Although live casinos’ precise origins are unknown, it’s believed that the web-based development came to fruition in 1998. Since then, the industry has gone from strength to strength, with current offerings more advanced than ever before. During the late-90s, the sector unsurprisingly failed to hit the heights because of various tech-related limitations, such as slow data transmission speeds and low-quality video streams. Now, however, live casinos are more popular than ever. So, let’s look at the technology behind live casinos’ modern-day success.
Cameras
In live-dealer games, online platforms have had to overcome issues relating to cameras and stream quality. As touched on above, these factors hindered the sector’s growth in the late-90s. Within the 21st century, such limitations no longer exist, with high-quality visuals now prevalent across most real-time offerings. While quality is somewhat dependent on user connection, improvements to cameras are difficult to ignore.
Interestingly, TechWeez states that real-time roulette requires three different camera angles to maximize user immersion and realism. Typically, these consist of a birds-eye view, live images of the table, and the wheel itself. Fascinatingly, live casinos often use highly-advanced cameras to capture up-close moments without compromising quality. Nowadays, you can find a list here of top-rated operators that offer real-time opportunities, including roulette-based action. This site even reviews and ranks each casino with supplementary information for those who need it. By embracing the latest camera technology, bonus-offering platforms studios, like NetEnt and Playtech, are able to provide high-definition gameplay with low latency, which ensures uninterrupted experiences.
Game Control Unit
While cameras are pivotal from a visual standpoint, there can be no doubt that the Game Control Unit is at the core of live casino gaming. Fundamentally, the GCU is responsible for encoding in-game information, thus ensuring that real-time games run without any issues. Although only small in size, this component has had a sizable impact on the industry.
Without the GCU, it’s not unfair to say that live online casinos wouldn’t have enjoyed such a rise to prominence in recent decades. Essentially, this component allows dealers to overview an ongoing game in real-time. GCU’s focus on the data side of live titles by scanning dealt cards and encoding necessary data user interfaces. Not only that, but without the component, players would experience game-impacting lag.
Monitors
In assisting dealers, numerous platforms have also implemented monitors in recent years. Although not as advanced as other components on this list, the importance of in-house screens can’t be overlooked, as they are central to ensuring that games run efficiently. Regarding how they work, dealers can use their monitors to view gamer perspectives and track placed bets.
Because of the high-stakes nature of live casino gameplay, operators generally use high-quality monitors to maximize efficiency. The reason that the industry utilizes high-resolution displays relates to their visual clarity. With a high-resolution monitor, on-screen images are clearer due to the required number of pixels.
Significant Developments Since the 1990s
Over the last 23 years, live casinos have become more popular than most would have imagined after their limitation-filled introduction during the late-90s. However, thanks to technological advancements, the industry is well placed to continue attracting new audiences. Moreover, with improvements continually coming to the fore, there’s scope for live casinos to become even more advanced over the next decade.