Live casinos have become popular in recent years. The main reason being that it is the closest experience one can get at a land-based casino from the comfort of their home. Live casinos are broadcasted over the internet in real-time, which means, players from all over the world can join games and play together at the same time. Furthermore, live casinos are not to be confused with online casinos, which have gained immense popularity in the last twenty years. In live casinos, you are dealing with live dealers, dealing real cards while in the online version of a game, you are playing against a computer that uses a random number generator.
In order to play any live game at live casinos, all you will need is a laptop, PC, smartphone or tablet – that’s right, you can also play these games on your mobile phone or tablet too! The important thing is that, whichever device you use, you need to have a good internet connection to avoid any interruptions or inconveniences while playing. The chances of being disconnected while you play are high when you have a poor internet connection.
Once you have all that, you are pretty much set. In order to start, you need to make a deposit, which will act as your stake in the game. This will obviously increase or decrease according to the bets you place. Finally, you can just sit down, relax and enjoy your game!
How Live Casinos Work
A lot of things come into place to ensure the proper working of this type of casino. The components that must be available to make sure everything goes smoothly include cameras, wheel, gaming control unit, a dealer, a monitor and staff members. The staff members are comprised of IT managers, camera operators, croupiers and pit bosses.
You will find a minimum of three rooms in most live casinos. They include an analyst room, a software room, and a live studio. High-tech cameras will be in use when it comes to streaming the game live. Other cameras will also be in use, a good example being when one is playing Russian roulette. Three cameras are usually used, one capturing some overhead shots, the other focusing on the wheel and the other one will give a PiP (picture-in-picture) display. That is the technology behind the working of a live casino.
Let us have a closer look at how the different components in live casinos work.
Optical Camera Recognition
It is a type of technology used by the live casino industry. The purpose of this camera is to record all the details in a gaming room and stream it in real-time to the players through their video link. In other words, OCR captures and translates real-life actions into digital moves. This technology is what enables players to see others’ bets and be able to place their own bets through their gaming screen consoles. It is this technology that makes the different actions which include wheel spin and card shuffles seem like a real-life experience.
Dealer
Just like in a land-based casino, the dealer is in charge of regulating the game. Interacting with a live dealer greatly enhances players’ experience. This is not to say, however, that it is something entirely easy for the dealer. Although the live dealer practically does the same things as a land-based dealer, some might argue they have to do more than what is expected out of a typical casino dealer. For starters, dealers have to get used to talking to virtual players through a screen, unlike in a land casino where they can see people’s faces. Moreover, because of this, they have to try hard to appear charismatic and likable to the players, as otherwise, they might be subjected to bad reviews.
Game Control Unit
The game control unit is found in all live casinos. It is an essential component of this game. The primary function of the game control unit is to encode the video broadcast, receive and show both the players’ moves and also the human dealer’s shuffling of the cards.
The Monitor
The monitor is another essential component of the live casino. The main function of this monitor is to help the dealer see the virtual players who have joined the stream. Apart from this, you can interact with the dealer and other players via an online chat that appears on the side of the monitor.
How to Play the Game
One of the first things you need to know is that this game is made up of several stages. The dealer is first filmed before the images are transmitted into a live stream to all the players who are participating. This is made possible by the optical camera recognition software. Players will then proceed to place their bets before they are asked for some extra information by the dealer. Wagers are later on processed by a special software of the casino. The dealer will make an announcement that you cannot place any bets and this is when you should begin playing.
From then on it’s pretty simple. You will be able to see every move made by other players as if you were seated in a room with them. Everything is displayed on the screen. Winnings will be deposited to your account or any other transaction platform used by the company. You can withdraw later or keep on playing.
What You Should Know
Most live casinos are licensed by the relevant authorities in a particular area. There are betting control firms and government bodies that regulate them. They will look into things like the age bracket of people playing at these casinos. So whenever you’re playing at live casinos, make sure you check if they are licensed!
Bottom Line
Live casinos are a great example of technology that has managed to take the online casino experience to a whole new level of entertainment, and it’s pretty interesting to see how it is a great example of how people want to be able to enjoy real-life experiences without having to be physically present at a particular place.
