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L IV E GAMING
A real experience
As technology evolves and demand for a real-time gaming experience rises, live gaming is becoming an increasingly popular choice for players who want both a trustworthy and welcoming environment, and is the closest you can get to the thrill of visiting a land-based casino. eGaming Review talks to three industry experts about the characteristics of their offerings and how they believe live casino will develop in the future
eGaming Review (eGR): Why do you think live gaming has become so popular and what are the characteristics of a successful offering? Helen Hedgeland (HH): What makes Evolution Gaming's Live Casino so successful for many top operators is that the online customer experience is as close as it gets to playing in a real casino. Now players can enter that world via their PC, laptop or iPad. Live casino attracts both seasoned casino-goers as well as an entirely new demographic, and it is very accessible and appealing to a diverse audience. It is also a social, shared and interactive experience. Players can see each other at the table, they can message via built-in internet chat, and the dealer can respond verbally to all players. Ultimately, success depends on delivering what players want, which is a blend of many things: high quality; realistic gameplay; an easy and intuitive User Interface (UI); a trustworthy and secure brand and platform; and interactivity, entertainment and involvement. In the case of certain customer groups and nationalities, they will want a localised experience relevant to their culture, rather than a 'globalised' service. It’s a complex chemistry, but we believe we have developed the right formula. Peter Kjaer (PK): Online players want to play the same games as those they’d ?nd in their local casino. It’s difficult to write computer code that does all this, creating the same emotional atmosphere as you’d ?nd on the ?oor of a land-based casino – the highs and lows, the hot streaks and the tilts. That’s where live gaming comes in. It is not just the richness of the user experience, however, that has made live gaming so popular. There is also that essential element of trust. Some players remain unconvinced about the fairness of software-generated results because the code involved is necessarily complex and therefore opaque. A real dealer with a real pack of cards is reassuringly straightforward. It is this transparency not to mention the features in the reporting system that enable us to oversee dealers’ conduct – that earns players’ trust. Angelo De Gobbi (ADG): Players prefer live games because of trust. When you can see the result unfolding before your eyes there is no doubt the game is fair. Secondly, the players usually create a strong relationship with the dealers so gaming time is often a social break. Availability in terms of time and space is the point of strength. Normally, players who want to play with live dealers have to travel for long distances to reach a land-based casino. Now you can play from the comfort of your home and any time you want. Live online dealers are available 24/7 and are just a click away from you. The main characteristic of a successful offering is, ?rst of all, the quality of the live games. Quality is a 360 degree concept: the background of the games has to recreate a real casino design, the tables and the cards must be like the original ones and dealers have to be as professional as in a real casino. Technology is also a key point: only when you can provide top video quality and close to 100% uptime are you successful. eGR: What are the challenges for live gaming specialists when offering a multi-platform approach? HH: Bandwidth is a key limitation for mobile devices. With 3G there is a higher risk of streaming issues and an initial bad experience may deter a player from playing again. Creating a consistent UI across all platforms is another challenge. For example, players familiar with playing live roulette on their PC need to feel completely comfortable when they play the same game on their iPad. Also, live casino is more about the customer experience than, say, a quick sportsbook bet or a few spins on an RNG game.
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