The Live Online Casino option is a welcome development for some

Almost every new idea or invention in our history has been gradually developed and improved over time. It is therefore not surprising that we have also seen that sort of progress and development in the online sports gambling and in particular the online casino sectors. We have seen a number of improvements in the online casino sites since they were first introduced, but for many people the most important and most welcome of these developments has been the Live Online Casino option. That is particularly true among the first customers of the online casinos, because it is fair to say that most of these were already playing casino games at a real casino so there were a number of aspects of playing at an online casino site that they found disappointing. The range of casino games available in the reals casinos in Ireland was of course very limited which meant that most people played either roulette or blackjack when they visited a real casino and therefore chose to do the same when starting to play casino games online. The problems arose when it came to the game of roulette as it was presented on the first online casino sites. Over the years we have come to accept the use of Random Number Generators to determine winning numbers for many online casino games, but it was a relatively new concept in the early days of online casinos and consequently there were of course some doubters. Unfortunately the inability of the computer graphics associated with the online game of roulette to smoothly replicate the movement of the ball on a roulette wheel fed those doubts in some people’s minds. Clearly any company dealing with their customers remotely through a website needs the trust of those customers to survive, so the online casino operators knew they had to do something to resolve this situation. Their solution was to introduce the concept of the Live Online Casino, which is now available at almost every online casino in one form or another.

The Live Online Casino option was initially provided by establishing a studio often somewhere in Eastern Europe, and installing a roulette table complete with a real roulette wheel. This allowed them to employ real dealers to manage the game as they would in a real casino, and for the game to be streamed live to our screens. Most online casino operators also took the opportunity to install a blackjack table in their studio as well as a roulette table, and the Live Online Casino option was born. Most of our online casinos still offer their Live Online Casino option in this way streamed from a studio, although there have been further improvements in their attempts to create an experience as close as possible to the real thing, including the option to chat with the dealers while the games are in progress. The online casinos have gone a long way towards providing an answer to the underlying doubts in the minds of some of their customers, but there are clearly also significant downsides to the Live Online Casino option which inevitably mean that this way of playing casino games online does not suit everybody. For many people one of the clear advantages of playing casino games at an online casino as opposed to a real casino was that the minimum table stakes were very much lower so they could have far more fun within their budget. Employing dealers to manage their casino games inevitably increased the overheads associated with the Live Casino option so the most of the online casino operators have increased the minimum table stakes accordingly. At present William Hill still offers roulette Live for 0.1 euros, but most of the others set the rate at 1.0 euros. Another feature of the Live Online Casino format which also upsets some people is the timing of the game, particularly roulette. Again for many people being able to take your time placing your bets is both relaxing and more enjoyable, but when the games are being run by real dealers in a remote studio they are run at the same sort of speed you would find at a real casino. The bottom line is that the Live Online Casino option is a welcome development for many people, but it is not the preference for many others. Fortunately we still have a choice at all the online casinos on our recommended list.

There are probably two other things we should mention regarding the Live Online Casino option. The first is that most online casinos limit the casino games they offer in the Live Casino format to just two or three, usually roulette, blackjack and sometimes baccarat. William Hill and Betfred do also offer a form of Caribbean Stud poker, whilst Ladbrokes and Bet365 feature Sic Bo among their Live Casino options. Secondly the Live Online Casino option is not always available without downloading the casino games. This is possible at Paddy Power, Ladbrokes and Betfred, but not at William Hill, 888 or Bet365 all of which require the games to be downloaded before the Live option is available.

As we commented right at the beginning of this article all new ideas tend to develop and improve over time, and the idea of a Live Online Casino is no exception. Although all of the online casinos operated by the big bookmakers still choose to run their Live Casino option from a studio, we now have another approach from a couple of the new specialist online casinos. The All Irish casino has chosen to actually stream their Live Online Casino option from a real casino. Taking advantage of their excellent relationship with the Portomaso casino in Malta the All Irish casino offer their casino games players the opportunity to play roulette, blackjack and baccarat live in the company of other players in the casino. The idea has proved very popular among casino games seeking as much reality as possible and looks as if it is here to stay. Clearly it is only possible during the casino opening hours, but 10.00 am to 5.00 am probably satisfies most of us.