The technology that underpins the burgeoning live casino industry

In April 2020, Evolution Gaming reported a 90% increase in annual profits, up to €54.2 million. The Nasdaq Stockholm-listed company is one of the leading players in the live dealer casino scene, which has delivered a new kind of immersive iGaming experience for fans of classic table games and new-style casino gameshows.

The rise of live casino action was almost born out of necessity. It was an opportunity to create more engagement and open up online casino gaming to a new demographic that was brought up on a diet of land-based casino experiences. These real-time games, managed by professionally trained dealers, are set in authentic casino surroundings.

But there is so much more to the technology of a live casino studio than any player can see on-screen. Within this article, we’ll outline the complexities of running live casino games and how technology is helping some iGaming brands to transition solely from video casino games to live streamed action.

High-definition cameras

Image: Piqsels

When you play online roulette at LeoVegas, there are some live roulette tables that offer multiple real-time camera angles. This takes you as close, if not closer, to the action than you would get in a land-based casino. The top-down camera angle allows you to view the ball spinning around the wheel and all of the available pockets to help you decide on your bets before that all-important “no more bets” message. The cameras are strategically positioned to allow you to flick from one view to the next at the touch of a button. The standard view tends to be a straight-on view of the dealer and the betting table in front of you.

Game control units (GCUs)

The HD video cameras would not be able to work their magic without the installation of GCUs. These devices are considered the beating heart of any live casino studio. Each table has its own unique GCU. Its purpose is to encode the video stream, making sure that the content is broadcast securely and in real-time so that players can keep up with the action unfolding on the tables and wheels.

Optical character recognition (OCR)

Another important technical aspect of a live casino studio is transferring the outcome of what you can see on the tables onto a player’s computer screen or mobile device. OCR technology is used to decipher the value of playing cards in games like blackjack and baccarat and overlay players’ scores on-screen. OCR technology helps to recognise the text inside playing cards i.e. the card numbers or suits and can encode this data to be displayed immediately on-screen. Live casino dealers are trained to make sure that each card dealt is clearly visible to the reader, helping to maintain the flow of every game.

Table monitors

Speaking of maintaining a game’s flow, each live casino table will also have a monitor that each dealer can view behind the camera. The monitor provides a visual representation of what players can see on-screen, helping dealers to keep up with the betting action and prompt slower or newcomer players. The monitor allows players to engage in real-time with their dealer via the live chat box, creating that sense of community spirit that lacks within video casino games.