Live Dealer Casinos

For the first decade or so of online casinos, the games offered were pretty standard. Even with the invention of browser-based casinos, all of the table games, slots, and other gambling favorites were simulated experiences; it might look like you were being dealt cards at a blackjack table, for instance, but the game was really being played by a random number generator. This caused some players to feel that the games weren’t transparent enough, while others just couldn’t get into the game in the same way without the atmosphere of a live casino.

Best Live Dealer Casino Sites

In the last few years, casinos have begun to solve this problem with one of the most important innovations in the history of online gambling: the live dealer game. These games are exactly what they sound like: online casino games that use actual dealers to deal out the cards, collect bets, and award winnings to players.

In a live dealer game, you’ll connect to the casino table through a live video stream. You’ll be presented with an interface that isn’t entirely different from what you’d have in any other online casino game. This will allow you to relay your instructions for bets to the dealer without any confusion or ambiguity. If you have any questions, concerns, or just want to strike up a conversation, most live dealer games also feature a chat box that allows you to interact with your dealer.

Once the game begins, it’s just like you’re in a real live casino playing your favorite game. For instance, a live dealer roulette game will feature a croupier who spins a real ball around a physical wheel. You’ll watch as the ball spins and falls into one of the numbered slots. The dealer will then confirm the result and pay out any winning bets directly back into your account.

Real Money Play at Live Dealer Casinos

As you might imagine, live dealer games are more expensive for online casinos to provide than their regular software-based games. This means that live dealer games are rarely, if ever, offered in play money or practice modes at online casinos.

Instead, all live dealer play is done for real money. It’s simple enough to get started playing real money live dealer games, as the same account that you use to play all other casino games is also used when playing for a live dealer. This means that you won’t have to open a separate account or deposit new money in order to play live dealer games. Simply log into your casino account, look for the live games option, and pick the game of your choice to get started!

Live Casino Bonuses

Three of our favorite online casinos offer bonuses that you can take advantage of if you want to play live dealer games. At Bet365, new players can choose between a 100% matching bonus of up to $200, or a VIP Opening Bonus of 50% up to $1,000, depending on the amount you’d like to deposit.

At the 888.com casino, new players can earn up to $1,500 in welcome bonuses, starting with a 100% bonus of up to $200 on their first deposit. All live casino games can be used to help clear this and all bonuses at 888.com.

32Red’s casino offers a couple of different bonus for new players to choose from. For serious players, there’s a bonus that offers £32 for every £20 you deposit, up to a maximum bonus amount of £160. If you’re more interested in giving 32Red a quick look and then deciding if you want to stay there after, UK players can get a free £32 to use in the casino without even making a deposit!

Blackjack at Live Dealer Casinos

Blackjack is the world’s most popular table game, so it’s an obvious choice for casinos looking to add live dealer options. Both Bet365 and 888 Casino offer live blackjack games to players. In these games, you’ll be able to make all of your decisions using the casino interface; the live dealer will handle both their cards and your hand for you.

Roulette at Live Dealer Casinos

Roulette really loses a lot of its charm when played online, making it a game that benefits tremendously from the live dealer format. There’s nothing like placing a bet and then anxiously awaiting the ball’s final destination as it moves around the roulette wheel. Both Bet365 and 888 Casino allow players to play live dealer roulette, in which the dealer will set all of your bets and then spin the wheel so you can see the results.

Live Dealer Baccarat

One of the most popular live dealer games around is baccarat. This makes sense for two reasons; first, baccarat is a game frequently played by high rollers, making it an attractive game for the casino itself to offer, and secondly, it’s another game that relies heavily on atmosphere to make it enjoyable. Bet365 and 888 Casino both offer live baccarat, as does 32Red, which has made baccarat the casino’s first ever live dealer game.

Sic Bo at Live Dealer Casinos

Bet365 also offers a live Sic Bo game as part of their Asian live dealer room. This classic dice game becomes all the more enjoyable when you can truly experience each roll of the tumbler with a live dealer. It is not easy to find a live dealer game of Sic Bo online, but we are happy to recommend Bet365 to you for paying it.

Slots at Live Dealer Casinos

One of the reasons why slots make up the majority of games in a typical brick-and-mortar casino is the fact that they don’t require a lot of space, and they don’t need dealers to operate them. This carries over to online casinos, too; live dealer casinos don’t really have any reason to offer “live” slot machine games, as there wouldn’t be much of a difference in the experience to the player, and hiring someone to operate the physical slot machine would probably be prohibitively expensive.

That said, it doesn’t mean that slots are absent at live dealer casinos. All online casinos offer a wide variety of slot machine games to play, and since your casino account is linked both to the casino’s standard and live dealer games, you can play their slot machines any time you want to take a break from live dealer action.