The digital entertainment market in NZ is one that is seeing changes. Kiwis are predominantly enjoying digital entertainment that is flexible and able to be engaged with on demand. This can be seen from the rising popularity of disparate entertainment forms, such as streaming sports like the NFL and engaging in online casino gaming, which have certain qualities in common.
Digital entertainment in New Zealand is becoming a space that is largely shaped by internet access and smartphone penetration. Kiwis prefer to consume most of their entertainment on their phones, in a way that speaks to a high-degree of flexibility in their consumption. Types of on-demand content consumption are growing the most, alongside entertainment with global roots, such as interest in the United States National Football League (NFL). NFL content, for most fans in NZ, is typically consumed as on-demand content or in short snippets on social media between other activities. This is similar to the way in which NZ residents like to consume other forms of digital entertainment, such as online casino gaming, streaming other content and short-form videos.
Let’s take a closer look at the ways that Kiwis prefer to consume digital entertainment, be it watching NFL matches on demand or signing up for any casino free spins on registration platforms, whatever the type of entertainment, Kiwis like it to be flexible and on demand.
Access to Global Sports Through Streaming
Residents of New Zealand are enjoying digital access to a more global selection of sports than ever before. Long gone are the days when any sort of international sports could only be accessed through the limited broadcasts on television or through expensive memberships to cable services. Modern digital streaming technology allows NZ residents to access sports like the NFL with simple subscriptions.
One of the key components of most of the services that offer NZ residents access to NFL matches and other global sports is flexibility. These services offer the ability not only to watch the games live, but also to watch them on demand at any time they like, to download replays and watch them offline, even to watch old half-time shows from Super Bowls they might have missed, and these services also often offer a range of stats for them to dive into as well.
By offering a higher degree of flexibility and accessibility, sports streaming platforms are dialling into what NZ residents really care about in a digital entertainment option.
Using Multiple Devices At Once
Just like in many places in the world, one of the biggest trends in the changing behavior of audiences engaging with digital entertainment is that they like to use multiple devices at once. This multi-screen behavior allows people to engage with entertainment in an incredibly flexible way, as they will not only be watching an NFL game, but also looking to place a bet on the game, or tracking the stats of players or teams live in a fantasy football app.
This sort of second-screen or multi-screen activity also lends itself to engaging with multiple types of digital entertainment at once. Between a break in the action in an NFL game, fans might open up a casino app on their second screen and spin a few slot reels, or scroll social media for a few minutes before the action kicks off again.
Online Casino Gaming in NZ is Fast and Flexible
While there is changing weather on the horizon in terms of the regulatory environment for online casino gaming in NZ, something we’ll touch on later, one thing is sure: Kiwis love online casino platforms that allow them to play flexibly.
The most popular online casino platforms among NZ residents are those that are able to be accessed at any time and played in a flexible range of ways. This means both in terms of the types of games that they offer, the bonuses they offer and the devices they are available on.
Online casino platforms are much more likely to see success among NZ residents if they are:
- Designed with a mobile-first mentality.
- Able to be used in quick, bite-sized sessions.
- Offering attractive and flexible welcome bonuses like free spins.
- Able to be played on-demand, whenever the user wants.
Many of these features are similar to or the same as those that sports streaming services have found help to drive their popularity among NZ residents.
The Changing Regulatory Environment for New Zealand Online Gambling
The regulatory environment for online gambling is changing somewhat drastically in NZ. The NZ government is putting the final touches on its Online Casino Gambling Bill, which has been in the works for almost a year now and is due to be fully in place by the beginning of December of this year.
The new bill aims to regulate what has previously been an unregulated gray market situation. After the bill is fully enacted on December 1st, the only lawful way for individuals to engage in online casino gaming will be through any one of the 15 licensed platforms.
The main ideas behind the implementation of the bill include the following:
- Ensuring strong player protection measures are in place.
- Responsible gambling tools will be available to players.
- Fair play and transparency standards will be upheld.
- Revenue from gambling activities will stay within New Zealand.
Changing Habits Across Digital Entertainment
While NFL fandom and online casino gaming might seem like relatively disparate topics, we should be looking at them here in terms of how the habits of NZ residents when engaging in both of these activities have changed. Exactly because they are so disparate, is why they are good examples to compare the changing digital entertainment habits.
We can see from both NFL fandom and online casino gaming in NZ that Kiwis are more and more interested in entertainment options that are:
- Flexible.
- Digital first.
- Accessible across a range of devices.
- Personalized to some degree.
It is important to note that while the main focus of this article has been on NFL viewership and online casino gaming, these same traits can be seen across almost all of the preferred entertainment options that New Zealanders are choosing today, from social media platforms to on-demand content streaming.
Final Thoughts
As trends in digital entertainment for Kiwis continue to see higher engagement when they are flexible and accessible across multiple devices, businesses are likely to give the people of New Zealand exactly what they want! New Zealanders should expect more of their digital entertainment options to be designed with flexibility and multi-screen accessibility built in.
