The short version: we earn money when a reader we send to a casino becomes a real customer there. The casino pays us a slice of their marketing budget. It costs you nothing — the bonuses and prices you see are exactly the same whether you click our link or go directly to the casino. That's the deal. The rest of this document explains how it works, what it doesn't change, and why you can still trust our rankings.
— Preamble · Written in plain English, on purposeThe short version
If you only read one section on this page, let it be this one.
We're paid by casinos, not by you. Our revenue comes from affiliate commissions paid by casino operators when their new customers arrive through our links. The customer — you — pays nothing extra.
Commission rates are identical across partners. Playmojo doesn't pay us more than Ruby Fortune. Jet Casino doesn't pay us more than 7Bit. Every casino on our ranked list operates on the same commission structure, which means no operator can buy a higher placement.
Rankings are not for sale. In nine years of operating KiwiStake, we have never accepted payment for a specific ranking position. Our #1 and #10 are set by our scoring model, full stop.
The disclosure bar at the top of every page is real. It's not boilerplate we copy-pasted from a template. It's the actual notice required by New Zealand consumer protection law and by the GPWA (Gambling Portal Webmasters Association) — of which we are a verified member.
What is affiliate marketing, plainly
Affiliate marketing is the business model used by review sites, coupon sites, travel sites, and many of the largest publications you read every day (including big mastheads whose editorial you trust). The way it works is identical across industries:
- A publisher (in our case, KiwiStake) creates content that helps readers make a decision.
- A commercial operator (in our case, an online casino) wants those readers as customers.
- The publisher signs an agreement with the operator. Every reader who clicks through the publisher's link is tagged with a unique tracking code.
- If that reader becomes a paying customer — signs up, deposits money, meets a minimum activity threshold — the operator pays the publisher an agreed commission.
It is structurally similar to a real-estate agent's commission on a sale: the agent doesn't charge the buyer a fee, but they do get paid when a transaction completes. The agent has a clear incentive to close sales — which is exactly why a good agent builds their reputation on giving honest advice, because their long-term business depends on buyers trusting them. The same economics apply to us.
How we actually earn
Most people imagine affiliate commissions as a one-off bounty per sign-up. The reality at KiwiStake is more nuanced, so here's the full picture.
CPA (cost per acquisition). We earn a fixed amount — typically NZ$100 to NZ$400 — when a reader arrives via our link, registers, deposits, and meets a small wagering threshold. This is the most common structure.
Revenue share. With some partners, we earn a percentage (typically 25%–40%) of the casino's net gaming revenue from the players we refer — for as long as those players remain active. Over time, rev-share arrangements usually earn less than CPA for casual players but more for long-term regulars.
Hybrid. A smaller CPA upfront (typically NZ$50–$100) plus a lower rev-share percentage (typically 15%–20%) of ongoing net revenue. This is the default arrangement with most of our long-term partners.
Flat licence fees. A small number of partners pay a fixed monthly fee for their operator data to be included in our comparison pages. This fee does not affect ranking position and is disclosed per listing.
What we don't earn
We do not earn money on your losses. We do not earn more when you lose than when you win. We do not earn a percentage of your deposits. Commission is paid by the operator out of their marketing budget — not out of player funds, not out of losing bets, and not out of the deposits you make. This is a hard regulatory requirement in every licensed market we cover.
Our revenue split in numbers
Where our money comes from, in 2025 figures (our most recently audited year). This is not a precise accounting statement — it's rounded to the nearest percentage for clarity.
Audited figures for previous years and a full breakdown by revenue line are available on request to [email protected]. We publish a revenue summary in our annual transparency report every March.
Our casino partners
Every casino listed on our ranking pages is disclosed below with its commercial relationship to KiwiStake. Partner status is updated monthly. Casinos we cover editorially but do not earn commission from are also listed — we want you to see that both categories exist.
What "common ownership" looks like
Several of our listed casinos share a parent company. Specifically, Spin Casino, Ruby Fortune, Jackpot City, Lucky Nugget, Royal Vegas, and All Slots all belong to the Bayton Ltd / Baytree Ltd group of brands operating under Malta and Kahnawake licences. Where you see several of these brands on a single ranking page, you're effectively seeing multiple products from the same operator. This is always disclosed within the individual review of each brand.
How to spot an affiliate link
You have a right to know when you're clicking a link that makes us money. Here are the signals — both the ones we commit to showing you, and the general technical markers any affiliate link carries.
What we do
- Every page with affiliate links displays the disclosure bar at the top. It's persistent and does not disappear when you scroll.
- Every button that takes you to a partner casino is styled as a clear call-to-action ("Play Now", "Claim Bonus"), not disguised as a regular text link.
- Casino names and logos in our rankings and comparison tables are clickable affiliate links. These are marked with
rel="sponsored nofollow"in the HTML for search-engine transparency. - Links to regulators, responsible-gambling resources, and our own internal pages are never affiliate links. Those are normal outbound links, always.
Does clicking our link cost you anything?
No. This is worth stating directly. Whether you arrive at Playmojo via a KiwiStake link or by typing the URL into your browser yourself, the exact same welcome bonus, the exact same wagering requirements, the exact same minimum deposit, and the exact same game library are available to you.
Affiliate marketing does not work by charging customers extra. It works by redirecting a portion of the casino's existing marketing budget — budget they would otherwise spend on Google Ads, Facebook campaigns, billboard advertising, and so on. The casino pays us instead of paying a search engine, and you pay the same price either way.
What you do get via our link
- Every advertised welcome bonus is applied at full value
- Our reviews have checked the offer is legitimate and the wagering terms fair
- Occasionally we negotiate exclusive bonuses with partners — clearly labelled
- Your deposit and winnings flow directly to/from the casino, never through us
What you don't get charged
- No processing fees for using our link
- No membership subscription or "premium access" to bonuses
- No difference in deposit minimums or withdrawal limits
- No share of your winnings taken by us — we never touch player money
The editorial firewall
The most important commitment on this page: affiliate commission does not buy a higher ranking. This isn't a slogan — it's an operating rule with specific mechanics.
Commercial team is walled off. The people who negotiate commission rates and partner agreements at KiwiStake have no access to our draft reviews, our scoring model, or our publication calendar. They cannot preview rankings before they go live.
Commission rates are uniform. Every partner accepts our standard rate card. There is no "premium tier" for casinos that want higher placement. When an operator offers more money for better position, we decline and log the offer in our internal editorial register.
Scoring is algorithmic first. Initial rankings are produced by our 42-criterion scoring model (documented in full on our editorial policy page). Editorial discretion can move a casino down based on documented concerns, but cannot move a casino up without published reasoning.
Partners see reviews the same day as everyone else. Casinos never get a preview. They cannot request edits. They cannot embargo a negative finding. "Pre-publication fact-checking" is never offered as a service.
The full mechanics of how we separate commercial and editorial activity — including our conflicts-of-interest protocol and our complaints process — are documented in our editorial policy. Readers who believe we've failed to uphold this firewall can file a formal complaint there.
If you'd prefer not to use our affiliate links
You're reading this page, which suggests you care about these things. We respect that. If you've found our reviews useful but would rather KiwiStake didn't earn commission on your signup, here's how to opt out.
Type the URL directly. Just search for the casino by name and go to its website without clicking our link. You'll get the exact same welcome bonus. We won't earn anything from your signup. No hard feelings — this document exists partly so you can make this choice with full information.
Clear our tracking cookie. If you clicked a link earlier but changed your mind before signing up, you can clear your browser cookies for kiwistake.nz. That removes the tracking tag, and your subsequent signup won't be credited to us.
Support us another way. If you want to back the work without going through a partner, share a review with a Kiwi friend who's looking for a casino, or sign up to our newsletter — readership is what keeps the lights on almost as much as commission does.
Frequently asked
The questions readers actually send us about affiliate relationships, with plain answers.
Do you ever lie about a casino because they pay you?
No. The stronger answer: we regularly write negative things about our own partners when we find problems, and we sometimes delist partners entirely if their standards drop. In 2024 we removed four existing partners after failed withdrawal tests. Truth in reviewing is the product. Without it we have nothing to sell.
Why isn't every casino a partner?
Two reasons. First, some casinos we cover have no affiliate programme at all. Second, we turn down partnership offers from operators that fail our editorial standards — if a casino's licence status is unclear or its track record is poor, we will refuse to promote them regardless of the commission offered.
Is affiliate marketing legal in New Zealand?
Yes. Affiliate marketing for overseas-licensed online casinos is legal in New Zealand, provided the marketing itself complies with the Gambling Act 2003 and the Fair Trading Act. We do not accept partnerships from operators without verified overseas licences, and our disclosure practices meet NZ Commerce Commission standards for advertising transparency.
Do you earn a cut of my losses?
No. Under revenue-share arrangements, we earn a percentage of the casino's net gaming revenue from referred players — which is calculated by the casino at the operator level. We don't see individual player accounts, we don't know who has won or lost, and we don't receive anything that could be described as a cut of specific losses. On CPA arrangements, the payment is a fixed amount per qualified signup, full stop.
What happens if I complain about a partner casino?
We investigate. If the complaint is substantive, we contact the operator for comment and examine our own test data. Complaints that reveal a pattern — failed withdrawals, hostile bonus terms, hidden fees — trigger a full re-review and can result in partner delisting. Commercial relationships never protect a casino from editorial investigation. Report issues to [email protected].
Do you track me after I leave the site?
Minimally. Our tracking cookie records that you arrived at a partner via our link, so that any subsequent signup can be credited to us. The cookie expires after 30 days. We do not track your gameplay, deposits, or account activity — the casino does not share that information with us at the individual-player level. Our privacy policy covers the specifics.
Matiu Henare
Questions about our money?
If this page doesn't answer something you want to know about our commercial relationships, we'd genuinely like to hear what we missed. Honest questions will always get an honest answer — and we update this document as better questions come in.
[email protected]Responses acknowledged within 3 business days