Named, credentialed, accountable
Our Authors [September 2026]: The NZ Casino Review Team
Every page on this site names the person who wrote it and a second person who checked it. This page is who they are, what they are qualified to write about, and which parts of the site each of them owns.
Gambling is a subject where the reader has a right to know who is talking. A house byline on a page recommending where to put your money is not good enough, and neither is a stock photograph attached to a name that does not exist anywhere else.
Everyone below is a real member of the editorial team with a declared beat. They write only within it: our regulation editor does not write pokies reviews, and our games editor does not write about the Online Casino Gambling Act. Every page names a writer and a separate fact-checker, and both link here.
The editorial team
| Editor | Role | In the industry | Based | Beat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Jordan Whitcombe | Editor-in-Chief | 13 years | Auckland | Rankings, methodology, payout data, operator scoring |
 Aroha Tainui | Regulation & Compliance Editor | 9 years | Wellington | NZ gambling law, licensing, tax, responsible gambling |
 Priya Raman | Payments & Data Editor | 10 years | Christchurch | Payment methods, fast payouts, crypto casinos, FX and fees |
 Sam Kavanagh | Games & Live Casino Editor | 7 years | Auckland | Online pokies, live casino, RTP and volatility, game guides |
 Manaia Kerr | Betting Editor | 11 years | Hamilton | Online betting, sports betting sites, racing, in-play |
Full profiles
Each editor has a full profile page with their credentials, beat and the pages they own: Jordan Whitcombe, Aroha Tainui, Priya Raman, Sam Kavanagh, Manaia Kerr.
How bylines work on this site
- Writer. The named editor who researched and wrote the page, drawn from the beat it falls in.
- Fact-checker. A second editor who independently verifies every figure, date, licence and claim before publication. Never the same person as the writer.
- Data owner. Payout figures come from the withdrawal timing programme regardless of who wrote the page, and Priya Raman owns that dataset.
- Final sign-off. Jordan Whitcombe approves every ranked list on the site.
- Updated and next review dates. Every page carries both. If the next review date has passed, the figures have not been re-verified and you should treat them accordingly — and tell us.
Want to know how the scoring works?
The weights, the evidence behind each component, and how we are paid.
How we reviewAbout us