DashTickets, founded in 2009 by Matthew Robert Davey and operated by Dash Tickets New Zealand Limited, is a gambling magazine covering various online casino-related topics, with a primary focus on comprehensive reviews from a player’s perspective.
These reviews have made DashTickets one of the most influential niche websites in New Zealand. The team has become a standard-setter for online pokies, with thousands of locals relying on their ratings to choose casinos.
“When we started DashTickets, our goal was to help New Zealanders make informed casino choices. There are dozens of various offshore online casinos that operate in our market, and the quality of their services ranges wildly. We wanted to make sure that our fellow compatriots get the best out of the gambling experience, and can avoid being scammed,” says Mark Dash, editor-in-chief of DashTickets.
For that purpose, the team has compiled a comprehensive database of online casinos, each accompanied by an in-depth review covering every aspect of their services — from deposit and withdrawal processes to game variety, UI responsiveness, and customer support quality.
All of these qualities are evaluated separately and are then combined into a single metric — the DashScore. This way, readers don’t have to get through an extensive review for every single casino — they can simply see how good the pokies and other services are at a certain website based on a 0 to 100 scale.
With the team testing around four casinos a week, DashTickets currently offers the largest pool of pokies websites available for local players.
An example of a casino review page from DashTickets
“There are two things you need to know about New Zealand’s market. First of all, New Zealanders love pokies. Secondly, the government effectively only monitors land-based establishments, even though lots of offshore online casinos operate in the country and a huge percentage of players use their services. What ends up happening is that no one really ensures quality standards for them — and that’s why we had to step in,” says Mark Dash.
What makes pokies so important for New Zealanders?
Pokies, or poker/slot machines, were a crucial part of a pub experience in New Zealand for a long time, with locals gathering after a day of hard work to relax, have fun, and try some occasional spins. Nowadays, pokies have mostly migrated to online casinos, bringing this relaxed experience directly to people’s pockets.
“For a lot of natives, it is a mix of convenient fun and nostalgia. Now you don’t even have to go to the pub, but you still remember what it was like, and pokies are right here in your hand. You can imagine what happens to a game that was popular even when it was tied to a certain location you generally visited at very specific times. Now people enjoy pokies during lunch, at bus stations, or anywhere else, and this popularity only makes quality control more important,” says Edward Howarth, author at DashTickets.
The country’s long history of pokies and its general association with fun social gatherings make it somewhat of a local cultural phenomenon. Nowadays, lots of casinos are happy to offer their games to willing New Zealanders, although not all of them are providing a good service.
An example of a casino review page from DashTickets
“The issue is that there are dozens of casinos, and sometimes they don’t really understand the market — for instance, we’ve seen websites that don’t provide any convenient payment options for New Zealanders, despite advertising for the region. We just want to make sure that our compatriots have a good time with pokies the way they deserve,” says Howarth.
That is why the team developed a strict review system, consisting of 16 steps, which include not just background checks and general overviews, but actual hours of gameplay and real money deposits. DashTickets relies on a mystery shopper approach to ensure no bias in their reviews, making them the most trusted source for locals.
“We know how important pokies are for our people, so our reviewers will play them around 10 hours on average and use third-party software to calculate approximate RTP so that we know the casino is player-friendly. It sounds difficult, but it is the only way to provide real information to our readers, and that information is incredibly valuable in the casino industry, which is filled to the brim with paid PR articles and advertisements,” says Edward Howarth.
Looking forward
While DashTickets has achieved a notable position in New Zealand’s gambling industry, the team behind it doesn’t plan on stopping there.
“We appreciate the trust, and we want to expand our reach. Currently, we cover online casinos, market statistics, legal issues associated with the industry, and problem gambling. Our current goal is to become the most comprehensive industry magazine in the country, a go-to place for any question on casinos. Luckily, we have just the team to achieve that,” 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/.