Online casino gaming has come on leaps and bounds over the years, from primitive 8-bit card game formats to high definition HD streams. However, one area that is still relatively new and incredibly exciting for players is live casino games. These bring the Las Vegas experience into the comfort of your own home, with real cards and professional human dealers. In order to do this, a significant amount of technology is used. But what does this mean for the player and how does it work exactly?
Live casinos are a whole different beast to traditional online gambling sites, mainly because they are based entirely within the casino itself. Typically this consists of three rooms; the live studio, the analyst room and the software room (although this may vary from live dealer casino to live dealer casino). During a session, the players can play blackjack, baccarat, roulette, poker or sic bo. Each of these games is filmed by a camera situated in the analyst room, which can be viewed by the players on their laptops or mobile devices.
These rooms are run by a team of experts, who have to adhere to strict guidelines in order for the casino to remain a legal entity. The croupiers are also trained to be as professional as possible, so that the experience feels authentic and realistic. The dealers will interact with the players and even offer bonuses. The technology that enables this all to happen is a lot more complex than you might think.
The actual games themselves are played in the studio, where there is usually a large number of cameras spread throughout the space to ensure that the players can see every angle and aspect of each game. A key piece of equipment is called the Game Control Unit, which is a small device that can be found on every table in the casino and encodes all of the information for the broadcast. The GCU can be compared to the technology that car parks use to capture the license plates of cars.
There is also a large amount of computing power required to deal with the sheer volume of data that is transmitted during a live session. This is why the most reputable live casino operators will only work with the leading industry software providers. This ensures that the quality of the stream is top-notch and that there are no delays or glitches during a game.
Most people who play at a live casino will be playing on their laptop or PC, but mobile is becoming increasingly popular. This means that many of the same games will be available on instant play mobile versions of the website as well as in dedicated apps. The only difference is that the graphics and other features will have been scaled back to reduce the strain on your mobile data connection. This is an important consideration, as you don’t want to find a great casino only to discover that it isn’t compatible with your mobile phone or tablet.