Is Live Dealer Gaming The Future of Online Casinos

It seems that games that offer a high win potential and community feel are, unsurprisingly, a hit.

04:56 16 January 2025

Watching recent TV ads, you could easily believe that the most popular form of online gambling is the live dealer variety and that everyone is up to it these days. Certainly, imagining players interacting with a human croupier and other players makes for great TV break content, but does the take-up in the UK actually reflect what the advertising men are telling us? 

Advertisers like to use the newest and latest products and technology to make their company seem the most up-to-date – it is the oldest trick in the book. After all, in a crowded marketplace, everyone is looking for something that makes their brand stand out from the crowd. This tendency can be seen in car advertising and promotion at the moment.

Nearly all new car advertising in the media focuses on EVs. If you did not look out of your window and see what is in the street, you could be forgiven for believing that 'everyone' is driving an EV these days. However, recent figures reveal that EV sales actually made up around 18% of new car sales in 2024, and there is still a long way to go to hit the 2030 targets.

Jaguar caused a great deal of controversy towards the back end of 2024. The company released an advert which featured no cars but models in brightly-coloured clothing emerging into an austere landscape. It revealed its 'concept' EV at the Florida Motor show sometime later, claiming it would come in 'Miami Pink' and London Blue. However, the campaign had worked, and everyone was talking about Jaguar (much to Elon Musk's annoyance), and it got hundreds of thousands of pounds of free airtime, including across the BBC.

You might ask yourself what have EV sales and targets got to do with live dealer casino games? Well, the truth is that they are an incredibly exciting format and a real breakthrough for technology and accessibility. The media's entertainment and technology correspondents find them enchanting, and the online casino marketing teams are wise enough to follow their interests. However, for now, they are still froth on the top of the online gambling cup of coffee rather than the beans and water.

Live dealer games are a bit like EVs (only no one is mandating you to play them by a specific date) in that they get media attention, but they are probably not the financial future of online casinos. According to a 2024 YouGov survey, the leading online gambling activity in the United Kingdom is sports betting, with lottery ranked second and online slots third. Sure, live dealer games are engaging and will be an important strand, but they are part of an overall mix. 

Whatever the gamblers' preference, UK customers really are spoiled for choice. Rather than being swayed by slick advertising, many people choose to look for recommendations when selecting UK online casinos. The key is finding an independent, reputable reviewer – Casino.org looks for the best on offer and makes recommendations to ensure players get the best possible experience. They have the players' best interests at heart and are not led by the online casinos or what they are trying to push right now.

There is no doubt that live dealer games will be an essential part of the online casino industry in the future. The technology is exciting. Back in the day, we used to believe that it was Virtual Reality that would allow us to enjoy immersive, realistic, virtual experiences. However, we have all come to experience how real a Microsoft Teams or Zoom meeting is without having to put on any tech peripherals or wearables. Live gaming is not a dissimilar experience. It happens in real-time, and players play and gamble alongside real people.

For the developers, it is a very different beast from launching a fully digital table, card or slot game. When well executed, they offer players unrivalled interaction and fun, especially for casino classics like blackjack and roulette. The players are no longer trusting a computer simulation but seeing what is happening with their own eyes as it happens. These games feel real in a way that a digital game cannot. Players watch the live-action unfold, which strengthens the connection between the player and the casino.

Live dealer games do require more skill. Players need to know the rules before they start, or they might find they are unpopular at the game tables. Or indeed, they might be very popular if they continually lose, but that will not be much fun for them. 

Jonas Delin, Founder and CEO of live gaming company Authentic Gaming, is excited about the opportunities. While he acknowledges that the games are more expensive to develop and run than their digital counterparts, he says there are increasing numbers of live game players, and demand is driving supply. He estimates that in some markets, live dealer accounts for half of all the games played but admits that it is closer to 20% in most.

Delin has invested heavily in live gaming and is banking on this form of iGaming becoming ever more popular around the globe. In a recent interview, he said, 

"The major elements that make up the player experience are a powerful game engine that can handle thousands of concurrent players, video stream quality serving the player 4k video 24/7, a quality UI, stunning studio environments with sound and audiovisual technology and service-minded, energetic presenters."

Live gaming is a very different beast from what has come before it in the online space. So much of it is about presentation and engagement. While land-based dealers have to undergo extensive training to correctly handle chips and cards and ensure they do not make mistakes, online dealers need to be showmen, as the computer does much of the work of the traditional croupier. An online presenter is more like a TV host who needs to connect with the players and make for the most enjoyable experience.

Live slot games are the next frontier that would bring all the favourite elements together perfectly. This format is still causing more than a few challenges, and several unsuccessful attempts have been made to merge the two. If live slots have yet to be a proven concept, the same cannot be said for game show formats, which are on the rise. 

It seems that games that offer a high win potential and community feel are, unsurprisingly, a hit. Everyone can be the star of their own TV quiz show!