Big improvement in live dealer games for US players

There can be no argument that as far as quality and choice goes, American players wanting to play live games online have drawn a much shorter straw (or rather had a short straw drawn for them) than players outside the US.

With no access to the super slick games from the industry’s leading platform developers that have been adopted by the big EU based operators, their options are limited to games developed by much smaller outfits typically based in Costa Rica, which are licensed by much, much smaller operators…also usually based in Costa Rica.

Up until recently it was fair to say that the gap in product quality that existed between the two (ie the options they can’t access, and those they can) was vast. And by product quality I mean pretty much every aspect of game delivery…

• quality of the video stream;
• intuitiveness of the playing interface;
• functionality of the playing interface (chat, stats, customization etc);
• studio ambience;
• appearance & professionalism of dealers;
• game variations offered (eg European versus American roulette etc.)

…and in pretty much every aspect the likes of Playtech and Evolution Gaming were light-years ahead.

Having just played Global Gaming Labs’ (“GGL”) new live games I’m happy to report that the gap has now closed considerably.

They’re such an improvement on the previous games that it’s hard to believe they come from the same developer. New studio, crystal clear full screen video, dealer chat (audio), and no more American roulette.  Yep…they’ve ditched that pesky double zero and now offer the much fairer European version of the game.

Below are a couple of snaps taken at 5 Dimes Casino which run GGL’s games and does welcome US players.

Traditional 7 seat blackjack paying 3 to 2…dealt from an 8 deck shoe…

Baccarat complete with a full set of roadmaps…

European Roulette…

Can you trust a Costa Rican based operator?

Great looking games are all well and good, but the issue for most US players considering playing with the likes of 5 Dimes Casino will probably be one trust. Cash deposited with a company like Ladbrokes is like cash in the bank. In fact probably a tad more secure if your bank is in Ireland, Iceland, Greece, Spain…or most of Europe. Hard to have the same confidence handing your hard earned over to a small, largely unregulated company based in Costa Rica without publicly available and audited accounts or any significant capital backing that you’re aware of. Until such time as UIGEA is repealed, it is what it is.

For what it’s worth I’ve been playing with these guys for almost 2 years now and have been pretty impressed with their service. Can’t say I’ve tried to cash out a hundred grand however.

Related pages at Livedealer.org:

• live dealer casinos for US players
• US I-gaming outlook
• Department of Justice changes online gambling stance