Guide to Live Online Casinos

We know that choosing the best live online casino is a tough job, therefore, we did the homework for you and picked the best and safest live dealer casinos on the Internet. To be able to do this we tested each and every brand and made sure that they are all fair, safe and secure and legally licensed. In addition, we made a deal with the casinos to provide exclusive promotions and bonuses to all fans of live dealers.

What is a Live Online Casino?

In a live online casino, a dealer runs the game in real time and players make betting decisions through a console on their computer. The optical character recognition technology the live casino games use makes it possible for a result to be translated into data and utilized by software. It also enables players to interact with the game as much as possible just like they would in a real land based casino.

Live online casino games are equipped with multiple webcams which are set to record and broadcast the events on the casino table, whether it’s blackjack, roulette, poker or something else. Depending on the provider, the webcams will have zoom features or multiple angle views, as well as possibilities for reducing or enlarging the screen size. Thanks to this, players will never miss a critical moment in the game despite not being physically present in the studio or casino floor.

Players get the feed in real time on their device of choice and hear everything the croupier is saying. Live online casino games come complete with a live chat feature which enables the players to send written messages to the dealers during the game and then receive spoken answers or commentaries.

What Games are Available at Live Dealer Casinos?

#1 – Blackjack: Blackjack or 21 is the first casino game that moved to a live dealer platform online. You play against the dealer and other players on a table and enjoy a nice gaming session with the possibility to chat with the dealer. Now that’s true-to-life online gaming!

Blackjack was, and still is, an extremely popular card game at land-based casinos, as it balances the luck and the skill-based elements of the game nicely. Live dealer software providers have expanded on the subject of blackjack and set up different variations of the celebrated game. From Live Common Draw Blackjack to Live Playboy Blackjack, players have a nice choice of environments and side bets. You can also experience live blackjack in languages other than English at specific native tables; for example, Evolution Gaming is capable of offering live blackjack in various European languages such as Danish, Spanish, German, Norwegian and Swedish.

#2 – Roulette: The goal of this casino game of chance is to guess the next winning number. You place bets along with other players with a click of a mouse. You can also choose the table that suits you the most. Pick between European, American or French Roulette and cross your fingers.

Live roulette is a nice change from the light pace and the step-by-step gameplay typical of card games. Instead, it brings the suspense of having your entire bet depending on one little white ball. The betting possibilities are nearly endless and the entire experience becomes even more challenging in the case of Live American Roulette which contains an additional zero. Furthermore, roulette can be player with native-speaking dealers, in languages such as French, Swedish, Turkish, Russian, Danish and Italian. These can be found at specific casinos supplied by companies like Playtech, Evolution or Lucky Streak.

#3 – Baccarat: Baccarat was considered an aristocratic game for a long time, but with the boom of online casinos the game became available to regular players who have learned to appreciate its simplicity and huge payout potential. Live baccarat is another step towards making this simple, yet effective card game even more popular. Thanks to live dealer providers like Vivo Gaming, Ezugi and Playtech, you can enjoy Live Mini Baccarat, Live Knockout Baccarat or Live Baccarat 7 Seat.

Bet on the banker, player or tie and wait to see how lucky you are. New players to the game are advised to avoid the tie bet because it has higher house edge.

#4 - Casino Hold’em: A variant of Texas Hold’em, in this game it is up to you to decide whether you will fold or continue after the flop. The rules were slightly modified; in Live Casino Hold’em you are playing against the dealer rather than against other players. In this thrilling game, the highest paying hand is the Royal Flush which pays 100:1. If you disregard the side bet, you can expect to face a house edge somewhere in the range from 2-2.4%, depending on the casino.

Although less popular than blackjack and roulette, the live version of Casino Hold’em can be found at casinos powered by Evolution Gaming, Playtech and Xpro, among others.

#5 - Sic Bo: There are Asian live dealer casinos that offer Sic Bo. The game is played in a unique way and has its own set of rules. It originates from China and has a rather long life in the Orient. It reached the West in the late 19th and early 20th century. Sic-Bo is a game of pure chance, which is why there is no strategy that would help you beat it. Instead, you can work on your decision making, finding a better casino to play at and better managing your budget.

If you are an adventurer and want to experiment playing exotic games, you should definitely give Sic Bo a try. Don’t let a computer simulate the dice roll – go for Live Sic-Bo by Vivo Gaming and observe a real dealer rolling the dice using real dice and a shaker

#6 - More Games: Some casinos offer thrilling new games played in real time like Keno, Lottery, Dragon Tiger and 3-Card Poker. More games are certain to come and in the future we might also see games like Craps and Slot Machines being offered in live mode.

For the moment, apart from the mentioned formats, you can also play specific games outside of the regular casino spectre such as money wheel games. Evolution has its Live Dream Catcher, while Xpro Gaming and BetGames have their Live Wheel of Fortune. As seen on TV, these games have a massive wheel divided into sections and provide prizes when a nice-looking person spins the wheel and it eventually stops, awarding those players that have placed a bet on that particular section.

Who Provides Live Casino Games?

Live casino games are a challenging format and only selected companies have entered the world of live dealer gambling. Whereas some have completely dedicated their production to live solutions, others have simply added a live dealer suite to their existing RNG portfolio. Some of the companies known primarily for their live dealer accomplishments are:

Evolution Gaming – Without a doubt, Evolution Gaming is one of the market leaders when it comes to live casino. Active since 2006, Evolution has brought numerous innovations and revolutionary solutions to the table. It owns studios in the UK, Latvia and Malta and delivers the best possible live gaming experience by streaming live casino games directly to the user’s mobile or desktop screen. Evolution Gaming has won prestigious awards for its work and still continues to impress live casino fans with exclusive tables, native dealers and feature-packed game formats.

NetEnt – Although not entirely dedicated to live casino, NetEnt has quickly risen to the top with its NetEnt Live platform. This game series was designed exclusively for live casino lovers, and includes popular titles like Live Beyond Live Blackjack, VIP Live Roulette and Live Common Draw Blackjack.

Playtech – One of the older representatives on the market, Playtech has managed to keep some of the old-school values and still develop modern, sought-out games that players keep coming back to. Playtech offers an authentic live gaming experience, employs native speakers and delivers games to some of the top international casinos out there. Bet365 and Betfair are good examples.

Authentic Gaming – As opposed to Playtech, Authentic Gaming can be considered a newbie in the business, which does not mean its software is less worthy. Authentic is the way to go if you want HD games on mobile devices, as well as games streamed from iconic locations such as Saint Vincent Resort & Casino.

Ezugi – Ezugi is also one of the newer live casino developers, and its advantages lie in the fact that it produces unconventional live dealer games such as Live Keno, Live Lottery or Live Bet on Numbers. Ezugi streams live casino action from studios in Costa Rica, Belgium and Cambodia, all in high definition. Ezugi is also one of the rare live casino providers that accept Bitcoin payments.

Visionary iGaming - ViG’s live platform contains high-quality live dealer games like Enhanced Payout American Roulette, Super 6 Baccarat and Live Blackjack Early Payout. It is one of rare platforms that allow free play, but it gets more attention for being a USA-friendly provider.

Where are Live Dealer Studios Located?

In cases when live dealer games can’t be streamed from an actual casino floor, software suppliers go for the next best thing – a studio environment that matches the lively casino atmosphere perfectly.

Evolution Gaming’s live casino studios, for example, are located in Riga in Latvia, in Malta and also in Vancouver, Canada. The Riga studio is a purpose-built facility which just so happens to be the largest in the world (world’s leading infrastructure and more live games tables than any other land-based operator in Europe). Native live dealer tables such as London Roulette, Venezia Roulette, Svensk Roulette and Deutsches Roulette are streamed from the studio in Malta.

Ezugi maintains studios in Bulgaria, Latvia and Romania, as well as in Columbia and delivers a premium suite of products to globally accomplished casinos such as LeoVegas. Ezugi also combines live gaming technology with the realism of land-based facilities. As a result, it offers Over the Table (OTT) games from Queenco Hotel and Casino and Portomasso.

Visionary iGaming, one of the leading providers catering to the USA market, relies on its main studio in San Jose in Costa Rica, from which predominantly Latina beauties deliver engaging games such as Live Baccarat, Live European Roulette and Live Blackjack Early Payout.

LiveCasinos.com have compiled a list with a map of all major live casino studio locations around the globe including in Asia, Latin America and Europe.

Live Dealers Information for Beginners

We cater to new live players and we offer a guide for beginners as well as tutorials and tips for the main games like Blackjack, Roulette, Baccarat, Casino Hold'em and Sic Bo. We can help you become a more knowledgeable and skilled player in no time.

Starting out in online gambling is not easy, but if you’re passionate about it and you have the will to do a bit of reading, you’ll master the basics fairly easily. That’s all you need, as the rest will come as you gain more experience.

As a new live casino player, it’s best to stick to the advice and recommendations from skilled casino fans, many of which are published here at LiveCasinos.com. We’re delighted to offer useful guidelines to new gamers, as well as links towards the best live dealer casinos, bonuses, software providers, mobile gaming opportunities and other interesting live casino pages.