Live dealer casino backstage: operation principles, advantages, special aspects in 2021

Mar 11, 2021 Artyom Ustinov

How does it work

Live dealer casino (live for short) is a gambling form combining the strengths of both web gambling soft and land-based casinos. It lets the gambler play whenever and wherever it’s comfortable for him/her while communicating with trained dealers and getting that sense of the authentic game house.

The whole concept is pretty easy to implement. The dealers broadcast from a studio or a real brick & mortar casino and the gamesters watch the stream, place bets, and communicate with the dealer using PC or mobile device.

At the same time, all the financial part of the game (processing the bets, payout) is automated and processed by the soft not a dealer, which is the top difference between live and land-based casinos.



Live dealer streaming & technology

The technical implementation of the live dealer casino isn’t the rocket science. The studio is equipped with the gambling tables and other supplies plus several cameras. Shooting the game using several cameras is vital as many games require recording from different angles. E.g. when the gambler is playing roulette one of the cameras shows the wide shot with the dealer, the other one tapes the close up of the wheel itself, and several others show the spinning wheel from the different angles.

Due to the OCR technology (optical camera recognition) the video stream is transformed into the meaningful digital data piece and is available for the users as a short link. Meantime the data is stored on-premise or in the cloud and seeds the video archive.

Each table in the studio has the Game Control Unit (GCU for short), which has a built-in scanner or sensor and encodes the data regarding the played cards or winning numbers into a digital format so that the soft could process it and reflect in the UI. So basically the gambler not only sees “12 red” winning on the video but also gets a notification if his bet won or not (plus the auto payout).

The engineering staff working in a separate room controls everything happening in the studio and the soft’s performance. The staff monitoring the games’ activity and analyzing the data received also works separately. Their main goal is to find the potential frauds and the gamblers violating those rules.


Games

As a general matter, the game portfolio of a live dealer solution consists of classic table games accessible in every land-based casino. Commonly, it’s a “golden trio” of blackjack, roulette & baccarat (sometimes it can be several types of each), poker, wheel of fortune, and a few custom games, which are the gems of the provider’s collection.

For example, Asia Live Tech is famous for its Asian inventions like Xoc Dia, Sic Bo, Fan-Tan, Dragon Tiger, Belangkai, and Betgames TV won the gamblers’ hearts with the popular lottery games (Lucky 5, Lucky 7).

That’s why many operators add several live dealer solutions created by different providers to their portfolio. And with Softgamings it’s easier than ever if you order the “Live Casino Bundle” uniting the top live dealer games from the most famous providers!


Difference between live casino and other casino games

As mentioned earlier, usually the live dealer solutions are based on well-known table games. However, there’s a significant difference between playing the same game using the ordinary online casino soft and choosing the live game. All live solutions are based on the human interaction — everything is done by a real dealer in the studio, is 100% random and not created by the soft itself. The alternative games you may find in online casinos are based on RNG algorithms (random number generator).

Live casino is a real catch for the gamblers that don’t 100% trust the modern gambling soft and doubt its honesty. Due to the fact all of the actions during the live dealer game are performed by a real person (just like in brick and mortar casinos) the final result is absolutely random and doesn’t depend on the soft.


Advantages

  • Live game is as close as you can get to the land-based casino experience while playing when and where it’s comfortable for you via basically any device (from smartphone to TV).
  • The result doesn’t depend on RNG algorithms, which attracts the gamblers that aren’t 100% sure ordinary online gambling is fair enough.
  • An ability to interact with the dealer and other gamblers engages the player and keeps him in the game.
  • The combination of multitasking performance and windows between each game makes it easier to play several different games simultaneously.
  • Live casino solutions have more branding and cross-selling options than the standard gambling soft.


Key Live Casino Components

Despite the fact the live casino solutions may deeply vary depending on the chosen provider (available games, limits & restrictions, branding options etc.), all of them have those key components that make the whole product work. Without them, live casino just can’t exist.

Studio

The accommodations where all the streams are held may vary depending on the provider’s vision and strategy. It may be a professional TV studio, a casino hall or an office with the gambling tables and cameras in it. One way or another, the live dealer casino is impossible without a studio.

Game Control Unit

Every table in the studio has a Game Control Unit (or GCU) attached to it. If you’ll focus on the dealer’s actions during the stream, you’ll notice that before showing the card to the gamblers (s)he scans it using the small panel on the table. That’s how GCU works encoding everything happening in the studio and allowing the soft to define the cards played and the gamblers that have those cards. The same principle work for the other games as well. For example, in the roulette, the GCU helps to define the winning number and the players whose bets just won. Game Control Unit is just irreplaceable when it comes to live casino technology as it helps to avoid mistakes, which is vital in the high-load games with many players.

Dealer’s monitor

To create that live chat experience, each studio must have a dealer’s monitor showing the number of gamblers online and their nicknames. It stimulates the communication between the dealer and the players (usually when the new gambler joins the game the dealer welcomes him/her). And of course, the monitor helps the dealer to keep track on the bets placed and gives an opportunity to see and answer the gamblers’ questions.

UI components

Three tech pieces mentioned above are the part of the necessary studio equipment, the gambler may even be unsuspicious of them. But there are also some key UI elements that each live casino client has.
  • Video stream window
  • Live chat section
  • Interactive bet placing box
  • Timer
The number of popups, buttons, and links will obviously differ every time you choose a game from a different provider. But these 4 elements are vital and the user will see those in every live game regardless of the brand.

How to integrate live dealer games into your casino?

Although the competition between the live providers is lower than between the companies developing classic gambling soft, the modern operator still has a wide variety of options when it comes to live dealer games integration. Scores of companies specializing in live casino solutions have already earned recognition and respect of the gambling community as well as the attention of the audience. All you have to do is to choose a perfect solution and integrate it into your casino.

That’s why Softgamings team created “Live Casino Bundle” — a service that will help to equip your casino with the live dealer games developed by worlds most famous gambling providers like Evolution Gaming, NetEnt, and Ezugi. The clear benefits include a quick unified API integration that will also cost a lot less than a separate integration of the games created by each provider.The leader in the live dealer casino gaming sector is certainly Evolution, and here’s why its integration through our platform will immediately boost your casino’s success.

Evolution Gaming has found a way to cement its position as the number one live casino provider. In December 2020, the company finalised the purchase of NetEnt which initiated the total reorganisation of the two giants of the industry. First of all, a rebranding process happened and as a result, Evolution Gaming is now known simply as Evolution.

Under the deal, NetEnt will continue to release games under its famous brand but its focus will shift from live casino gaming to slots and other products.

Even though the acquisition was the main focus of the company, Evolution found a way to launch more innovative gaming solutions, such as the world’s first Live Craps game set in an authentic underground speakeasy-style studio which considerably improves the existing portfolio, and thus your casino’s gaming offer.

All you need to do to book “Live Casino Bundle” is to fill in a simple form and get a quote from Softgamings. Be sure, right from that moment all of the live casino strengths will work to make your gambling business even more effective and profitable.

Artyom Ustinov

Artyom is Head of White Label & Turnkey Solutions and has been working in complex B2B/B2C sales, as well as business development and management consulting in iGaming for more than 10 years.

Together with the Key Account Management Team, he has helped over 100 start-ups and experienced gaming companies to launch their projects with SoftGamings.

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