Live Dealer is the hottest thing at online casinos because it replicates the real-life casino
That ’ s
Entertainment By Roger Gros
In the magnificently researched book by gaming historian David Schwartz , Roll the Bones : The History of Gambling , we read that the first casino in the world was in Venice — Ca ’ Vendramin Calergi , also known as Casino di Venezia . The casino opened in 1638 and continued until 1774 , when gambling was banned . Schwartz tells us that the games consisted of card and dice games , the identity of which are lost to time .
But clearly there were no slot machines — it was another 100 years or more after it closed before the first slot game was introduced by Charles Fey in San Francisco . But even then slot machines played only a minor role in the gaming halls of their time .
Table games have been the center of any casino for most of the history of casinos . Yes , the games changed . Faro was the most popular game in Fey ’ s time . And poker , of course , was the alluring game that fooled many an amateur gambler until he ran into a card shark .
Even when Nevada opened up gambling in 1931 , slot machines were just an amenity to keep the wives of the high rollers occupied while the husbands wagered the serious money at the tables .
Today , of course , slot machines dominate the casino world — except perhaps in Asia , where the dedication to baccarat by most players keeps table game revenue front and center .
So when it came to online gambling , slot machines were the nobrainer decision . They are easily replicated and contain most of the graphics and sounds of the real-life game . For the online operator , the more the merrier , and there are often hundreds of slot games available to their customers at any given time .
But then table games became the ugly stepsister of iGaming . Yes , you need to have them because there are some smart players who know that slots are a loser for most gamblers and prefer to use their brains when gambling . But unlike slots , table games are not so easily replicated online . Yes , you can easily remake baccarat and roulette . In those games the player makes the decision where to bet and a simple RNG and basic graphics are all that ’ s needed . You can conceivably have thousands of people betting on one spin or hand .
Blackjack is different because each player needs to make a decision in turn , extending the time it takes to play a full hand . But again , basic graphics and an RNG that copies the theoretical payback percentage , and you ’ re in business .
But man against machine isn ’ t what live gaming is all about , so the search
“ The original mission was to bring the casino to online . It took online gaming into a new genre where it lives today . Sure , it ’ s a hard business , because you ’ ve got half casino operations , and then half technical operations and video streaming . It ’ s a B2B business , so you ’ ve got to keep all your clients happy .”
— Todd Haushalter , Chief Product Officer , Evolution Gaming
16 Global Gaming Business SEPTEMBER 2022