LeoVegas vs Casumo: A New Zealand Casino Comparison

LeoVegas and Casumo are two of the casino brands New Zealanders come across most often, and unlike many head-to-head comparisons in this market they are genuinely separate companies — separate licences, separate platforms, separate cashiers. The comparison is real rather than two skins on the same back end.

Two things usually left out of these comparisons matter more than the feature lists. Both brands have been penalised by the same regulator for the same failing, and the advantage most often attributed to LeoVegas — a built-in sportsbook — can no longer lawfully be offered to anyone located in New Zealand. This guide sets out what is verifiable, what actually differs once the sportsbook is taken out of the equation, and where both sit under New Zealand’s new online casino law.

The regulatory records both comparisons skip

Both operators have historically been licensed by the Great Britain Gambling Commission — the statutory regulator for gambling in Britain, with powers to audit licensees, fine them and strip their licences. That is relevant here because neither company holds a New Zealand licence; the British record is the clearest public evidence of how each has behaved when a regulator with real teeth was watching.

Casumo was fined £6 million in March 2021, the largest British gambling penalty of that year, for anti-money-laundering and social-responsibility failings. The Commission found that one customer lost £1.1 million over three years without a single responsible-gambling interaction. Others who received no intervention lost £89,000 in a five-hour period, £59,000 in ninety minutes, £65,000 in a month and £76,000 over seven months. Customers were also able to deposit large sums without adequate source-of-funds checks. An official warning followed, alongside extensive independent auditing at the operator’s own expense.

LeoVegas was fined £1.32 million in August 2022 for the same category of failure. The Commission found it had not sufficiently taken account of guidance on customer interaction and had not enforced its own policy of stepping in with customers showing signs of harm. Its financial triggers — the spending thresholds meant to flag a problem — were set too high to be effective, allowing significant losses in short periods. Among the warning signs it failed to act on were denied deposits, cancelled withdrawals and unusually long sessions. An official warning and a third-party audit followed. The company had also been penalised in Denmark for anti-money-laundering breaches the previous year.

Read fairly, context matters. Casumo’s findings concerned an audit period ending in January 2020, after which it brought in a new chief executive specifically for compliance experience; the regulator later acknowledged a fundamental shift in its processes. LeoVegas was credited with cooperating and taking appropriate remedial action. Neither penalty makes these bad operators. A visible enforcement record means a regulator with real powers was watching — which is more than can be said for most casinos that currently accept New Zealanders. What does not stand up is any comparison that scores both on “trust and safety” without mentioning either case.

The two cases share one identical fault. In both, the automated monitoring meant to notice a customer in trouble did not, and nobody intervened. One detail is worth pausing on: among LeoVegas’s ignored warning signs were cancelled withdrawals. Requesting your money and then cancelling the request to put it back into play is a recognised indicator of gambling difficulty — which is exactly why some casinos add friction such as a 48-hour withdrawal hold with a one-click “reverse” button. If you ever find yourself cancelling a withdrawal, that is worth noticing in itself.

The practical takeaway does not depend on either operator: set your own deposit limit when you register, not after a losing session. A limit you set yourself does not rely on anyone else noticing. Two tools work regardless of the casino — a bank gambling block, free from most New Zealand banks and usually carrying a delay before it can be lifted, and BetBlocker, free software from a registered charity that blocks thousands of gambling sites across your devices. Our self-exclusion guide for New Zealand players walks through both.

The sportsbook is off the table in New Zealand

A built-in sportsbook — the ability to bet on rugby, racing or other sport inside the same account — is the single most commonly cited reason to pick one of these brands over the other. In New Zealand it no longer works, for either of them.

Since 28 June 2025, in the Department of Internal Affairs’ own words, it is illegal under New Zealand law for any person or organisation except TAB NZ to promote or take bets on racing or sporting events from a person located in New Zealand. The change came in under amendments to the Racing Industry Act 2020, passed with cross-party support, and the Department notified offshore operators to withdraw from the betting market with immediate effect.

Two consequences follow. First, whatever a casino’s built-in sportsbook offers elsewhere, it cannot lawfully take your rugby or racing bet from New Zealand; a casino account and a betting account are now separate questions here. Second, the prohibition falls on operators rather than on bettors, so placing a bet is not an offence for you — but the operator taking it is breaking New Zealand law and has been told to leave, which means no domestic recourse if a balance does not come back. If you are still holding a betting balance with an offshore brand, withdraw it: operators winding down a market typically close new registrations first, then deposits, then withdrawals.

The two regimes have moved in opposite directions. Sports and racing betting closed to offshore operators in June 2025, with the monopoly extended to all domestic online betting, while online casino gambling opened up under separate legislation in 2026. Several international betting companies shut out of the sports market are reported to be pursuing casino licences instead — so a familiar bookmaker’s name appearing here from 2027 will be a casino, not a sportsbook. Our New Zealand gambling laws guide traces the full timeline.

What actually differs once the sportsbook is removed

With the sportsbook out of the picture, the genuine differences between the two are narrower than most comparisons suggest. The table below sets them side by side; the paragraphs that follow explain the two that actually matter.

Ownership is the clearest difference. LeoVegas was founded in Sweden in 2011 and acquired by MGM Resorts International — the New York-listed casino and resort group — in a public tender completed in September 2022 valued at roughly US$604 million. Its Maltese operating company, LeoVegas Gaming Ltd, holds the key licences. Casumo was founded in Malta in 2012 and remains independent. That difference is relevant to any comparison built partly on corporate reputation, and it is worth stating plainly rather than gesturing at.

The products behind the brands overlap heavily. Live dealer tables at both come from Evolution, the dominant live-casino studio, so the experience is the same regardless of how each lobby dresses it up — our live casino guide explains how those games work. The slot and table libraries also substantially overlap, drawing on NetEnt, Microgaming, Play’n GO, Pragmatic Play, Red Tiger and Yggdrasil at both.

On bonuses, the wagering basis matters more than the headline. A wagering requirement is the number of times you must bet a bonus before you can withdraw winnings from it; a “35×” bonus of $100 means $3,500 of turnover. Casumo’s requirement tends to sit around 30× against roughly 35× at LeoVegas, but the five-point gap is the small part. The bigger detail is the basis: a requirement applied to bonus funds alone is far cheaper than one applied to deposit plus bonus, which roughly doubles the turnover for the same headline multiple. Confirm which basis applies, and the maximum bet permitted while wagering, before you opt in at either. Our low-wagering casinos guide shows how to price any offer properly.

The remaining differences are real but minor. Casumo leans on gamified progression — a system designed to make routine play feel like levelling up, which is engaging by design, and engagement is the point. LeoVegas runs more conventional VIP tiers. E-wallet withdrawal times are close, roughly a day at LeoVegas against one to two at Casumo; that gap is not a reason to choose one over the other.

The games, and the jackpot catalogue

One figure is worth knowing, because the progressive-jackpot catalogue is sometimes given as a reason to prefer LeoVegas. Return to player (RTP) is the long-run percentage of stakes a game pays back; a standard online pokie sits around 96%. Mega Moolah, the best-known progressive jackpot title, returns about 88% in its base game — well below that, because roughly 5% of every wager is diverted to fund the shared jackpot rather than being returned to ordinary play. The headline jackpot is real, but it is paid for out of the base-game return, and the title is available at both brands and at any casino that licenses it. Our online pokies guide covers that trade-off in more detail.

Banking and verification

Both brands support New Zealand dollars natively, which removes currency-conversion costs on deposits and withdrawals at both ends. Beyond that, two points are worth checking before you deposit anywhere.

On POLi: availability varies, so check each site rather than assuming. Where it is offered, POLi works by having you enter your internet-banking username and password into a third party’s screen. Consumer NZ has warned this probably breaches your bank’s terms and conditions, and the major New Zealand banks have told customers not to share their login details. Regulated open banking went live in New Zealand on 1 December 2025, letting you authorise a payment inside your own bank’s app without handing over credentials — a safer route as it becomes available at the cashier. Our casino deposit methods guide covers the alternatives.

On verification: complete identity checks (often called KYC, “know your customer”) when you register rather than at the first withdrawal. The documents required are the same either way, and getting them cleared early removes the most common cause of a delayed first payout.

Check availability before planning around either

Neither LeoVegas nor Casumo is primarily a New Zealand-facing business. Both have core markets in the United Kingdom and the Nordics, and regional availability at offshore casinos can change without notice. Several offshore operators have closed to new New Zealand registrations during the current licensing transition, some very recently. Attempt registration and look at the cashier before you plan around either — a comparison written months ago cannot tell you whether an account is actually open to you today.

Where this sits in New Zealand law in 2026

Online casino gambling is now governed by the Online Casino Gambling Act 2026, in force since 1 May 2026, with the detailed regulations following on 3 July 2026. This is law in force, not a bill under consideration.

Expressions of interest opened in July 2026 with a NZ$19,000 fee, followed by an auction and full applications, for up to fifteen licences — one brand per licence, and no operator may hold more than three. From 1 December 2026, any operator that has not entered the process must stop serving New Zealanders, with penalties of up to NZ$5 million; those that applied may continue until their application is decided or until 1 July 2027.

Licensed operators are expected during 2027, under a public register and a set of consumer rules. Inducements such as bonuses will be capped at NZ$100 where no spending is required, and at the lesser of NZ$100 or 200% of the deposit where it is; players must have deposit and loss limits available, with pop-up alerts on time and money spent and a mandatory 24-hour cooling-off before any self-set limit can be loosened; and operators must exclude a customer who still shows signs of problem gambling after being offered help, for up to two years. Until a brand appears on that register, there is no local licence, no local regulator and no domestic complaints route for online casino play.

Getting help

Free, confidential support is available in New Zealand at any hour: the Gambling Helpline on 0800 654 655, or free text 8006, and PGF Services on 0800 664 262. You must be 18 or older to gamble online in New Zealand.

Disclaimer

This page is published for information. It is not financial, legal or gambling advice, and nothing on it is a recommendation to gamble or an endorsement of either operator. You must be 18 or older to gamble online in New Zealand.

It compares casino products only. Since 28 June 2025, only TAB NZ may lawfully accept sports or racing bets from a person in New Zealand; nothing here recommends, promotes or facilitates betting with any other operator, and the prohibition is noted because a reader is entitled to know it applies.

The regulatory penalties described are matters of public record, concern audit periods ending in 2020 and 2022 respectively, and in both cases the regulator recorded cooperation and remediation. They are included so a reader can see each operator’s compliance history, not as any suggestion of current wrongdoing. Licensing, ownership, bonus terms, wagering multiples, withdrawal times, payment methods and country availability all change, sometimes within weeks. Confirm the current position with each operator, and on the relevant regulator’s register, before you deposit. Gambling costs money over time by design, and no bonus, loyalty scheme or licence changes that.

Frequently Asked Questions

Have LeoVegas and Casumo been penalised by a regulator?

Both have. The Great Britain Gambling Commission fined Casumo £6 million in March 2021 — the largest British gambling penalty that year — and LeoVegas £1.32 million in August 2022, in each case for anti-money-laundering and social-responsibility failings. Both operators cooperated, remediated and were credited for it by the regulator.

Can I use their sportsbook from New Zealand?

No. Since 28 June 2025, only TAB NZ may lawfully take sports or racing bets from a person located in New Zealand. Any offshore sportsbook built into a casino account cannot legally accept your bet here, and there is no domestic recourse if a betting balance is not returned.

Which has the better bonus terms?

Casumo tends to have the lower wagering requirement — around 30× against roughly 35× at LeoVegas — and, more importantly, applies it to bonus funds rather than deposit plus bonus, which matters more than the gap in the multiple. Always confirm the current basis and maximum bet rules before opting in, as terms change.

Who owns LeoVegas and Casumo?

LeoVegas is owned by MGM Resorts International, the New York-listed casino and resort group, which completed its acquisition in September 2022; its Maltese operating company is LeoVegas Gaming Ltd. Casumo was founded in Malta in 2012 and remains independent.

Is playing with these operators legal in New Zealand right now?

Placing a bet or playing is not an offence for the individual, but neither brand holds a New Zealand licence, so there is currently no local regulator or complaints route. Licensed operators are expected during 2027 under the Online Casino Gambling Act 2026; from 1 December 2026, operators that have not entered the licensing process must stop serving New Zealanders.