The Live Dealer Deal

With casino games and technology still in the extremely early days of their honeymoon, all bets are on that this "match made in gaming heaven" will succeed far beyond our wildest dreams, let alone most other love affairs. Of the many features resulting from this wonderful relationship are ‘live dealers.' That's right, real honest to goodness human beings dealing real-life excitement in real-time - via the Internet of course - within the comfort of your own home.

Leave it to the online gambling industry to once again successfully integrate the benefits of playing in a land-based casino with the conveniences of home. Not only can gambling enthusiasts located any place on the globe relax by playing their favourite casino games on the world wide web from their own living rooms, but these same casino game providers are now making more than virtual house calls; Gamblers can now invite live dealers right into their home too. Well, as far as their computer screens, that is. (Getting them to jump out of the monitor is going to require a few more card tricks.)

How's it work?
Live dealers afford online gamblers virtually the same thrills as live casinos, such as dealing out the cards or spinning the roulette wheel etc. Generally speaking, the list of ‘live-dealer' games currently being offered by online casino sites includes blackjack, craps, roulette, sic bo, baccarat, plus others. With regard to which casino game ranks as the most popular of all the live-dealer games on the Internet, blackjack tops the list, hands down. The number of live games is destined to develop rapidly as consumer demands for additional live interaction is already evident.

Web cameras and loads of other innovative ‘real time' technologies, both hardware & software, are cropping up all the time, quickly evening-out the playing field between the virtual and real casino gaming sectors. Players can not only view the dealers; they can talk with them too.

With this and other advanced features, the gap dividing the virtual and real-gambling worlds is closing in quicker than anyone can say, ‘mind the gap.' And to avoid being outmaneuvered by what once was clearly an advantage land casinos enjoyed over their web-based cousins, the online community is embracing the live-dealer phenomenon with open market arms, and in the spirit of good old-fashioned fun.

Keeping it really real. Really
Of the several online casino sites presently providing live-dealer features, the most popular venues are those benefiting from Playtech platforms, such as Casino Tropez, Vegas Red and Casino Europa, to mention only some. More than having pioneered the technology, Playtech continues to lead the gambling biz well into the future.