FAQs

Yes. You are playing a casino game in real time. The game is conducted using physical gaming equipment (cards, dice, roulette wheels etc), captured via camera from a studio (or casino) location and live-streamed to your device.

Dealer chat has long been a feature of live casino games. One of the reasons for this is that a real-time conversation with a dealer proves the game is live.

There are a number of key elements that come together to deliver live casino games seamlessly to players’ computers. Here are the crucial ones.

• Live video stream
  A live dealer or croupier is filmed in real-time from a dedicated studio (or the floor of an actual casino) using high-definition cameras. This video is streamed live to players computers. Multiple cameras are often used to capture the action from various angles and zooms to provide a clear view of the table, dealer, game and a generally more immersive experience.
• Live dealers
  Professional dealers operate the game, dealing cards, spinning the roulette wheel, or presenting the game show. Players can communicate with the dealer and sometimes with other players using a live chat feature. Your typed messages appear on the dealer’s monitor and they respond verbally.
• User interface
  Players place their bets using an on-screen interface. The live video feed is integrated with this, allowing players to place chips, select options, and view game outcomes as they would in a regular online casino. The results of the game (e.g., the outcome of a roulette spin or the cards dealt) are determined in real-time and displayed instantly to players.
• Game Control Unit (GCU)
  The GCU is a crucial part of the live casino setup. It encodes the video feed and transmits data about the game’s outcomes (e.g., which number a roulette ball landed on or the cards dealt). It ensures that bets and game results are processed accurately and instantly.
• Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
  OCR technology tracks physical elements of the game, such as the cards dealt or the results of a roulette spin. This data is converted into a digital format so bet results are consistent with physical game outcomes.

The live game you are playing while logged in at a given casino is not operated by that casino. It is being operated by a third party provider and licensed to the casino.

The major providers of live games these days are Evolution, Playtech and Pragmatic Play but there are also a number or smaller providers.

Casinos often now carry games from multiple providers.

Live games are broadcast from purpose built studios and casinos in many locations around the world.

Riga in Latvia and Bucharest in Romania are popular studio locations and house the flagship studios of the major providers. But many EU countries are now home to either studio or in-casino live dealer streams.

There are also studios in Canada, the United States, Colombia, Peru, Costa Rica, Argentina and throughout Asia.

Our studio locations map pinpoints currently operating dealer studios.

While RNG casinos have been operating for almost 3 decades now (Intercasino and 888 both claim to be the first bet takers in 1996) live dealer casino games are a slightly more recent development. Attempts to launch live games in the late 90s were unsuccessful with challenges related to live streaming technology and Internet connection speeds proving too difficult.

Playtech launched its live dealer platform in 2003 and Evolution was founded in 2006. These two providers were a driving force in the early adoption of live games and by 2009 most of the big brand European market facing online casinos offered live games.

For a more details on the history of live casino gaming visit our live dealer industry development timeline.

The larger providers have quite intensive training programmes that dealers are required to pass before they make it to the live tables. Evolution for example have long operated their Dealers Academy that dealers are required to graduate from before making it on to the live tables.

In addition to knowing how to deal a particular game, they must learn how to respond to chat messages from multiple players during the deal.

Dealer metrics (deal speed, number of mistakes) are all recorded in the live environment making proficiency very transparent.

Operations are certified and regulated in the country where the studio is located. For example, live games broadcast from Riga will be certified and regularly audited by Latvia’s Lotteries and Gambling Supervisory Inspection (IAUI). Studio operations in New Jersey are regulated by New Jersey’s Division of Gaming Enforcement.

These provider certifications are distinct from (and in addition to) casino operator licenses which are awarded by the regulator in the country where the games are played (ie where the customer is located), rather than where the games are streamed from.

Of course there will be some live games streamed from locations like Cambodia or Myanmar, where regulation is lax and probity requirements non existent. Needless to say these are best left alone.

The best returning live games come with theoretical returns of just over 99.5%.

Here is are the top 5 returning games presently, assuming optimal playing strategy.

The answer to this question back in 2010 was blackjack, roulette and baccarat. The range today is considerably larger. Here’s a condensed list:

• Live blackjack (numerous deal/rule/look & feel variations)
• Live roulette (numerous deal/rule/look & feel variations)
• Live baccarat  (numerous deal/rule/look & feel variations)
• Live poker many different types (all house games, not player v player)
• Live Dragon Tiger
• Live video poker
• Live Sic Bo
• Live Craps
• Live game shows  almost 100 different games shows
• Other live card games
  (Andar Bahar, Teen Patti, Hi Lo, Sette e Mezzo, Dead or Alive Saloon….)

What’s more, the available table range for the classic casino games blackjack and baccarat is expansive, numbering in the hundreds at the larger providers.

Yes. With very few exceptions, if you can play a live dealer game on your desktop/laptop computer, you can play that same game on your mobile device.

The games (and video) used to be delivered using Flash which wasn’t mobile friendly. These days HTML5 technology makes the games compatible across all devices.

A given game’s UI will be different played on mobile as it is on desktop/laptop.

If you’re playing an RNG online casino game (ie computer generated graphics and outcomes) and your internet connection drops out with an active bet on the table, typically the game will automatically pause and when connection resumes, continue from the point that the interruption occurred.

This isn’t possible with a live dealer game. The blackjack deal progresses for the other players at the table. The roulette ball continues its path to dropping in a wheel pocket.

So what happens to your active bet if you drop out during a live game round?

Different live game providers have different disconnection policies so it does depend on which game you are playing (or rather who provides it). At some providers, all bets places prior to disconnection stand, and the game continues (you find if your bet won or lost when you re-connect). Other providers direct you to the RNG/non-live version of the game (where one exists) reflecting the state of play when your live game disconnected.

You can read about live game disconnection policies here.

Typically no.  While almost all online casinos will offer free play options for their RNG games, in order to access the live dealer games you will need to open a real player account. That doesn’t mean you have to start betting money straight away though.

We suggest you open a real money account and then sit in on a game for a while to get a feel for how it all works and familiarise yourself with the betting interface before playing for real.  If you don’t like the way the interface works or are annoyed by any aspect of the offering close your account and try another casino.  There are no restrictions on how long you can view the live dealer action without actually laying a bet.

There are exceptions to the no-free-play norm. See our Free Play Live Casinos page for details.

You place bets from a ‘virtual’ account that you open at the casino and fund using one of a number of options.  Credit cards have historically been the most common deposit method, but there are a number of others that are available at each casino, including well known virtual wallet services like PayPal, Neteller, Skrill, ApplyPay and GooglePay.

These days there are also casinos that let you fund your playing account using a selection of crypto-currencies.

We have listed deposit methods currently accepted at casinos listed on this site at our casino deposit / withdrawal options page.

Similarly, withdrawals from your account may be made to your credit card, your chosen virtual wallet service or by check or bank draft.  The casinos will clearly display their deposit and withdrawal options and assist you where you run into difficulties.

In the early days of live dealer gaming, casinos and providers would stipulate that minimum connection speed of 1.5 Mbps was needed for trouble free play. Anything below this and you could experience deal lag or video freeze framing.

Streaming technology has improved significantly since then. Even greater improvements have been seen in internet connection speeds in most parts of the world, to the point where today’s typical connection speed so far surpasses minimum requirements that this is no longer much of a consideration.