There have been all sorts of technical innovations from web-based casinos over the past few years that have set out to make the online gaming experience more entertaining, engaging and, to put it frankly, similar to the real thing. It’s fair to say that live gaming has had the biggest impact. While most tech developments focus on automation, live tables are all about ditching the random number generators in favour of a traditional croupier or dealer with whom the player can interact via chat windows and webcam.
Live gaming has been particularly popular over recent months, when everyone has been focused on virtual forms of interaction. It has prompted the online casino platforms to invest in a live casino offering that goes beyond the traditional roulette and blackjack. Let’s take a look at some of the games on offer.
Lightning Dice
Evolution Gaming has a habit of coming up with new twists on classic games. In lightning dice, the excitement of the craps table is brought into the live gaming arena, but in a simplified format that does away with all those complicated side bets. The presenter drops three dice into a vertical maze called the lightning tower, and as they tumble through its structure, the player bets on the sum total that will be displayed on all three dice. As with other games in the lightning series, there’s a bonus in the shape of lightning flashes that strike one or more values after betting is finished, adding a multiplier of up to 1000x to the payout.
Mega wheel
Here’s a game that looks very similar to the TV classic Wheel of Fortune. The wheel is divided into 54 segments, 52 of which have a number on them. The number represents the payout, and the higher the number, the fewer the instances on the wheel. The other two segments contain multiplier values. If the wheel stops on one of these, the multiplier is applied to the next spin. Sometimes, the multipliers can multiply, resulting in some spectacular rewards! Mega Wheel was devised by Pragmatic Play and has proved to be a big hit at Guts Casino, one of the most popular providers in Scandinavia. Similar games with different names and variations on the rewards are starting to appear on other platforms, too.
Football Studio
Despite appearances, this game has nothing to do with sports betting. It is actually a fun variation of baccarat, with a football theme. The live dealer simply deals two cards, one to the “home” team and one to the “away” team. These are the equivalent of “player” and “banker” in baccarat. All you have to do is choose which team to back at even money for the win. As with baccarat, you can also back the draw at 11/1 odds.
Deal or No Deal
The TV phenomenon of the early 21st century has arrived at the live casino! There are several stages to the game, making it a great choice for those on a limited bankroll. Spin the reel to set up the bonus multiplier and then answer the all-important question – will you accept or decline the banker’s offer?