO, BGaming, Hacksaw.
5. Actual payout timing: we run a withdrawal cycle as part of testing and record the real elapsed time from request to funds-received. Published timings and actual timings frequently disagree.
6. Mobile integrity: the catalogue and the cashier have to work on iOS and Android without missing games or broken payment flows. Casinos that fail mobile testing drop out of the ranking until the issue is resolved.

How we make money

Some of the links on this site are affiliate links — when a reader clicks through and signs up, we may receive a commission from the casino at no extra cost to the reader. We are transparent about this in the footer of every page and we disclose it again inside the ranking itself. Commissions do not influence the ranking order: the testing criteria above determine position, and positions change when the underlying offers change, not when a commercial arrangement shifts.

Casinos cannot pay to appear on Provenance Manawatū. Casinos cannot pay to move up. Casinos can be removed from the ranking if they fail our test, commercial arrangement or not.

Where we work from

Provenance Manawatū is based at 159 Broadway Avenue, Palmerston North Central — in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of the lower North Island. Contact is hello@provenancemanawatu.co.nz for editorial feedback, correction requests, or partner inquiries.