Online Craps in New Zealand: Rules, Bets and Odds

Updated October 2026

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Learn how digital and live tables handle dice outcomes, and how points, bets, odds and free play fit into a craps round.

How Online Craps Tables Work

Online craps is presented in two formats: a digital table whose dice outcomes are produced by a random number generator (RNG), and a live game in which real dealers conduct play. Both use the same underlying idea. You place bets on the results of rolls made with two dice; what changes is how those results are generated and shown to you.

Digital tables and random outcomes

At a digital craps table, software generates the dice result using an RNG. The screen then presents the result as dice and updates the game display. You interact with the table through its digital controls, placing or changing bets where the interface allows. There is no dealer physically rolling dice as part of this format: the result comes from the software.

The visual dice are a representation of the generated outcome. Their appearance does not turn a digital game into a physical roll, and watching the animation does not reveal what the RNG will produce. The key distinction is between the result-generation process and the way the result is displayed. The software determines the outcome; the graphics make it possible to follow that outcome in a craps-table layout.

This format can make the table’s components easier to inspect. You can see the dice result and the available betting areas together, rather than having to infer what a dealer or other players are doing. The controls and presentation vary between games, so the position of a betting area or the way a selection is shown should be read from the particular interface. A familiar-looking layout does not by itself explain what each bet means.

An RNG table is still craps, not a different dice game. Its defining structure remains the two dice and the bets connected to their rolls. To understand what the software is showing, you need to know that a displayed result represents the dice outcome on which bets are decided. The rules determine how a particular bet relates to that outcome; the RNG is responsible for generating the digital result, not for explaining the rules.

Live tables with real dealers

A live craps game uses real dealers rather than an RNG to produce the game’s results. The distinction is about the source of the roll: in a digital game, software generates the outcome; in a live game, real dealers conduct the game. The bet is still tied to the result of rolling two dice, so the central game structure does not change when you move from one format to the other.

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A live table may look more like a staffed table than a software-only layout, but the screen remains the means by which you follow an online game. The dealer’s role is part of the live format; it does not replace the need to understand the betting areas or the rules that govern them. If you are comparing a live craps table with a digital one, focus first on whether the result comes from an actual dealer-run game or from an RNG. The appearance of dice on screen alone is not enough to tell you which format you are using.

The two formats can therefore be understood without treating them as separate versions of the rules. Each presents craps through a different method of generating and displaying outcomes. Digital play relies on software-generated results, while live play involves real dealers. In either case, the question for a bet is how its terms connect to the dice result.

The two-dice basis of craps

Craps is a dice game in which players bet on the outcome of rolls made with two dice. Each roll produces a combined result from those dice, and bets refer to outcomes within the game. The dice are the shared foundation of both online formats: digital software generates the result in one, while real dealers conduct the game in the other.

This is why a craps table can appear busy even though its basic source of outcomes is simple. The dice produce the result; the table’s betting areas represent different ways to wager on what happens. The layout is not a set of separate games. It is a map of bets associated with the same dice action. When you first open a casino craps game online, it is useful to distinguish these layers: the format tells you how the result is produced, the dice result is what the bets respond to, and the rules tell you how each bet is settled.

That distinction also helps when choosing between a digital table and a live craps game online. A digital interface may display the game without real dealers, while a live format brings dealers into the process. Neither label tells you, on its own, whether a particular bet is suitable for you or what its outcome means. Those questions depend on the bet’s rules, not simply on whether the table is live or digital.

Before placing a wager, identify which format the table uses and how its interface shows the dice result and betting areas. Then treat the displayed roll as the event to which the rules apply. This gives you a practical starting point for learning how an online craps table works without confusing animated presentation, live dealing and the game’s two-dice structure.

The Come-Out Roll and the Point

A craps round begins with a come-out roll. If you have a Pass Line or Don’t Pass bet in place, this roll determines whether that bet is settled immediately or whether the game moves into a point phase. The two bets respond differently to some totals, so the same roll can produce opposite results for them.

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On the come-out roll, a Pass Line bet wins if the dice total is 7 or 11. It loses if the total is 2, 3 or 12. These are immediate outcomes: the game does not need to establish a point before the bet is decided.

A Don’t Pass bet reverses the key results. It wins on a come-out total of 2 or 3, while a total of 12 is a tie. A tie means the Don’t Pass bet is neither won nor lost on that roll. The outcomes for 7 and 11 on this bet are not the same as the Pass Line outcomes, so it is useful to read the rules for each line bet separately rather than assume one is a simple mirror of the other.

The remaining come-out totals are 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10. When one of these appears, it establishes the point. The number rolled becomes the point number for that round. For instance, if the come-out roll totals 6, then 6 is the point; if it totals 9, then 9 is the point. The roll has not produced an immediate win or loss under the listed come-out outcomes. Instead, it sets the condition that the later phase of the round follows.

Once a point is established, the game continues with further rolls until either that point number or 7 is rolled. The point does not change during this phase. If the point is 5, a later total of 5 is still the point; another total does not replace it. This fixed target is what separates a come-out roll from the rolls that follow: the opening roll can set the target, while the point phase tracks that target against 7.

It helps to keep the two stages distinct when reading a digital or live craps table. Before a point exists, the roll is a come-out roll and the immediate Pass Line and Don’t Pass outcomes apply. After a point is established, the table is no longer waiting to select a point; it is tracking whether the fixed point or 7 appears. The same total can therefore have a different role depending on when it is rolled. A 7 on the come-out roll wins a Pass Line bet, whereas a 7 during the point phase is one of the two totals that ends that phase.

A simple way to follow the opening is to identify the stage first, then read the total. If the round is at the come-out roll, check for the Pass Line result on 7 or 11, or the Don’t Pass result on 2, 3 or 12. If the total is 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10, mark it as the point and keep that number in view. Subsequent rolls continue until the point or 7 appears. This sequence explains why the opening roll matters even when it does not settle a bet: it either resolves an immediate outcome or defines the target for what follows.

New Zealand’s Online Casino Licensing Timeline

For someone looking at online craps in New Zealand in 2026, the key dates describe a change in how online casino providers may operate, not a promise that licensed sites will be available immediately. The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) administers the new licensing regime. The Online Casino Gambling Act 2026 provides the framework, with the transition and the expected arrival of licensed services falling at different points on the timeline.

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The transition period ends in December 2026. From then, operators without a licence will no longer be able to serve New Zealand players. The new licensed market is expected to begin around 1 December 2026, but that date should not be read as the day a full range of licensed casino sites will necessarily be ready. The first licensed sites are anticipated during 2027. In other words, the regime’s expected start and the expected appearance of its first sites are separate milestones.

That distinction matters if you are trying to establish whether casino craps online will be available through a licensed provider at a particular point. The planned start of the market sets the regulatory transition in motion; it does not by itself confirm that a specific site has received a licence or is operating. The expected 2027 launch of the first licensed sites leaves a period in which the framework is moving from transition toward a functioning licensed market.

The law sets a ceiling of 15 online casino licences. “Up to” is important: it describes the maximum number that may be issued, not a guarantee that all available licences will be granted or that the same number of sites will open at once. A licence is granted to an operator, while the public-facing service is the site through which customers access games. The cap therefore indicates the intended scale of the licensed market, but it does not provide a launch schedule for individual operators or their offerings.

For live craps online, the same timing distinction applies as for other online casino games. The regime governs providers of online casino gambling generally; the stated dates do not identify when a particular game or format will appear on a licensed site. The relevant checkpoints are whether the licensing market has begun and whether the provider has entered the licensed market. The DIA administers that system, while the stated cap limits the number of licences that may be issued.

The transition also means that 2026 is not a single, uniform period. The end of the year marks the point after which unlicensed operators cannot continue serving New Zealand players, while the first licensed services are expected later, during 2027. That does not mean every site operating before the transition ends will automatically become licensed. The licence cap and the expected launch period describe the structure and timing of the new market, not an automatic conversion of existing operators.

If you are checking the status of an online craps casino, separate three questions: when the licensed market is expected to begin, when licensed sites are expected to become available, and whether a particular operator has actually entered that market. The first is expected around 1 December 2026; the second is expected during 2027. Those milestones explain why a search for online craps in New Zealand in 2026 may lead to a different picture from one made after licensed sites begin appearing. The transition deadline is the boundary for unlicensed service, not evidence that licensed casino options will all be present on that date.

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Playing a Round: Shooter Bets and Outcomes

Once a point is on the table, the round has moved beyond the come-out roll. The shooter continues rolling the dice, while the Pass Line and Don’t Pass bets wait for one of two results: the established point appears again, or a seven appears first. Their outcomes are opposite, so the order of those rolls determines which line bet wins.

To act as shooter, you must have a wager on either the Pass Line or the Don’t Pass line. The role and the wager are connected: rolling the dice alone does not make you the shooter for the round. The line bet gives you a stake in the result while you make the rolls, and its position determines which of the two key outcomes is favourable to you.

Following a Pass Line bet

After the point is established, keep track of that number and every later roll. If the shooter rolls the point again before rolling a seven, the Pass Line bet wins. If a seven appears first, the bet loses instead. Other totals do not settle the line bet; the round continues, and the same two outcomes remain decisive.

For instance, if the point is six, a later six resolves the Pass Line bet in your favour unless a seven has already appeared. A roll of another total neither replaces the point nor settles the bet. You wait for the point or seven, and whichever arrives first decides the result.

This makes the Pass Line outcome a race between two totals, not a prediction about the next individual roll. You do not need the point to appear immediately. It is enough for it to arrive before seven. Conversely, once seven is rolled first, a later point cannot reverse the result of that round’s line bet.

Following a Don’t Pass bet

The Don’t Pass line reverses that condition. You win when seven appears before the established point, and lose if the point is rolled first. In effect, the same two possible finishing totals govern both line bets, but each line favours the result that defeats the other.

Using six as the point again, a seven before the next six settles the Don’t Pass bet as a win. If six arrives first, the bet loses. A different total leaves the decision open: neither the point nor seven has yet ended the round’s contest.

You can therefore read the result by asking two questions in sequence: what is the point, and which appears first, that number or seven? The answer applies to both line bets, with opposite consequences. If the point comes first, Pass Line wins and Don’t Pass loses. If seven comes first, Don’t Pass wins and Pass Line loses.

What the shooter’s choice changes

Choosing a line bet does not change the dice or the order in which totals can occur. It changes how you are exposed to the round’s outcome. The Pass Line takes the point-first side of the contest; Don’t Pass takes the seven-first side. Before rolling, the shooter must therefore have chosen one of those lines as the wager associated with taking the role.

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When playing craps online, follow the point shown at the table rather than treating each roll as a fresh opening. Once the point is active, the key task is to watch for its return or a seven. That simple distinction lets you identify when the shooter’s line bet is still unresolved and when the round has reached the result that settles it.

Come and Don’t Come Bets After the Point

Once a point has been established, the betting options can extend beyond the shooter’s original Pass Line or Don’t Pass wager. A Come bet is available only during this part of the round; it cannot be placed before the point exists. A Don’t Come bet is also separate from the original Don’t Pass wager, and it can be made at any time except during a come-out roll.

The timing rule is the main distinction from the line bets. Pass and Don’t Pass are placed for the shooter’s line at the start of a round. Come and Don’t Come bets are additional wagers made as play progresses, subject to their different placement conditions. They do not replace or change the original line bet. You can therefore follow the shooter’s wager and any additional bets as separate positions, each with its own outcome.

A Come bet follows the Pass-side direction: it wins if the point number is rolled before a 7. The condition is about the order of those results. If the point appears first, the Come bet wins; if a 7 appears first, that condition has not been met. The bet is not simply a second name for the Pass Line wager, because it is placed after the point has already been set.

A Don’t Come bet is the counterpart associated with the Don’t Pass side. It is similar to a Don’t Pass bet, but its timing differs: it may be placed after a come-out roll and at other points in the round, but not during a come-out roll. That restriction matters when a round reaches a new come-out phase. You need to distinguish that phase from ordinary play after a point has been established before deciding whether the bet is available.

On an online craps table, read each wager by its name and placement time rather than treating all bets on the felt as one combined stake. The shooter’s Pass Line or Don’t Pass wager remains the main line bet; Come and Don’t Come are additional choices with their own timing. If you are tracking a round, note whether a point has been established and whether the table is in a come-out roll. Those two observations tell you whether a Come bet is permitted and whether a Don’t Come bet is barred at that moment.

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This distinction also helps prevent a common rules mix-up: “after the point” describes when a Come bet may be placed, while the Don’t Come restriction is specifically the come-out roll. For a craps game online, check the table’s displayed phase before placing either wager. The betting conditions depend on the round’s state, not merely on whether the shooter has rolled before.

Using Free Play to Learn the Rules

A free craps game can help you connect the rules to what happens on the table, without making a real-money wager. Treat each turn as a sequence to follow rather than as a test of luck: identify the roll, note whether it is the come-out roll or a later roll, and then check what that result means for the bets in play.

Craps uses two dice, and the total of their faces determines the result. In a practice session, watch how the table indicates the start of a round. The come-out roll begins the sequence. If it produces 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10, that number becomes the point. From then on, the round continues until either the point or a 7 is rolled. Recognising that change is important: the same dice total can have a different role depending on whether the table is on the come-out roll or has already established a point.

You can use a free table to track that state change before placing any practice bets. First identify the come-out roll; then, if a point is set, keep that number in mind while following subsequent rolls. Notice which bets remain active and whether each result wins, loses or leaves the bet unresolved. This makes it easier to see that a roll cannot be interpreted in isolation: its effect depends both on the number rolled and on the stage of the round.

If you are learning Pass Line and Don’t Pass bets, read the table’s result display alongside the rules rather than relying on the display alone. Pause after a roll and decide what should happen before checking the result. If your expectation differs, trace the sequence back: was it still the come-out roll, had a point been set, or had the point or a 7 already ended the round? This simple check helps separate a rule you understand from a result you only happened to notice.

Free play is useful for building familiarity with the flow of a round, but it does not replace learning the rules. A practice table may make outcomes visible, yet you still need to understand why a bet wins or loses. Nor does a run of practice results predict what real dice will do later. Use the session to rehearse recognition and decision-making, not to infer a pattern or a reliable way to win. Once you can follow the round without confusing the come-out roll with play after the point is set, you have a clearer basis for reading a craps table.

Comparing Craps Bets by Their House Edge

The house edge measures the casino’s theoretical advantage over repeated wagers, not the outcome of a particular roll. A bet with a house edge can still win, and a wager with no house edge can still lose. The figure describes expected results across many plays, so it helps compare bet structures rather than predict what will happen next.

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The Pass Line bet has a house edge of 1.41%. In practical terms, that means the bet carries a small mathematical disadvantage for the player over the long run. It does not mean that the casino takes that share from each wager, or that a player will lose that proportion during a short session. Individual results vary because each round resolves through dice outcomes, while the edge describes the average tendency over repeated play.

An Odds bet works differently: it has no house edge and pays according to the true odds of the outcome. Its payout is aligned with the probability of the result, rather than adjusted to give the house a mathematical advantage on that wager itself. That makes Odds distinct from the Pass Line bet, even though the two are connected in play.

The important comparison is between the edge on the Pass Line portion and the zero edge on the Odds portion. Adding an Odds wager does not change the Pass Line’s own house edge. It does, however, add a wager whose expected return is fair by the stated odds. As a result, when you assess the combined amount at risk, the Pass Line remains the source of the house’s mathematical advantage; the Odds portion does not add another one.

This distinction is useful when you compare craps betting options online. A table may show the two wagers together, but they should not be treated as a single bet with one uniform edge. Consider each component separately: the Pass Line carries the stated disadvantage, while the Odds wager is paid at true odds. The amount you choose to place on each affects how much of your total action is exposed to the Pass Line edge, but it does not alter the edge attached to that line bet.

For free play, the same comparison can help you understand why two wagers beside each other may have different mathematical properties. No deposit size or short run of results changes those properties. If you are comparing a table’s rules, identify which part of your stake is on the Pass Line and which part is Odds; that is the basis for interpreting the house edge accurately.

Commissions and Limits on Taking Odds

Buy bets and Taking Odds both add money to a craps wager, but they work differently. A Buy bet carries a commission: the charge is 5% of the amount staked on that bet. Taking Odds has no stated commission in these rules, but it is restricted by when you can place it and by a cap linked to the original wager.

The commission is a separate cost from the bet’s possible win or loss. When assessing a Buy bet, account for that charge rather than treating the full stake as money that can be returned as winnings. The relevant comparison is therefore not just the amount wagered against the possible payout; the commission also affects the net result. The charge applies to Buy bets, so it should not be assumed to apply to a Pass or Come bet simply because you add Taking Odds to one.

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Taking Odds is an additional wager available only after you have placed a Pass or Come bet. It cannot be used on its own, before the qualifying bet exists. Its maximum is tied to that initial bet: the Odds amount is limited to a multiple of the original stake. The cap therefore depends on the size of the qualifying wager, rather than being an unrelated fixed amount.

This relationship matters when you plan a total stake. A larger initial Pass or Come bet can support a larger permitted Odds wager, while a smaller initial bet sets a lower ceiling. The cap still applies even if you have more money available to wager. You cannot treat the Odds portion as unlimited or increase it independently of the original bet.

For online craps practice, focus on identifying the qualifying bet before adding Odds, then check that the added amount stays within the table’s stated cap. For a Buy bet, distinguish the commission from the stake so you can see its cost clearly. These checks are more useful than treating every additional wager as though it had the same terms: one carries a 5% commission, while the other is governed by eligibility and a stake-linked maximum.

The practical sequence is simple: establish the relevant Pass or Come wager before considering Taking Odds, and read the displayed limit before confirming the added stake. For a Buy bet, include the commission in your calculation. Those mechanics determine what you can place and what cost is attached; they do not make the two wagers interchangeable.

What a Craps Simulator Can and Cannot Show

A craps simulator can show the sequence of a game, but what produces each result depends on the table format. At a digital table, a random number generator (RNG) determines the dice outcome. The screen then presents that result through its interface. At a live table, real dealers run the game, so you follow the action as it happens rather than watching a digital table generate the result.

That distinction matters when you use a craps online simulator to understand what you are seeing. A digital display can make the connection between a roll and the table’s response easy to follow: you can observe the result, see which bets remain in play and track how the round progresses. It shows the game’s displayed state. It does not show a physical roll of dice, because the result comes from the RNG.

A live game gives you a different view. You see real dealers conducting the game, which can make the table’s procedure more visible. But the presence of a dealer does not turn the game into a tool for predicting future rolls. The simulator, whether digital or live, shows results and actions as they occur; it cannot tell you what the next roll will be.

This makes a simulator useful for following the mechanics, not for establishing a prediction method. Watching a displayed sequence can help you distinguish a result from the table’s response to it. It cannot demonstrate that a particular betting choice will control the dice or make a later outcome more likely. The RNG determines digital-table results; a live game uses real dealers. Neither format makes a previous result a reliable forecast of the next one.

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When comparing online craps tables, first identify which format you are viewing. A digital table represents RNG-generated outcomes on screen. A live table shows a dealer-run game. Both can display the flow of craps, but they do not provide the same kind of evidence: one presents generated results, while the other lets you observe a live dealer. Use the simulator to understand what the interface shows and how the game proceeds, not as proof of future outcomes or a substitute for knowing what each bet means.

Craps for Money: Wagering-Requirement Contributions

When you play craps for money with a bonus, the wagering requirement determines how much eligible betting must be completed before the bonus conditions are met. A bet’s contribution is the share of your stake that counts toward that requirement. It is separate from the game’s payout and does not change how the dice resolve a bet.

A specialist casino review reports that craps bets can contribute less toward wagering requirements than pokies. Treat that as a report about bonus terms, not a fixed rule across New Zealand casinos: contribution rates depend on the casino and the offer. The same kind of review notes that some New Zealand casinos may count craps wagers partially, with lower-risk bets such as Pass Line and Don’t Pass singled out. The applicable terms determine whether a particular bet counts and how much of it is credited.

Before wagering, check the bonus conditions for the game and bet type you intend to use. A game being available for real-money play does not, by itself, mean every stake contributes to a wagering requirement. If the terms exclude craps or assign it a partial contribution, placing more bets may still advance the requirement more slowly than you expect.

Playing online craps for fun with no bonus attached keeps that issue separate: there is no bonus wagering requirement for your practice bets to satisfy. With real-money play, distinguish the cash stake from any bonus conditions, and do not assume a contribution rate unless the current offer states it. The rule to follow is the one written for that specific promotion.

Responsible Gambling

Written by the editors at Casino Payment NZ.