Advancements in technology over the past couple of decades have helped the online casino industry become one of the biggest growth sectors in the world.
A recent report by Grand View Research forecast that the global online gambling market size is expected to reach $127.3 billion by 2027, highlighting its lucrative nature.
The shift towards online play has been hugely beneficial for casino operators, allowing them to introduce a different demographic to iGaming.
Changes and improvements in regulatory practices have also helped the industry grow by giving players peace of mind that online casinos are trustworthy.
Given the positivity within the sector, it is no surprise to find that it is an extremely competitive marketplace, with many new operators eager to jump on the bandwagon.
This has forced every company in the industry to up their game by leveraging new innovations to make the offering on their casino sites as broad as possible.
One of the most important developments in recent years has been the introduction of live casino games, which replicate the experience of playing in brick-and-mortar venues.
Many of the leading casino operators have enjoyed tremendous success with live games, with some reporting that they account for more than half of their online revenue.
Read on as we take a closer look at what live casino games you can play and assess some of their main characteristics.
Introducing live casino games
Casino operators initially offered a limited selection of live games, but some of the top brands have significantly stepped things up in recent times.
There are now five main categories of live casino games – roulette, blackjack, poker, baccarat and game shows – each of which can be played on desktop and mobile devices.
Fans of roulette and blackjack have the biggest selection of games to choose from, with the best casinos providing dozens of exciting variants.
Poker, baccarat and game shows have become more prevalent as operators invest more resources into building live casino studios.
The main difference between live and traditional online casino games is that the former is hosted and run by a human dealer or croupier.
By contrast, the digital versions of online casino games use a random number generator to produce the result, which removes the skill element from selected games.
Optical camera recognition technology and a Game Control Unit (GCU) is used to stream live casino games directly to a player’s chosen device.
The player can interact directly with the game host via instant messaging software, thus mimicking much of the experience of visiting a land-based venue.
The characteristics of live casino games
As previously mentioned, the main difference between live and traditional online casino games is the presence of a human dealer or croupier.
By using the latest video streaming technology, online operators can transfer the thrill of playing in a land-based venue into a digital environment.
People no longer have to think about travelling to play games such as roulette, blackjack or poker – they are available live on a digital device around the clock throughout the year.
Whether you fancy playing at home, on a train, sat on a beach or somewhere else, live casino games are accessible in just a few clicks.
In addition to the convenience element, much of the appeal of live games is driven by the fact that they reintroduce skill back into the mix.
For instance, if you play traditional online games such as blackjack the result of each hand is produced by a random number generator.
While it is still feasible to employ basic strategy to improve your chances of winning, the house’s edge is still much greater than in a live environment.
In live games you know how many decks of cards are in play, which opens the door to using card counting techniques to boost your hopes of making a profit.
The future of live casino games
If the last couple of decades have taught us anything, it is that casino operators have only scratched the surface of the possibilities in live games.
There remains plenty of scope for growth in some casino game categories, particularly baccarat, poker and game shows.
Most operators only have a limited number of live baccarat tables and it is anticipated that this will be addressed as they acquire more studio floorspace.
There is also scope for growth in the number of poker tables, while many popular game show formats are yet to be adapted for live casinos.
However, perhaps the most exciting future development will come in the form of Virtual Reality (VR) technology, which has been on the fringes of the industry for a few years now.
Software experts Evolution Gaming have already made significant inroads, launching a live VR casino game entitled Gonzo’s Treasure Hunt.
In this innovative game show, the player joins Gonzo and the game host on a quest searching for hidden treasures against the backdrop of an ancient Incan world.
With a VR headset and controller players can access stunning 360-degree video content, thus taking the gameplay experience to a whole new level.
This type of innovation is likely to become commonplace over the next few years as developers and casino operators strive to fully harness the power of VR.
The day may not be too far away where major poker tournaments are staged using VR, thus allowing players to go head-to-head with the best in the business.
With many players already favouring live casino games over the traditional online variants, it is not unreasonable to think that the latter may eventually become defunct.
The current online casino landscape looks very different from what passed for the norm 20 years ago. It is exciting to imagine how it might look in 2040!