A look back at Live Dealer Gaming in 2014

Here’s a recap of some of events that shaped live dealer gaming in 2014.

We slid into 2014 on the back of the Snake then ushered in the Year of the Horse. From there things really started to gallop.

Ladbrokes kicked things off  with a live provider swapsy, closing their Evolution tables and launching tables from Playtech. Not an entirely unexpected development given the Ladbrokes/Playtech partnership announcement in 2013 but significant nonetheless…particularly for Laddies’ live dealer customers.

Bitcoin became the talk of the mainstream Internet in 2013 so was only a matter of time before a legitimate operator began offering it as a deposit method. So it was in January 2014, when licensed, regulated, and live dealer friendly  Vera & John announced Bitcoin deposit were welcomed, giving Bitcoin depositors and alternative to the likes of bubbas-bitcoin-betting-casino.com.  This alternative was short lived however. Following pressure from regulator Malta Lotteries and Gaming, Vera & John decided it would suspend Bitcoin deposits until further notice.

2014 was the year when it was decided that playing one live dealer table at time was simply not enough. Multi-game/table play was introduced at Evolution Gaming allowing users to play up to 3 tables simultaneously. Soon after Playtech launched their version of multi-play.

Sheldon Adelson and his Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling stepped up efforts to have a US national ban legislated. Fortunately just before year’s end RAWA got the support it deserved.

There was the introduction of a clickable lobby, a fire in Gibraltar and a new live room for Emperors.

Evolution Gaming boasted its 5th successive Live Casino Supplier of the Year award, and then we all paused (or went nuts) as attentions turned to a football tournament being hosted in Brazil.

Some prospered from the World Cup, while others didn’t fair so well. For some it marked the beginning of a seismic shift in gaming fortunes.

Sky changed their colours, and there were plenty of developments in the mobile live dealer space.  It was also a very busy year on live casino promo front.

Fester found big name entrant into live dealer gaming and sure enough a few weeks later Full Tilt launched their new live casino.

After some 11th hour legal wrangling the UK’s new online gambling licensing and POC tax laws came into effect, promising to make 2015 an interesting year for the entire industry.

Microgaming launched its first private table, and then before we it another Christmas had rolled around.

Saddle up and get ready for 2015. It’s going to be a busy year!