Online casinos have revolutionized the world of entertainment. There are today thousands of virtual games available to please all kinds of tastes. Players from all over the world can access them, play for free or bet money, having the opportunity to experience firsthand the electrifying feeling of winning a bet at a gaming table.
But that's not all. In addition to being able to play every casino game imaginable completely online, there is also a huge variety of live casino games, also known as live casino or live casino, in English. In these, the game table and dealer are broadcast to you live via a high-quality video stream, and you bet on the table directly from your computer or mobile device, using the buttons as you normally would in an online game.
In these games, you also have the chance to interact with the dealer – or croupier, as he is also known – and with the other players at your table, experiencing an immersive environment that recreates the atmosphere of the best casinos in the world. All this happens directly from your home, or from wherever you are, whenever you want. Live casino tables usually operate 24 hours a day during all days of the week.
Live casino games are directly interested in reproducing as real a gaming experience as possible to players. Everything is done and thought out in order to bring online gambling as close as possible to the real environment of European and American casinos, and various software companies are constantly working to improve your gaming experience more and more.
For this reason, live casino games are today among the favorites of gambling enthusiasts, since these Games open up a series of new gaming opportunities that exist only in this configuration. There are a wide variety of Game providers that players can try, and the amount of games available is also immense.
The live online casino features dealers, tables of poker , Kingdom , blackjack and baccarat́ , which are transmitted via extremely high-quality video to players. The system allows players to talk to each other and as a dealer throughout the game, which makes the elapsed time in matches more stimulating and ensures more fun for the player, making it a more attractive option for those who are looking for a real casino experience.
The best live casino game providers utilize state-of-the-art technology to perfect the user experience. If you are looking for maximum satisfaction when you are betting online, live casino games may be just what you want. In this guide, we bring you relevant information about online live casino games and everything you need to know about them: understand how the game works, what live games are available, how to play them and how to choose the best casinos to bet live.
How does the Live Casino work?
Many may never have watched a live casino game, but it is easy to find recorded matches on the internet. If you have never seen it and are curious to know what it is like, we suggest you look for these videos. You find them easily by putting the keywords – "live casino" and the game you want to watch, such as Kingdom (roulette), blackjack, among others – into Google.
There is no mystery in how the live games take place. A real dealer, who can be a woman or a man, commands the game of a casino table, also real, and which contains all the necessary equipment for the game in question (cards, Kingdom, dice, etc.). The dealer and the game table are recorded and transmitted live to the players during the time of the matches. The recording is done in a studio specially set up to host the casino games live or sometimes it can be done from inside Dollar (NZD) casinos in countries where gambling is not prohibited by law.
With a sound and audio team always on hand, matches are broadcast to players live. Players, in turn, place their bets and make decisions through the buttons that appear on the video screen. Your actions are instantly transmitted to the dealer, who must be aware of the situation of each player at the table.
Normally, players and dealer can communicate via chat, which makes the game experience even more real and palpable. More than one player may be playing at the table, of course, but tables usually have a maximum limit of players.
The principle of the game and its goal remain the same, of course. The only difference between an online game and the live game is that in the second option it is a real dealer who will be spinning the Kingdom, dealing the cards, announcing the winners and doing everything that a dealer in a real casino would also do. The result of the dealer's actions, such as, for example, the number on which Kingdom has stopped, are transformed into data that is recognized by the game software.
The dealer's actions are streamed via video, directly to the player's computer or mobile device, so as to ensure that they enjoy the game from the comfort of their own home and still enjoy a gaming experience worthy of a real casino.
Just like machine-driven online casino games, live casino games also have different developers. Of course, these games are much more expensive to promote than virtual casino games, since they involve hiring a team of people and a studio with all the necessary casino tables.
The high cost involved with live gaming is the big reason why online casinos offer few gaming options in this format. In comparison, the cost of offering virtual online casino games are very low, and so sites can offer hundreds of different virtual games and only a handful of live casino gaming options.
How to play at live casino
Depending on the game you choose, the walkthrough to play will be distinct. Also depending on the game, matches may develop faster or slower. For example, you can usually have between 80 and 100 Kingdom spins during an hour in a live casino game. In this sense, in live games, the player cannot speed up or slow down the game. If a round only takes a few seconds, you can do the calculations to know how many rounds you will have in an hour.
Some players may not know it, but joining a land-based casino doesn't mean you can automatically start playing your favorite game. Sometimes the tables are all occupied, and you have to wait until one place is empty to be able to play. On the other hand, there is always a place for you in live casino games.
In a simplified way, the step by step to play online in any live game is this:
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Choose an online casino that has live casino games and preferably check first if it has the game you want to play. Also check which provider your games are from. Further down in this guide we make a list of all the providers available for you to know how to recognize the best ones.
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Register in a reliable online casino . Here at New ZealandCasinos, we have great tips and reviews of online casinos that accept New Zealand players. Be sure to check them out to choose the best option for you.
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Make a deposit to your casino account.
- Choose your game and start betting.
Depending on the game you want to play, of course the walkthrough to play will be different. For example, let's say you're going to bet on Kingdom live. When you enter the game, you will see the dealer, Kingdom, game table and buttons on the screen of your computer or mobile device. All players must place their bets at the table for the match to start. Bets placed, the dealer will announce that the table has been closed and then the game buttons will be temporarily disabled. The dealer then spins the Kingdom, which will be transmitted by the camera to the players.
Players will know the outcome of the game when Kingdom stops, and then information about who won and lost their bets will be placed on the game screen. To keep playing, just keep betting.
Advantages of playing live
One of the biggest advantages of betting on live casino games is that interaction with the dealers ensures that players know what is going on during the match. As soon as you place your bet on the table, you have the opportunity to follow the game and know all the step by step to get to the result, which leaves no room to question the confidence and truthfulness of the game.
Another great advantage of live casino is the most obvious: the game is more immersive, more exciting and much more fun for the player. Although the betting prices are higher, the investment usually pays off, as the technology used today in live casino games transports the player to the casino environment.
Live online casinos offer a unique gaming experience for each player and each game, as the dealers are always changing and the other players, with whom you can interact, too.
Interaction with the dealer
The level of player interaction with dealers in live casino games is continuously evolving. Game providers may offer different levels of interaction between players and dealers, but generally the chat option is always present. In most cases, players Type their messages and dealers read and respond verbally.
More recently, live casinos have integrated audio conversations, replicating the format used by multiplayer video games. This means that the player no longer has to type his messages, but can speak them, making the conversation faster.
VIP and high roller tables
VIP and high roller tables (players who bet large amounts of money on a single bet are called high rollers) are more common in physical casinos, where there is a more reserved part of the environment to house players who like to bet large amounts. While in online casinos, you can also find tables with higher betting limits, but they are usually live gaming tables.
To play at the live VIP tables, you don't need to have anything special, just enough balance in your account to cover the table's minimum bets. In all live casino games-baccarat, poker, blackjack and Kingdom-you will be able to find high rollers tables, the point is that not all casinos offer them, and you have to know where to find them. Of the casinos we reviewed, the Unibet it is one of the sites that has tables for high rollers.
Provider
There are several providers of live casino games. Below we list them all and highlight their positive and negative characteristics. If you are researching and looking for information before you start playing live casino games, perhaps the most important issue to take into consideration is the game provider you choose. If you choose one of the best game providers, alongside a good choice of online casino, we guarantee that you will have the best gaming experience possible.
Evolution Gaming
Evolution Gaming is one of the biggest names in online gambling today. The company is focused on producing high quality live casino games for both desktop and mobile. The company operates in more than one hundred Studios 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in several languages, including English, Spanish and German.
Their games are broadcast in high quality sound and video, the player has live support if necessary, and can play both in the browser and in mobile applications. The company offers high variety of games that are available all the time. The focus of Evolution Gaming is on both the quality of the game and the gameplay, making the player's actions as easy as possible. Its only negative point is that it does not offer the free game option. You can find Evolution Gaming's games at Unibet , in the Vera and John and the Betsson .
NetEnt
NetEnt is another big name in online casino gaming. Their catalogue of live casino games is extensive, including several variations of black jack. Its focus tends to be on the user experience, utilizing the most sophisticated sound, video, and design features to make the game experience as immersive and easy to play as possible. These features make it the ideal provider for players who are just discovering live casino.
NetEnt also operates in several languages and is available for free spins, which means you can try the game without obligation. You can find NetEnt games on 888 Casino , at Unibet, no Vera and John and at Betsson.
Microgaming
Microgaming was the creator of the first online casino game. This information alone can be enough to prove the quality and good reputation that the company enjoys among the world of online gambling. The developer has already created more than 600 virtual games and also offers an excellent live gaming experience.
The gameplay of Microgaming's live games is great and they are available in over 24 languages, multiple platforms including desktop and mobile, making it one of the top choices of online casinos for live gaming. Their live casino catalog is quite extensive, without compromising on sound and video quality, which are of high quality. One of the distinguishing features of Microgaming games is that they allow the player to play at more than one table at the same time. With years of experience in the business, Microgaming delivers some of the best live casino games.
Playtech
Playtech is another pioneer in the industry and you may have heard a lot about it. In addition to virtual games, the company also develops live casino games in several languages, including English and Spanish. In addition to the usual games, Playtech diversifies its catalog of games with variations of table games, giving the player a wide selection from which to choose his favorite. The tables are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Its gaming environment and the technology used to transmit the studio to the player are also of high quality, not losing anything to the other major providers. There is the option to play on more than one table at the same time, as well as the option to play on the computer or on mobile devices. You can find Playtech games at Bet365 casinos and Betfair .
Betgames
Newest in the casino gaming business, Betgames offers live casino games 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Its distinctive feature is that, unlike the usual live game catalog, it offers poker, Baccarat, craps and a game called “War of Bets”, among others.
Amaya Gaming
Amaya Gaming offers a good amount and variety of live games, with player-friendly interfaces and good sound and video quality. Their games also work 24 hours.
Authentic Gaming
Authentic Gaming's live casino games can be found at Unibet, and their studios are actually real casinos. This feature in itself already attracts players to its games, but unfortunately the variety is limited to Kingdom tables.
EntwineTech
EntwineTech is a game developer focused on the Asian market, but you can play their games live on the SpinBit .
Ezugi
Ezugi also sets its games live in physical casinos and in studios, and its games are compatible with mobile devices.
Extreme Live Gaming
This company is part of a large corporate group and is known for its good reputation in the online gambling market. Their live casino studios are all in London and offer high sound and video technology to please players.
LuckyStreak Live
LuckyStreak Live offers a limited amount of live gaming tables, but their quality is excellent. The Games promoted by the developer are European Kingdom, baccarat and blackjack.
MediaLive
MediaLive offers a fair amount of live casino games, with a simple interface and easy gameplay. Its video and audio quality is quite good and its games are compatible with mobile devices, but its number of tables is limited.
Visionary iGaming
Visionary iGaming offers a simple and easy to play interface with engaging dealers and studios based in Costa Rica. Your games are not compatible with mobile devices.
Vivo Gaming
Vivo Gaming has a huge catalog of games that are compatible with mobile devices and that work 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The company has several different studios and the player can choose which one they want to play in.
Wirex
Wirex offers players live games streamed from land-based casinos as well as from in-house studios. Their games are broadcast in high quality and are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
XPro Gaming
XPro Gaming features a significant amount and variety of games, which run 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Their games are compatible with mobile devices.
Live casino games
The number of live online casino games is limited, as it is necessary for the game to fit certain parameters before it can be turned into a live casino game.
Poker, for example, which is a game that you play against other players, cannot be played in the live casino, since the game demands that you read your opponents and make strategies based on your guesses. What can be played in live online casinos, however, is its rather famous variation, casino hold'em, in which the player bets against the House, represented by the dealer.
Below, you will find the main games that you will find to play live at online casinos, and find out how the gameplay of each of them is at the live tables.
Live Casino hold'em
As we mentioned, casino hold'em is a variation of the poker game in which the player bets against the casino. Betting begins before any card is dealt, as usual in the poker games . Then the dealer and the player are dealt two cards, face down.
Three community cards are opened on the table, the dealer and the player check their two-card hand to decide whether to raise or fold. If any player at the table raises their bet, the dealer then opens two more cards on the table, totaling five community cards. The best hand wins, and the players ' hands are compared only to the dealer's hand.
Live Baccarat
If you're looking to cash in on a card game, Baccarat is a great option. It is a game with high stakes, which can reach thousands of Dollar (NZD) at some tables. Also called Punto Banco, baccarat is easy to understand and play. In both live play and play in a physical casino, the player bets against the House, represented by the dealer.
To begin the game, the player makes a decision: bet on the dealer's hand or on the player's hand, as the two hands of cards in the game are called. These hands are composed of two cards, but may receive more as the game progresses. The goal is for the player to bet on the hand of cards that adds points closest to the number nine. Check out our guide on how to play baccarat to see that baccarat is one of the easiest and most rewarding games in casinos.
Live Blackjack
Blackjack is a super popular card game in casinos. Much like Baccarat, in 21 the player plays against the House, represented by the dealer. To start playing, you must place a bet. After all the players at the table have placed their bets, they and the dealer are dealt a hand of cards, consisting of two cards.
The goal of the game is for you to win by adding 21 points with your cards, or the closest to that. If you exceed 21 points, you automatically lose. If the dealer's hand gets closer to 21 than your hand, you lose.
Live blackjack games happen quite quickly, since it is only the players who bet and the cards are opened on the table for the result of who won to become visible. One round can last only eight seconds. It is also possible for the hands to receive additional cards, according to the rules of blackjack, but this also happens quickly. There is no mystery about playing live, as the game develops in the same way as in physical casinos or virtual games.
Kingdom live
Kingdom is a perfectly suited game for live casino games because a single table with a single dealer can bring together multiple players. In this sense, no matter what time of day it is, there will always be a place for you at the Kingdom tables.
In Kingdom games, no matter its variation, the action happens quickly. First, players place their bets as usual. You choose the amount and place your bet on the game table, just like you would if you were in a real casino game. The dealer then closes the betting table and spins the hand. It is one of the simplest games to understand and play.
Some advantages of playing at Kingdom Live is that in the live game you can participate in several tables at the same time, have a better view of the table to place your bets, see the statistics of the game (hot, cold numbers, etc.) and check your betting history. This doesn't change your chances of winning, but it can add a little more fun to your game.
If you're looking for clear instructions for playing Kingdom, check out our special guide on how to play Kingdom online. There is not much difference in the virtual game and the live game, and you can always play for free or watch online rounds before you start playing for real.
Live Casino on computer and mobile
Most live online casinos can be accessed from different devices-smartphones, tablets and computers – but it is important to know that the gaming experience will vary depending on the device you are using. The connection speed, browser, screen size, video and sound quality – everything is affected by your device.
If you do not dispense with the game at any time and like to bet from mobile devices, some game providers have already developed applications for iOS and Android with the aim that the player does not miss any detail of the gaming experience. Above, in this same article, we mentioned the game providers that have apps and in which casinos you can find them. Check out below also our list of best casinos to play live.
Best casinos to play live
If you really want to have a gaming environment that will make you feel like you are in a real casino, but you don't know how to find the casinos that will match your expectations, don't worry. Our team has selected here the best sites to bet on live games, which includes only casinos that accept New Zealand players and that are highly rated.
It is not easy to make a list of best online casinos to play live, since there are so many different options, and that each player may like one or the other more, for so many reasons. However, based on the user's own comments and ratings, we can put together a list of the best casinos to play live based on the following aspects:
- High quality sound and image of the game;
- Good interaction with other players and the dealer;
- Variety of tables to play and good amount of live games to choose from;
- Return to high player, with good chances to win;
- Betting tables for all budgets;
- And last but not least: safe and reliable online casino, well rated by players and our team.
With all these aspects in mind, see below for the sites where you will be able to have the best gaming experience possible.
- Betfair
- Unibet
- Betsson
- Yukon Gold
Try live casino games
New Zealand players may feel a bit intimidated by the live casino games, since they are not offered in English, but in some foreign language – Spanish, English, Italian, German, and so on. If you master, even a little, any of these languages, you can play live without any problem.
An important tip is to know the terms of the game in the other language before playing, which can help a lot. However, this is something that players are already quite used to, since virtual gaming tables are usually not translated into English. In our game guides, you can find a glossary with the terms in English and in other languages most used during the games, which can come in handy.
What's more, you can always ask your questions about the live game with the dealer or with the other players. If in doubt, also visit our portal. Here we provide a lot of content about online casino games.
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