Live Casino – A Guide to Live Dealer Casinos

Live Dealer Casinos feature real time croupiers
Live casinos have quickly become an exciting and lucrative part of the online gambling realm. It’s easy to see why, too. You can play your favorite minimum deposit online casino games while socialising with well-presented and professional live dealers who host the live tables.

The gambling experience you will have at a live casino depends on a number of facts, like game selection, software provider, customer support and even the dealer’s skills.

While you sometimes need to wait before a new game session starts or you may experience sub-par live streaming (depending on your internet connection), the fact remains that live casinos are incredibly entertaining and a great way to pass the time and potentially win some cash when you play at an online casino.

Be sure to check out our top 10 live casinos to find the best games and bonuses to suit your gaming needs.

Top Live Casinos
Casino Offer Min Dep Rating Sign Up
Instaspin
Instaspin
Get 100 Free Spins and up to €1000 Bonus *
$/€10
93%
22Bet
22Bet
100% MATCH BONUS UP TO 300 *
$/€1
98%
7bit
7bit
DEPOSIT $1 AND GET 40 FREE SPINS on Mega Moolah *
$/€1
90%
Katsubet
Katsubet
GET 40 FREE MegaMoolah FREE SPINS *
$/€1
91%
SmokAce
SmokAce
225% bonus + 225FS up to €2000 *
$/€20
87%
Mirax
Mirax
WELCOME BONUS UP TO $1500 + 150 FREE SPINS *
$/€10
85%
Captain Spins
Captain Spins
Deposit $5 get 55 Free Spins on Legacy of Dead *
$/€5
97%
Gaming Club
Gaming Club
100% Match Bonus $/€350 *
$/€10
90%
Kingmaker
Kingmaker
100% Bonus UP TO $/€500 + 25 FREE SPINS *
$/€20
81%
Bet365
Bet365
100% MATCH BONUS UP TO $100 *
$/€5
91%
GG.Bet
GG.Bet
Welcome bonus up to $/€1000 + 175 Free Spins *
$/€7
91%
Instaspin
Instaspin
€1000 + 100 Free Spins *
$/€10
93%
*T&Cs apply to each of the offers. Click “Sign Up” for more details. Please gamble responsibly! You must be 18+.

Live Casinos – How It All Began

Online casinos were first introduced to mainstream players back in the early 1990s. The games rely on Random Number Generators (RNG) to shuffle cards and spin the slot reels or even decide where the roulette ball will land. The casino software is regularly tested by third-party auditing bodies to guarantee that results truly are random each and every time.

Regardless of such measures, players are sometimes sceptical of computer programmes, and it’s often because you can’t see the shuffling process. Which is why the evolution of live dealer casino games was a natural one. Essentially, these are online casinos featuring games with real people dealing real cards or spinning real wheels.

Back in 2003, well-known software developer, Playtech, already had an impressive list of live casino services. The developer uses live video to connect you to dealers. As a result of this type of immersive and interactive online gaming, the casino industry as enjoyed a boom in the popularity of live casinos, with live games available to players around the world.

Using live dealers allows you to log on from the comfort of home (or wherever you are in the case of mobile live casinos) and to know that your money, cards and roulette balls are all in safe hands. What’s more, since live casinos happen in real-time with real dealers, you get to ask any questions you have and enjoy a conversation with fellow players and the dealer in a text-based chatroom.

Live Dealer Casinos – An Overview

So, live casinos are exactly what the name suggests, a casino that’s real and live, rather than a virtual online casino. It used to be that players stayed away from playing at online casinos for a range of reasons. They just didn’t like that there was no interaction or a human face to put to a game, or there were those gamers who just didn’t trust a virtual roulette table the way they would trust a real-life table. Software developers were quick to acknowledge these concerns and it wasn’t long before casinos were combining popular online casino games with real dealers.

While things were a challenge at first due to undeveloped streaming technology and slower internet connections, both have improved significantly over the years and today players can enjoy lag-free, high-definition live streams.

Take a look at our list of live dealer casinos and games to find the perfect fit for you!

Live Casino Games

While the idea of live casinos might have been bizarre a decade or so ago, thanks to lightning-fast wireless technology, high-tech mobile tablets and smartphones and home PCs, live casino gaming has become an incredibly popular past time for many players around the world.

Best of all, you can play all your favourite table games, like roulette, baccarat, blackjack, craps, Pai Gow along with several unique games and many, many variants of each. The best part is, you don’t have to leave home to enjoy the sights, sounds and thrills of the casino floor.

A live online casino is live in just about every sense of the word, except you don’t have to set foot outside your home if you don’t feel like it. From the comfort of home, you can choose a table, pull up a virtual seat and even pick your preferred dealer before sitting down and putting your skills to the test.

Everything happening on the screen in front of you happens live with a real-life dealer, just that you get to place your bets and enjoy your winnings on your screen.

Game play is exactly the same as it is at a land-based casino, just that you talk to your dealer through chat. You really do get to enjoy the best of both worlds. You get the social interaction with a real dealer in a real casino setup along with the efficiency and speed of an online casino.

Best of all, you can play online at no-commission tables and table stakes are typically a whole lot lower than at a land-based casino.

What’s more, if you’ve always been somewhat sceptical of online casino game’s security, live dealer games show you the true integrity of each game.

Live casino games are usually shot using multiple HD web cameras that stream all the croupier or dealer action directly to your screen. Even the games are shot with a number of different camera angles to show you every important element of the game along with the dealer’s actions.

Dealers usually have an interactive screen on the side of the table so they can interact with you in the chat and also enter the game or betting results.

If you’re keen to try live dealer games, check out our casino reviews to find the right casino for your gaming needs.

How to Start Playing Online Live Casino Games

So, when you choose to play a live casino game at your preferred online casino, you get to watch the action unfold in high-definition via a real-time video feed. You’ll watch an actual casino dealer running the game at a real casino table. Your interactions are real, and everything is seamlessly managed through the online casino’s software or native app.

Online live dealer games will even detect your internet connection speed and then adjust the quality of the stream automatically so you can sit back and enjoy smooth gameplay. You can place your bets electronically through your computer or mobile device and then watch the action unfold live on the table. As with regular online casino games, your wins and losses are processed in your player account when you leave the live casino table.

Live games allow for multiple players to sit at a table and you can also interact with players and the dealer through the handy chat tool.

Given how incredible live casino technology and software is today, you’re sure to feel as though you’ve landed right in the heart of a land-based casino floor, if not better! If you’re not a big believer in virtual casino games and Random Number Generators, you’ll gain comfort in the form of a live dealer running a game right in front of you.

Safe and Fair Live Casino Games

Of course, there’s no point in playing live dealer games if they’re rigged. Unfortunately, there are scam websites out there running things from very professional studios. They look legit and that makes it easy to fall under their spell.

The good news is this won’t happen to you. Our team of casino experts scour the internet to bring you the most trustworthy and licensed online live casinos around. All the live dealer casino sites that make our top list have been thoroughly checked and reviewed which means you can trust them. What’s more, we’ve put together comprehensive guides, tips and articles to help you get the feel for live casinos.

Also, if you play games from live casino software providers like NetEnt, Microgaming and Evolution Gaming, you have even more assurance that games are always fair as they carry the approval of independent gaming auditors such as eCOGRA.

Top Quality Live Dealer Games

Not only are the live casinos on our recommended lists safe and fair, they also come out tops in terms of quality. There is no denying that there are plenty of mediocre live games companies around, but there are also enough top-of-the-range developers that deliver a sensational player experience. It all comes down to how professionally the live casino games are run, the actual games and how fair they are, the quality of the video stream and a few other small factors that all add up to create your overall live dealer casino experience.

Best of all, we play each game before we review it. If you want to learn more about how the companies provide live casino games, some of those have even won multiple awards, be sure to check out our reviews and latest articles. This should give you all the assurance you need that you will be playing the very best live games at the very best online casinos.

Fast Live Casino Game Payouts

Of course, nothing beats a winning streak when you’re playing your favourite live dealer games. If you use certain casino game strategies when playing roulette, for instance, you might just land up with a decent amount of cash in your pocket, and quickly.

But as you know, that feeling can quickly be squashed by a casino that either is very slow to pay out your winnings or simply refuses to do so. That’s why our team prioritise live casinos that offer players fast payouts. Ideally, you want to get your hands on your winnings in no more than 48 hours, but you’ll find we often favour live casinos that pay you out even sooner!

Take a look through our live casino reviews to find out how long withdrawals take, associated fees and also the wide range of live casino games available online!

 
 
50 Free Spins
No prize
25 Free Spins
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5 Free
No prize
100 Free Spins
No prize
20 Free
No prize
10 Free
No prize