Online Rugby Betting in New Zealand 2024

Whether your interests are purely in backing the All Blacks, or you're a steadfast fan of the Hurricanes, you can enjoy the best rugby odds and payouts when you bet online. Making a rugby bet is quick and easy at top betting sites, adding extra thrills and rewards to watching your favourite sport. Get into the scrum and start betting today at one of our recommended sites for 2024.

Continue reading and find out:

  • What rugby bets you can make online
  • Tips to beat the rugby betting odds
  • How we find the best online betting sites
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When you visit the best betting sites, you'll be able to place your rugby bet online quickly and easily.

Getting Started With Rugby Betting

Get started with in play rugby betting

Basic Rules of Rugby

When you bet on rugby union games, it's best to have a sense of the rules. This also helps you to know what you can bet on, and when to make your winning rugby bet.

  • Each team has 15 players on the pitch, with 7 available substitutions.
  • To win, a team must outscore the opposing side.
  • A game is played for 80 minutes, divided into two 40-minute halves.
  • 5 points are awarded for tries, 2 points for conversions, 3 points for penalties and drop goals.

Common Rugby Betting

The bigger the game or tournament, the more betting options a bookie might add. So, if you're betting on World Cup or Tri-Nations events, you might find more available bets. These are the most popular wagers.

Handicap

Handicap betting is used to level the playing field. So, if England is the favourite in a game against South Africa, the handicap might be +5 to South Africa. This means that if you bet on South Africa +5 to win, and England wins by 4 or fewer points, then you won the bet in the handicap market.

Match Betting

The simpler the wager, you can bet on which team will win the match. This is often broken down into the highest scoring half, winning margin and number of tries wagers as well. However, you can always place a simple match rugby bet.

Outright Winner

The most popular wager in sports betting, where you wager on which team will win a tournament or championship. For example, you might bet that the All Blacks will win the World Cup or the Tri-Nations.

Rules of the game

These are the basic rules of the game in rugby union. While you can get into more detail, these are the bare essentials you need to know to understand the game.

  • Each team has 15 players on the pitch, with 7 available substitutions.
  • To win, a team must outscore the opposing side.
  • A game is played for 80 minutes, divided into two 40-minute halves.
  • 5 points are awarded for tries, 2 points for conversions, 3 points for penalties and drop goals.
  • A scrum, usually consisting of 8 players who lock into each other, can be used to restart play after knock-ons or forward passes.
  • If the ball goes out of play, a line out is used to resume play.
  • In all other restart events, the ball is put back in play with a free kick.

Top Rugby Betting Odds and Tips

Ready to get started with rugby betting? Here are some tips and strategies to help you win big.

Understand the usual type of play

Understanding your team can put you at an advantage when you make live bets. If a team is known for its kicking strategy or forward-oriented game, then tries might be less frequent. As a result, you might want to bet on the first scoring play market rather than the first try.

Wager on each half

Does your team tend to take it easy for the first half and then put tons of points on the board in the second half? This might give you great opportunities to make some worthwhile bets on the half-time/full-time market.

Check the weather

Not only can weather impact the handicap market, you may see that it changes the way the team might play. Dry conditions often lead to a faster-paced game compared to wet and muddy rugby. When you know your team, and the weather, you might have a better sense of worthwhile wagers.

Use a betting calculator

These can help you know how much you stand to win or lose on a given wager, and will even calculate your rugby odds for you. Sometimes we get caught up in what might happen, but it's important to get grounded with how worthwhile and viable a bet actually is.

Enjoy the game

Rugby betting is meant to add to the exhilaration of watching the game.

How We Rate and Review Top NZ Casinos Online

Before you start betting, you must do a thorough analysis of the casino you’re aiming to bet at, checking whether it’s licensed, legitimate and provides veritable payment options. That’s why our skilled New Zealand gambling team take a lot of time preparing reviews for you.

Choosing an online betting site

Our team of experts have diligently researched numerous online casinos to help find you the best of the best online betting sites and have produced detailed, honest reviews. Casino operators online often include bookies, meaning there are more options for online betting.

To find the best betting sites, we check for the following elements and suggest you do the same.

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Licensing and Security

It's vital to gamble at betting sites that are fully licensed with regulatory bodies. They also need to have high levels of security, such as the latest encryption technology to keep your personal and financial data safe.
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Software

Whether it’s with apps or browser-based betting, sports betting sites need to give gamblers a stable, well-designed way to place bets on computers and mobile devices.
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Variety

The selection of available wagers must be large and varied, with all the best sports and bets that punters are looking for.
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Banking Methods

Online betting sites must offer fast deposit and withdrawal options using a variety of secure and popular banking methods.
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Customer Support

Customer service is vital for resolving any questions or concerns, which is why it should be easily available using a variety of communication channels.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • There are a variety of events that you can wager on, including everything from Super Rugby the World Cup, Tri-Nations and Six Nations.
  • Yes, as long as the site is licensed and has SSL security encryption. We advise you select a betting site from our recommended list at the top of this page, as our experts have ensured these sites are secure.
  • Yes, all of our recommended betting sites offer welcome bonuses to get you started, free bets VIP rewards for loyal members.
  • The odds will vary depending on how well a team is playing, who their opponents are, any injuries on the squad and even the weather.
  • Of course! You can enjoy all the best rugby betting using any modern mobile device. More often than not, online betting sites have customized their web pages for mobile use and some betting agents even have customized apps for gamblers to download.