Live Dealer Casinos

Live Dealer Casino is an engaging type of casino that allows gamblers to play their favourite table games, including roulette, poker, baccarat, and many others, with real-life casino dealers from all over the world. Usually, there are studios or land-based casinos where the dealer broadcasts a game with real gambling tables, physical cards, roulette, etc. Multiple cameras film all the actions of a courtier and stream their actions on gaming platforms. Gamblers who participate in the game can place bets and play a game through an interface on their screen. Therefore, you can compete with real people instead of computers and get new, exciting experiences.

Of course, most casinos do not focus specifically on live games. In general, a live casino is one that has live games in its library, which means that almost all gambling platforms can be considered as such. However, on this page, we have selected for you exactly those platforms that have a large selection of the best games with live dealers.

In addition to live games that are entirely operated by real dealers and function as broadcasts of the actual game, there are also RNG games that simulate the process of live games but are controlled by an algorithm. Our experts have put together the main differences between these two similar types of games to help you decide which is best for you.

Live dealer casinos bring real-time gameplay to online gambling, allowing players to interact with human dealers through high-quality video streams. However, not all platforms maintain the same standards in terms of performance, game selection, or reliability. When assessing live casinos available to New Zealand players, several factors are considered — from the fairness of their live bonuses and the reputation of their software providers to the balance between traditional tables and modern game-show formats.

Games that you can find in live sections are usually much more interesting, as they allow you to immerse yourself in the gameplay better, thanks to real dealers and high-quality live broadcasts. The range of live games is rather wide, so players definitely have a lot of options to choose from. Let’s have a look at some extremely popular games that can be found at online casinos.

Blackjack is among the most played card games in New Zealand online and offline casinos. The rules are quite simple: you need to beat the dealer, who deals two cards to themselves and other players at the table. You can do this by having a better hand than the dealer, which cannot exceed 21. 

In blackjack, the cards from 2 to 10 are worth their face value; jacks, queens, and kings are worth 10 points, while aces give you either 1 to 11 points (depending on your hand).

This is one of the easiest table games of random, where the outcome depends on where the ball lands after a spin of the roulette wheel. A regular European roulette has 37 numbers from 0 to 36 on the wheel. Thus, when you bet on a number that wins in the next spin, you get paid 36 times your bet.

It’s quite hard to predict the exact number where the ball will land. To increase your chances, you can place outside bets. All the outside bets have a 50/50% chance to win.

In baccarat, players have two basic game options: betting on either the player or the banker. It does not mean that the dealer is the banker, and you are the player; it is just a name for one side to the other.

The main object of the game is to get your hand as close to 9 without exceeding this number. The game’s value of cards is as follows: ace amounts to 1 point, 2 to 9 are worth their value, while the rest of the cards are worth 0 points.

Poker stands out the most among all the card games at online casinos since, besides luck, the player’s skill plays a key role. Unlike the previously mentioned table games, you play poker against other players. Today, it is usually played with a standard 52-card deck, although in countries where short decks are common, it may be played with 32, 40 or 48 cards.

The most popular version of poker is Texas Hold’em, in which players are dealt two cards from the start. Each turn, they decide whether to check, call, raise, or fold their cards.

The cards dealt on the table are called community cards and include pre-flop (three initial cards), flop (the fourth card), and river (the fifth card). There are four betting rounds: pre-flop, flop, turn, and river. Each player forms the best 5-card hand, and the player with the best hand wins.

Unlike Texas Hold’Em, this is a player-versus-dealer game. In three-card poker, you have an ante bet (mandatory) or pair plus bet (optional).

Once the bets are made, the player is given three cards and can either fold or make another bet equal to the initial one. After that, the dealer turns over their cards and must have at least a queen-high in their hand to play. If a player’s hand is better than a dealer’s, they get paid depending on the combination they have: pair (x1), flush (x4), straight (x6), three-of-a-kind (x30), and straight flush (x40).

Razz is basically a 7-card stud turned upside down. It’s a low-ball game, which means the hand rankings are reversed. Aces are low, straights and flushes don’t count, while the best possible hand is ace, deuce, trey, four, and five.

Before the hand begins, all participants place an initial bet, known as an ante, to be given cards. Each player starts the round with two cards down and one up. Each participant is then dealt one more open card, except for the last, seventh card, which is dealt face down. A player with the lowest combination of five cards wins the pot.

Software developers make playing online casino games live possible, since they are the ones who release content we all love and enjoy. By now, hundreds of studios are involved in developing games for casinos, so we want to tell you more about those that stand out the most.

Although the provider entered the market only in 2015, its gaming portfolio already includes more than 150 games, including various live titles. Pragmatic's products are known for their high quality and exciting gameplay. Live titles developed by the provider offer a realistic and thrilling experience with top-notch video quality and highly experienced dealers. By playing live games from Pragmatic Play, you get to experience various marketing tools, such as leaderboards, in-studio promotions, Blackjack combinations, etc.

This is the leading company in the online casino software industry, which has been offering various titles since 1999. It has a very wide range of content produced, starting with classic live games, such as poker, blackjack, roulette, and others. The provider adds modern twists and offers new perspectives like Quantum Roulette and various Blackjack variants, as well as a range of unique game show-style content. All live games by Playtech guarantee high video quality and professional dealers.

Real Time Gaming is also one of the industry’s veterans, and it has been up and running for more than twenty years. Among other things, the company is known as the leading live games software provider. The excellent 4K video, high-quality operating process, and friendly dealers make the live gaming experience with RTG games really engaging and worthy of your time. The games that RTG offers include variations of blackjack, poker, roulette, and special games.

Evolution is a developer that you surely have heard of if you have gambled in live casinos. Founded in 2006, it is the biggest provider of live software for online casinos. It offers live versions of many games, including poker, baccarat, roulette, blackjack, craps, etc. The games powered by Evolution allow players to dive into high-quality gameplay with unique customisations of games, great courtiers, 4K video quality, and many other exciting features. The developer also offers special rewards to top players, who also have quick access to real-time game information, including leaderboards and achievements.

Mobile phone users make up a significant share of the total number of gamblers. No wonder, as having a smartphone in your pocket, you can play live online games whenever and wherever you are. Essentially, there are two ways to do that: via a mobile browser or a casino application.

Modern HTML5 technologies allow gamblers to play casino games right from their mobile browsers without having to download anything. At the same time, the quality of the games and the overall user experience will be just as good as when playing on a personal computer, except the screen size is smaller.

Another way to play your favourite live games would be to download an app. While the user experience will not be a whole lot different, some still find apps to be more convenient to use. On top of that, you will be notified about the most relevant casino offers.

Before you delve into playing live games online, you need to understand how they are different from traditional ones. So, let us share the main differences between live and traditional gameplay.

So, in light of everything said, if you still have doubts about whether Live Dealer Casino is your thing, you can take a look at their main pros and cons:

BetPokies expert Charlotte Wilson has meticulously selected the best tips for playing in Live Dealer Casinos: