Live casino online is exactly what it sounds like – an actual casino experience brought to your home. It allows players to play traditional casino card and table games (such as blackjack, roulette, baccarat) with the help of a professional dealer or croupier. The action is streamed straight to your desktop or mobile device in real-time and you can place bets just like at a standard RNG casino game. Often, the dealer will welcome new players as they join the table and will verbally answer any questions you might have in the chat box. This helps create a more social environment and gives the feel that you’re in a physical casino.
Live casinos offer more betting limits than their software-run counterparts, so you can find a table that suits your bankroll. There are even some that offer a full range of live games, so you can play all your favorite table games with a seasoned dealer at your fingertips.
If you’re looking for a top live casino site, you should make sure it offers an excellent selection of games, has a secure banking system and offers a decent range of bonuses and promotions. These can include deposit-match deals and cashback, which you can claim as part of a welcome package or through recurring promotions that run on a monthly, weekly, or daily basis.
Depending on the type of live casino you play, the gaming experience will vary, but you can expect the best sites to have a large number of popular table games, such as blackjack and roulette. Some will also have a good variety of other styles of games, including baccarat and casino poker. In addition, the best operators will have live games available around the clock, although not all will be able to do so.
A live casino online should have a dedicated streaming studio and state-of-the-art camera equipment to provide an excellent gaming experience. Most sites will use a high-quality TV or digital screen to show the game and offer multiple cameras to allow players to view the action from different angles. The studios are also equipped with comfortable seating for the dealers and a sound system that provides crisp audio.
Another thing to look for is the Game Control Unit, which is a small box that’s located behind the croupier’s chair and is responsible for encoding the video stream. The GCU will typically have a button that you can press to switch between cameras. This can be helpful if you want to change the angle of your view or switch to a higher resolution.
While many of these sites are designed to be played on desktop computers, most of them will work well on smartphones and tablets too. You can expect them to have a responsive layout and be well-optimized for all major platforms, although you might encounter some slight differences in how the game plays on an app compared to playing on a website with your browser of choice.