When online casinos emerged on the market, everyone was happy to play casino games from the comfort of their home. They offered players anonymity and were much more convenient than taking a trip to a land-based casino.
Why play in a live casino (pros & cons)
Online casinos have exploded on the market since arriving around 2000 and were a much-needed and improved version of a regular casino.
Since everything’s hosted online, the number of games is limitless. Online casinos offer amazing bonuses similar to comps in land-based casinos which were off-limits for casual players. They were the next step in the evolution of gambling, yet they were missing one key factor – the atmosphere of a real casino.
After decades of tweaks and improvement, a day finally came when online casinos combined the best of both worlds. Enter live casinos. A combination of the availability of online casinos and the atmosphere of a land-based casino, they’re the next big thing in online gambling. Unlike simple casino games, live dealer games are played against a human dealer and streamed via a video link. You’re not playing a computer but against a human just like you would when you step into a land-based casino. There’s a certain thrill of playing in Vegas online casinos couldn’t replicate until now. Thanks to live casinos, you can now feel like in a real casino.
Live dealer games are not your regular game, even though the rules are pretty much the same. What makes them so exciting is the addition of several cameras that give you a rundown of the action from different angles. Slo-mo technology is often used as well. Trust us – seeing the roulette ball in slo-mo landing in the pocket you’ve wagered on is something you haven’t seen or experienced before.
Of course, there are a few downsides to live casinos as well. The technology is still new and picking up things “on the fly”, so it’s not ideal.
Pros of Live Casinos
The pros of live casinos far outweigh the cons. The technology has breathed new life in online casinos, offering something much more unique than simply being able to play games on the go. Many players were not that fond (or trusting) of the RNG technology that controls the outcome of all casino games. Even though it has been proven fair time and time again, it couldn’t gain the trust of many players.
Since live dealer games don’t use RNGs, they should attract casino veterans. Plus, there’s a certain thrill of playing against a dealer and the atmosphere of a land-based casino is the top of the cherry.
Playing Against Human Dealers – The first and most obvious advantage of live casinos is the fact that you’re not playing a computer, but a human dealer. It just makes everything so real and adds a personal touch to the whole experience. Communicating with the live dealer further improves the feel of live casinos, creating an unforgettable experience without taking a trip to Vegas. Furthermore, the dealers are attractive and very professional, ensuring that the game is conducted on a proper level.
Play On the Go – The great thing about online casinos is that you can play them on the go. It’s the same with live casinos. Available on desktop and mobile devices, you can play a round of live roulette anytime and anywhere. You don’t need to download any kind of software thanks to the instant play platform. You just log into your favorite live casino on your phone and enjoy the games on offer.
Cutting-Edge Tech – When you play games in a live casino, you get to enjoy cutting-edge technology and advanced systems that take gambling to a whole new level. The high-quality HD streams allow you to see the action as you’ve never seen before. It goes even beyond that. You can chat with the dealer and you access everything via a virtual panel that works properly thanks to the advanced tech the casinos use.
Cons of Live Casinos
Everything has positive and negative sides and it’s no different with live casinos. The technology is still fresh which brings more than a few problems by itself.
Technical Problems – Live casinos are quite a new arrival in the online gambling industry. As such, problems of a technical nature are widely expected. As mentioned, the games are streamed from a separate studio over a video link, which raises the risk of technical problems. If you were planning to play live casino games on a 3G mobile network, forget about it. Live casinos require stable and fast Internet connection which might still be a problem for some players.
Even if your connection is stable, chances of technical issues still persist. This is the main reasons why many players (and casinos) are put off by live dealer games.
Limited Game Library – Unlike online casino libraries, the range of live dealer games is pretty limited. Live casinos are pretty expensive to run, so developers aren’t ready to jump to a large portfolio. In most live casinos, you get nothing more than a dozen variants of blackjack, roulette, poker, and baccarat. The range of games is increasing bit by bit, but for now, you’re stuck with these casino games. And that can be a problem for many players.
Higher Minimum Bets – The expensive maintenance of live casinos is one of the reasons why the minimum stakes are higher. Live casinos aren’t suitable for beginners because you can’t play them for free and the minimum bets are higher. With the stakes higher, newcomers are likely to avoid live casinos, at least for the time being.
