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In recent years, the online casino industry has taken off in more ways than one. The advent of iGaming brought traditional table games and slot machines to homes around the world, without the need to physically head to a brick-and-mortar casino. The accessibility of smartphone and tablet devices has also brought iGaming onto the radar of casual gamers seeking a quick thrill, either at home or on the early morning commute to work. An increasing number of iGaming operators have thus adopted HTML5 technology to provide a slick, seamless casino experience on all devices, with high-definition visuals and audio providing a games console-style experience when playing any of the latest video slots.

HTML5 Helped Usher in a New Era of Live-Streamed iGaming

The combination of HTML5 technology and the advancement of live streaming has also brought about another significant asset to iGaming sites: live dealer casino games. Ultimately, live dealer casino games are all about bringing the social engagement of playing at a brick-and-mortar casino to your computer or mobile device. Sit down and play with professionally-trained staff  who’ll interact with you via the live chat functionality. You also get the opportunity to chat with the other human players at your table, many of whom may become regulars and fun personalities at the tables.

Live Dealer Games are Underpinned by OCR Technology

The players of live dealer casino games can benefit from having a great deal of game data at their fingertips. That’s due to the power of optical character recognition (OCR) technology. OCR helps to translate the live actions of a professional dealer or croupier on-screen. The OCR technology recognizes the number and suit of cards during a hand of blackjack as well as the digit that the ball lands on in the roulette wheel and presents it on-screen via an overlay. New players to a live dealer casino table will get the benefit of game data history overlaid on-screen, allowing them to make informed choices on the statistical likelihood of the next roulette number, for example.

It’s All in the Cameras

The quality of cameras has also improved to the point that players of live streamed table games can watch the cards as they are dealt and the spin of the roulette wheel. It’s arguably a better view than most people get in a land-based casino, especially if there are multiple players around the table. Most live dealer studio setups now have high-definition cameras at various angles. Take roulette, for instance, which will offer three different angles to players: the table, the wheel and the picture-in-picture display.

The thrill of live streamed casino games is that it offers the most authentic casino experience, from the background noise to the instructions of the dealer or croupier. It underlines the way gaming evolved as we know it. The mere fact that the games are mostly conducted by attractive dealers and croupiers is another bonus. Ultimately, the live chat functionality enables players to establish a more personal connection to their game, investing more emotionally than they would otherwise in a non-streamed graphical version of a game of blackjack or roulette.