Microgaming live dealer casino platform

General:

Microgaming (www.microgaming.com) was formed in 1994, they are based in the Isle of Man and they have a corporate bio that is the envy of the online gambling industry...

launched first wide area progressive jackpot game in 1998;
first jackpot payout over $1,000,000;
current record online progressive jackpot payout ($6 million in April 2009);
operate the largest online progressive jackpot network;
over 120 licensee casinos, 40 licensee poker rooms;
over 400 RNG games;
largest mobile casino game suite (Spin3);
founding member of eCOGRA;
over €265m paid out by licensee casinos.

They are late-comers to live gaming, launching baccarat in late 2006. Presently they offer baccarat, roulette and a just introduced blackjack game. Interestingly one of their largest licensees (RNG, poker, bingo, mobile) - Ladbrokes do not use their live platform, opting to use the Evolution Gaming product instead.

When this summary was originally written in mid 2009, we prognosticated that it wouldn't be long before M'gaming became a leader in this field also..."given their successes in other areas of online casino gambling, you'd be a brave soul to bet that they will not get there" were our exact words.

Fast-forward to mid/late 2010, 2 significant software upgrades later and they are arguable there.

Dealer/table range:

Still some catching up to do. Games include baccarat, roulette and just recently released blackjack. Presently the number of available tables and dealers at any given time isn't as comprehensive as the Evolution or Playetch casinos but this may change over time - particularly if the size of their dealer team is any indication.

Look and feel:

Following 2 major game upgrades in 2010, the first coinciding with the release of their live blackjack game and the second taking place in August the look of their games is now hard to fault. The old blue-screen backdrop has been replaced by a stylish gaming floor that is well lit and captured on superb quality video - that comes with 6 player-adjustable quality settings.

The upgrades also saw the addition of some very welcome features: