What Is a Live Dealer Casino?
Live dealer casinos use real-life dealers to feature table games like online blackjack, online baccarat, craps online, and online roulette. The dealers are real people with the same training that land-based casinos give their staff. Live dealers are friendly, attractive, knowledgeable, helpful, and fluent in your language. They provide the human touch as you gamble on your favorite online casino games.
How Do I Play Live Casino Games?
Live casino games are a relatively new way to play games online; they've existed for roughly 10 years. Once you know how live dealer casinos work, you can have the adrenaline rush and social interaction of a land-based casino with the privacy and convenience of online gambling. Here's how it works.
- Join an online casino. Create a player account, then make a real money deposit. Collect bonus cash when you make a deposit.
- Visit your favorite online casino and log in. Click on the link "Live Casino" on the site's games menu.
- Choose the live dealer game that you prefer. Most sites have live blackjack, live roulette, live baccarat, and live craps.
- Also, choose the bet level that works for you. Live casinos offer tables for high rollers, mid-stakes players, and low rollers.
- Play live casino games for real money. Live dealer sites must pay their dealers, so you won't find free live dealer casino games.
- Enjoy the game with real-time audio and video. Talk with the live dealer as you play. If you have a question, ask for the live casino's pit boss.
- End sessions at any time and cash out your winnings. Betting and withdrawing cash works just like traditional online casino games.
Live Dealer Games vs. Regular online casino games
Regular casino games and live dealer casino games are similar in that they’re both played online. That’s about where the similarities end.
With regular online casino games, like blackjack, poker, roulette, etc. you’re playing on software against a computer algorithm that has a built-in random number generator to keep things fair. The dealers, and sometimes even other players, are just computer simulations.
In live dealer games, however, the dealers are real people you can actually talk to. They broadcast live from studios all over the world and deal the games in real-time. It’s like a zoom call with your office, but way more fun.
Since the pandemic, the demand for live dealer games online has skyrocketed. Most reputable casinos offer a broad selection of live dealer games. It’s the closest you can get to being in a real, live casino without leaving your house (or office, or car, or commuter train).
Advantages Of Playing At A Live Dealer Casino
Players might wonder why sites tout their live dealer games so much. Here are the advantages of playing at a live casino.
- More Exciting Games: Live dealers communicate with players, serve cards, and announce game results. It's about replicating the atmosphere of a real casino.
- Social Dynamic: Speaking to the baccarat dealers, the pit boss, and other players build a social gaming experience, meeting people and chatting while you play.
- More Traditional Pace: Live baccarat plays out at a pace closer to that in land-based casinos. Fewer hands per hour are more relaxing but avoid the house edge as many times in a session.
- Live Dealer Hosts: Many live casinos have hosts who wander from table to table, asking casino trivia and offering cash bonuses to lucky players.
- More Privacy: Play in the privacy and comfort of your own home. Turn off the camera if you want live dealers but don't want to stream yourself.
- More Convenience: Live dealer casinos offer the fun of land-based casino gaming without the time constraints and expenses of traveling to a casino.
What Are The Most Popular Live Dealer Games?
The most popular live dealer games are blackjack, baccarat, roulette and craps. Live casino providers offer many types of games, though.
- Live Blackjack: Classic blackjack or European blackjack using HD graphics and bet-behind rules so you never wait on a table. Side bets include perfect pairs and rummy bets.
- Live Roulette: European roulette or American roulette where you can see the ball spin from several angles. Some casinos offer Live French Roulette or multi-ball roulette.
- Live Baccarat: Standard "Punto Banco" baccarat played with live dealer. Side bets or special games include "Dragon Tail" or "Super 6" rules.
- Live Craps: Traditional craps with every wager on the betting layout. Some casino sites don't have live dealer craps, but might offer Live Sic Bo.
- Live Game Shows: International gaming sites even feature live versions of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Deal or No Deal, or Monopoly Live.
Live Dealer Mobile Apps & Games
Live dealer players want their games to translate seamlessly to their mobile smartphone and desktop computer. All of the live dealer sites we recommend are compatible with Android, iPhone and iPad devices. In all cases, you won't have to download a live dealer app. Instead, the game opens in the web browser, providing for the best mobile experience while on the go.
Live Dealer Games & casino Bonuses
When it comes to live dealer games and casino bonuses, things can get a bit tricky. Any seasoned gambler knows that online and mobile casinos will bend over backward to get you to play with them. This means offering lucrative bonuses, including a large welcome bonus.
When you sign up for online casino bonuses, you need to be aware of the wagering requirements. This is the real money you need to wager before you can cash out any winnings earned with bonus funds. This could be 30x, 40x or 50x your initial deposit.
Casinos usually have a specific set of games you can play to fulfil wagering requirements; most commonly online slots. It’s rare that a casino will let you work off wagering requirements with live dealer games, so best to check before you sign up. Some casinos do offer welcome bonuses for live dealer offerings, so keep your eye out and you might spot one.
Live Casino Software Providers
Players new to the live casino niche need a guide to live dealer casino software providers. Many are not traditional slot developers, but instead design software specifically for live casino games. If you want to know who supplies the dealers, read our live casino software primer below.
- Visionary iGaming: The most popular provider in the US live dealer market. Bet limits on games range as low as $1 or $5 and as high as $5,000. ViG offers lots of fun side bets and dealers fluent in English and Spanish.
- Fresh Deck Studios: A newer live casino provider that operates in the US market. Their live dealers stream live from studios in Eastern Europe. Bets range from $1 to $10,000. Also have a lot of mini-games for betting between hands.
- Evolution Gaming: The most widespread live dealer provider in the world. Evolution operates in the international gaming arena and features dozens of fun games, plus many versions of blackjack, baccarat, roulette and dice games.
- Playtech: One of the original providers, the Estonian dealers in Playtech's studios have a great reputation. Playtech dealers speak many European languages and feature many games.
- Ezugi: Now owned by Evolution, Ezugi is known for a big selection of games and customizable private tables. Ezugi's dealers also speak many languages, including Asian languages.
- Microgaming: The oldest online casino software designer and founder of eCOGRA also has live dealers. These exist in several locations, but a famous one operates out of Toronto.
How We Rate The Best Live Dealer Casinos
Our site reviewers devote long hours to reviewing the best online casinos with live dealers in the US, Canada and elsewhere. Sites that we recommend must provide entertaining products to players, but also must match our standards for safety, fairness, reliability, and fast payouts.
Here are the criteria our reviewers use when we review live dealer sites.
Online Safety: Players who make payments using their mobile phones need world-class security. We recommend sites with SSL certificates and 128-bit encryption or better.
Game Variety: The bare minimum is live blackjack, live roulette, and live baccarat. If a site has other games like craps, we rate their site a little higher.
Withdrawals: Winners need live casinos that make fast payouts with their favorite payment methods. We put emphasis on reliable withdrawals from legit casinos. Bitcoin payouts receive bonus points.
Responsive Staff: In online gaming, technical issues eventually happen. We rate live dealer products on their knowledge, professionalism, and responsiveness to players' needs.
Mobile Accessibility: Whether a site has a mobile live dealer app or not, the gaming experience must be seamless, glitch-free, and safe for mobile payouts.
Bonus Promotions: We always review casinos' welcome bonuses and promotions. If a site has a table games bonus or a live dealer bonus with fair terms, it gets a higher rating.
More Online Casino Games
Slots: The most popular online casino games. Online slots boast huge jackpots, fun themes, and entertaining features like bonus games and multipliers.
Hot Drop Jackpots: The latest in online slot action, the best US online casinos now offer hourly and daily jackpots, plus the ultimate progressive jackpots: Super Hot Drops.
Keno: A Chinese 80-ball lottery game. Online keno in US casino sites features jackpots between $15,000 and $1,000,000.
Sic Bo: A Chinese dice game based on 3-dice rolls. Sic Bo has as many exciting bets as craps, including the high and low bets that give the game its name.