Over the years, live casinos have become increasingly popular for players in the United States. They offer a similar experience to a real world casino trip on a much lower budget. However, if you think this is the only reason live casinos are growing you would be mistaken. Several factors come into play when it comes to explaining the surge of online gaming in recent years.
In this article, Hypercasinos.com will explore what makes live casinos so popular in the US. Some answers were rather obvious at first glance. Others took us by surprise to a degree. However, all of them are equally valid reasons to play live dealer games!
online casinos are now legal (Sort of)
The primary reason why online casinos did not see much play before was simple. The United States government did not allow online gambling. This ban is still not overturned everywhere. However, a big step forward was made in 2018. The Supreme Court ruled that individual states were allowed to pass laws to regulate online gambling. With this power now in the hands of states, Americans are now able to play online casinos legally.
Well, that is not 100% true. Only states that allowed online casinos allow you to play there. As such, you will need to check whether your state allows playing in live casinos or not. If the answer is yes, congratulations! You are one of the millions of Americans who can now enjoy online casinos.
Many US players have just been waiting for an opportunity like this. After all, there is a reason why there are so many land-based casinos in the United States. Americans love gambling, and now, they can do it from the comfort of their own home. Live casino games give them a feeling similar to real casinos while saving costs of traveling. If you want a personal slice of Las Vegas, you can now enjoy it as an American player.
payouts are better and more transparent
As much as we love brick-and-mortar casinos, playing there is all about the experience. Slots and other machines in real-world casinos rarely have defined RTP values. Return to player is essential for casino games, as it tells us how high of a return we can expect on average. Each game has a separate return to player. This is true for card games, slot, video pokers and any other game type you can think of.
Online casinos have to define RTP ahead of time. Casino regulatory bodies demand operators to stick to expected house edges for games. Not following these rules means having their license revoked. While live casinos can work without a license, it makes them seem untrustworthy compared to regulated online casinos.
If you find a licensed casino that accepts US players, you can very easily check all relevant game information. Either the release will have it listed in game somewhere, or you can find the expected RTP and payouts online. Contrast this to brick-and-mortar casinos, which rarely tell you the house edge for their games. The advantage live casinos have over their real world counterparts becomes apparent.
live casinos are more convenient
We touched on this point somewhat earlier, but we cannot stress its importance. Live casinos simulate a real world environment, and always strive to deliver an immersive experience. Of course, they cannot fully match the casinos in Las Vegas. However, they do not need to offer a full-fledged replacement. They just need to look good enough to make you choose them over going out to an actual casino.
If you live near a real-world casino, this might not be as big of an issue. That said, many of us do not live near one. As such, a night of gambling can usually be a costly affair. Not only do you have to consider your budget for the day, but also the costs of traveling. Live casinos remove those barriers and make playing a few rounds of poker much easier. All you need to do is set up an account at your online casino of choice and deposit funds. Once you are done setting up, you can play whenever you want!
All your favorite casino games are here
When live casino games just started, they only covered the most popular table games. Blackjack, baccarat, roulette and poker were the primary four releases offered by live dealers. Even today, they make up the vast majority of all available tables in any online casino. However, this was a long time ago. Nowadays, developers constantly compete with each other to deliver the best experience possible. That includes a variety of casino games.
Craps, Andar Bahar, 32 Cards, and Sic Bo are popular casino games that were recently adapted by live casino developers. Additionally, software providers have also begun making new games exclusive to the live dealer genre. This list includes releases like Dream Catcher, Crazy Time, Monopoly Live and Gonzo’s Treasure Hunt Live, among others.
live casino games have real dealers
A frequent complaint online casinos often deal with is players not trusting casino games. An operator can list an RTP, and there are many assurances this will be followed. Regardless, a subsection of players will always say that software is rigged. Live casino games get around this problem by introducing actual dealers into the mix.
These are not random people off the street, either. Live dealer software providers employ actual, trained dealers for their studios. That means the person shuffling the cards in your live blackjack game is just as qualified as his brick-and-mortar counterpart is. Furthermore, live casino games are subject to the same strict rules as other online casino games. The casino cannot cheat. If they go down that path, their license will quickly be revoked.
Another advantage of actual hosts instead of RNG software is the ability to speak to them. How interactive dealers are depends on specific tables. For some games, they are instructed to keep interactions to a minimum. However, you also have releases where hosts will talk about anything and everything. Which style of dealer you choose will ultimately come down to personal preference. Neither option offers any kind of advantage.
live dealer games are the future
Live casinos have come a long way since their inception. In many ways, they were just a novelty when they first launched. However, they have grown to such a level that Evolution was able to acquire NetEnt. NetEnt, an iGaming giant with decades of history, bought out by a much younger company. That should be proof enough that live casino games are the future.
Innovation in the genre has already led to many new creative ideas being added. Furthermore, we are also seeing experiments with live casinos and virtual reality. As technology improves, we will no doubt see this concept become reality. At that point, live dealer games will win in both convenience and experience. Quite frankly, we cannot wait to see it.