How Technology Makes Live Online Casinos Possible | Extras

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The internet is constantly evolving and so are the technologies powering it. Companies also have to evolve in the process so that they don’t become outdated and lose clients. The idea is similar when we are talking about online casinos.

Online casinos have certainly gained a lot of attention in the past couple of years. The sector is constantly evolving and coming out with newer technologies and unique ways to attract potential customers. First started as just an online way of playing casino games, they have made a long way ahead and now even feature things that are not available in traditional casinos.

With great developments, online casinos have also improved their software. Whilst maintaining simplicity on the player’s end, the software backend is complex and complicated which makes all the things possible on the front.

For example, years ago it wasn’t possible for online casinos to feature live games on their platforms. But with fast internet and improved technology, many online casinos have started supporting live online casino games.

What you See vs What Actually is Happening

When it comes to living games, the technology used is quite advanced and sophisticated. You, as a player, may not know how far from simple things actually are. Entire machinery stays hidden and enables flawless gameplay throughout the process, while you’re busy playing the games on your smartphone. Cameras constitute the most crucial part of the equipment and are usually the most sophisticated and latest models that are capable of covering every single corner of the wheel and the table.

The developers employ optical character recognition (OCR) technology to deliver an optimum experience to the players. This technology converts all information into digital format, which is then presented to the players as multiple actions like hand dealing, wheel spinning, card shuffling, etc. With Deep Learning being the obvious future of OCR technology, we can expect even better things to come in this sector.

Then there’s something called the Game Control Unit (GCU). It is the other crucial component making live dealer games possible. The purpose of this device is to encode the game information and offer virtual support to the dealer so that s/he can run the game smoothly.

Lastly, the monitors used are also perhaps one of the most crucial parts of the overall pieces of equipment used in live dealing. The only way dealers can do their job in a friendly and professional manner is by constantly watching themselves and the data on the screen. These monitors display the updated information about players currently involved in the game, also providing a fair idea about what every player must be seeing on their screen.

Let’s explore these technologies one by one and understand how exactly live casinos function.

Cameras

Live casinos function the same way as live streaming. In order to provide a fair gaming experience to its customers, live casinos often have to deploy high-resolution web cameras that provide the feed directly to the players on their computers or smartphones.

GaCasinos these days often provide a three-angle view to the players. Apart from that, you must also have a good device and stable internet to keep things smoothly running while making your moves.

Smartphones

Smartphones and computers are devices that are on the customer’s end. It is very important to provide a smooth experience on the front end so that the customers don’t experience any sort of annoyance during the gameplay. Also, if you’re playing live casino games, you need to have a good quality smartphone with good enough processor, RAM, and memory.

Your online casino is going to stream the gameplay and in order to make quick moves, you need to have a device that can perform tasks like streaming HD videos and processing graphics smoothly.

Having a good device also helps to reduce the chances of lagging on your side. Sometimes, the developers didn’t test their software on the device you are using and it might lead to a certain amount of lag. But this can be reduced to a certain extent by playing on a good enough device, be it your smartphone, tablet or your computer.

Game Control Unit (GCU)

This is perhaps the most crucial element of the whole system of online casinos. As we mentioned earlier, the purpose of this device is to encode the game information and offer virtual support to the dealer so that s/he can run the game smoothly.

It is important for casinos to have an advanced and powerful GCU as the entire game data relies on the performance of the GCU. It should be able to encode and decode game data at a fast pace. If there’s a problem with the GCU, players will experience lag which will decrease the performance of the overall gameplay and may leave players furious.

Optical Character Recognition (OCR)

Online gambling recreates the look and feel of a brick-and-mortar casino and features professionally trained croupiers. They manage classic casino table games such as blackjack, roulette, and poker. The croupier is also responsible for collecting stakes and paying out winnings and uses high-quality live HD streaming to do so.

OCR helps online casinos to transmit this real-time card data from the virtual tables to the players. What OCR basically does is it translates scanned images of machine-printed data into machine-encoded data. This is similar to what Google Lens does on your smartphone while you’re reverse searching an image or pointing it to your favourite dress.

OCR basically monitors the gaming room using specialized cameras to capture the raw game data and analyze the cards, suits, and symbols. After gathering this data, it matches it with the previous database and finds it for the closest resemblance. Once it is successful, the entire data is transmitted into machine-encoded language and reaches to your screens.

Monitors

A dealer’s monitor is where he/she observes all the players’ screens and their moves. This is important to guide players and also know if they’re cheating or breaking any rules. The monitor helps to keep a track of what the players’ moves and their bets are.

Online casinos usually have good quality monitors for their in-house dealers because they certainly don’t want losses on their side. In fact, several reputed Canadian casinos who offer blackjack online, also provide live dealer blackjack games and are able to pull it off admirably well using sophisticated equipment like these.

Automated Casino Wheels

Modern live casinos have digitized and automated casino equipment that directly feeds the data to a computer without the need of an OCR. So instead of having to observe the results, it directly tells the computer what the results are. This simplifies the process for the dealer as well as the players as machines tend to have more accurate results and the chances of human error are reduced.

In the case of roulette, the wheels and slot machines have scanners and sensors which are constantly recording the game data. These help to transmit accurate data over the computer and at the end, to the players’ screens.

Software

We talked about how hardware and devices affect the gameplay. Well, the software used is equally important when it comes to live online casinos. Casinos should have a well-developed software that can stream the entire gameplay to its multiple customers at the same time whilst providing a clean and intuitive user interface and keeping things clean and simple on the players’ end.

It should also do all of this with high latency and no lag so that the players don’t experience hiccups during the gameplay.

Game Studios

Although many online casinos broadcast live casino games from actual brick-and-mortar casino establishments, there are some that opt for the studio environment. This is done for several reasons.

In such a setup, dealers can more effectively interact with the players and communicate with them individually. This is something that’s very difficult in a land-based casino setup. A live casino studio typically has got one or more cameramen, several croupiers running the various games, an information technology manager to ensure that any technical hitches are dealt with swiftly, and a pit boss that acts as an adjudicator in case of disputes between players and croupiers.

Most casinos have at least a three-room setup, comprising a live studio, a server/software room, and an analyst’s room. The configuration of these rooms varies from casino to casino, with some having several gaming tables in one room, and some having a single table in each room, etc. The top online casinos use studios located in different parts of the world including Canada and Europe.

Game controls and Internet Messaging (IM) Software

Almost all the live casino games feature IM technology these days. It works as an effective communication channel between the dealer and the players, often used for both game-related queries as well as leisurely conversations.

The functionality aspect is enhanced further with the use of integrated game consoles that enable players to interact better with the game, using touch and digital technologies.

Final Words

Online casinos or brick-and-mortar ones, at the end of the day, the purpose of both is to provide entertainment, joy and even money throughout the process. Technology around the world is moving forward in a great place and so are online casinos. These technologies are crucial and not only help provide smooth gameplay in gambling but also can be used in other sectors as well.

All of these technologies resolute to a smooth and perfect gaming experience. We hope you had a great time reading about how technology makes live online casinos possible. Which online casino games do you like the most? Hit us up in the comments section below!