The online gambling industry continues to grow at a steady pace, and the market is projected to reach an impressive US$94 billion by 2024. Live dealer casinos are among the leading segments in the industry, attracting more and more players with their authenticity and enhanced gaming experience.
How did this sector evolve to such an extent? In this article, SuperCasinoSites tracks the evolution of live casino games and discusses major milestones in their history, including the establishment of industry regulators, the launch of the first live casino platforms, and the improvements this vertical has seen over the years.
1994/2003 - The Birth of an Industry and Its Regulators
The online gambling industry would not be as fair and transparent as it is today without the regulatory authorities that strictly oversee its operations. Regulations exist to ensure ethical treatment of players, fair playing conditions, responsible gaming, and customer protection. But when and where did these authorities emerge?
1994 - Antigua and Barbuda Issues the First Online Casino Licenses
1996 - The Birth of the Kahnawake Gaming Commission in North America
2000 - Alderney Becomes the First European Online Gaming Regulator
2003 - eCOGRA Arrives on the Scene1994 - Antigua and Barbuda Issues the First Online Casino Licenses
The year 1994 marks a crucial milestone in the history of online gambling. That was when the small Caribbean country of Antigua and Barbuda became the very first jurisdiction to license and regulate online gambling companies, following the local government’s signing of the Free Trade and Processing Zone Act.
The legislation led to the formation of the Directorate of Offshore Gaming, a division of the local Financial Services Regulatory Commission, tasked with a range of licensing and regulatory responsibilities.
1994 also saw the birth of Microgaming, the first supplier of online casino software. The company launched the Gaming Club, the first online casino, and went on to become one of the largest suppliers of gambling software in the world.
1996 - The Birth of the Kahnawake Gaming Commission in North America
Two years after online gambling became a reality, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission was established in the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake, Canada. Three years later, after enacting the Kahnawake Gaming Law, the Commission issued its first licenses and, in July 1999, introduced its Regulations Concerning Interactive Gaming.
Initially, the regulator issued licenses to gambling operators hosted at its own data center, Mohawk Internet Technology, including many casinos that served US customers despite the federal prohibition.
This changed in November 2017, when the Commission amended its policies after reaching an agreement with the New Jersey Division of Gaming Control, withdrawing its licensees from the US market. The Kahnawake jurisdiction is currently one of the most prominent regulators of online gaming operators and hosts numerous live casino licensees.
The year 1996 also saw the formation of the Interactive Gaming Council, with Microgaming serving as one of its founding members. The council provides a unified voice for the online casino industry and ensures its members comply with a strict code of fairness.
2000 - Alderney Becomes the First European Online Gaming Regulator
The Alderney Gambling Control Commission was established in 2000 to enforce Alderney’s newly introduced online gaming legislation. The Alderney Gambling Law had been enacted the year before, and the Commission soon became one of the leading regulators of online casino operations worldwide.
Its roster of reputable licensees includes Grosvenor Casinos, Genting Casino, Paddy Power, NetBet, and Super Casino, all of which offer extensive live dealer suites. One of the more recent additions is Evolution Gaming, the world-renowned supplier of live casino solutions, which received its Alderney license in August 2017.
2003 - eCOGRA Arrives on the Scene
The year 2003 saw the arrival of the non-profit organization eCOGRA, with software studio Microgaming playing a key role in its creation. The organization provides a unified ethical-practices framework across the interactive gambling industry.
In addition to handling player complaints and assisting with their resolution, eCOGRA is also a world-acclaimed testing agency. It audits the software of various online casinos to ensure the games deliver their expected theoretical return percentages and are fair to players. A casino bearing eCOGRA’s stamp of approval is always a solid choice for those who value fair play.
2003/2008 - From RNG Online Games to Live Casinos
When online gambling first emerged, interactive casinos had no choice but to offer only RNG-based games. Technology had not yet advanced enough to support live casino streams, especially given Internet speeds at the time. That changed in the early 2000s, when the first live dealer casinos appeared, transforming online gambling almost overnight.
2003 - CWC Gaming Pioneers the First Live Casino Feed
2003 - Playtech Debuts Its Live Casino Platform
2006 - Microgaming and Evolution Gaming Introduce Their Live Platforms
2007 - Sky TV Live Casino Broadcasts Begin2003 - CWC Gaming Pioneers the First Live Casino Feed
Developer CWC Gaming pioneered the first live casino feed when it launched a live stream from its dedicated studio in San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica. The company itself was founded in 2003.
Its gaming suite featured live baccarat, roulette, Sic Bo, and blackjack variations, and the provider also offered a variety of RNG-based casino games. One of its most prominent customers was Ladbrokes.
In 2009, however, the British operator signed a contract with Evolution Gaming, and CWC’s offering was quickly overshadowed by its competitor’s games. Traffic to CWC titles declined, revenues dropped, and the company closed in December 2012. Nevertheless, it went down in history as the first supplier to launch live casino games.
2003 - Playtech Debuts Its Live Casino Platform
The potential of live dealer games did not go unnoticed after CWC launched its live offering, and the Isle of Man-based company Playtech soon followed suit. Although Playtech was founded in 1999, it did not add live dealer games to its portfolio until 2003.
The year 2017 was a turning point for the company, as Playtech moved its live dealers to a next-generation facility in Riga, the capital of Latvia. This venue is considered the largest live-casino facility in the world, occupying 8,500 square meters.
The technology inside the new studio is just as impressive as its size. Hundreds of cameras live-stream the action at hundreds of custom-made casino tables. In addition, the company operates live studios in Romania, Spain, the Philippines, and Belgium.
Playtech uses state-of-the-art streaming technology to bring its live casino offering to players’ screens. The company currently distributes its live suite to many regulated markets, including Romania, the UK, Italy, and Spain, and employs more than 500 native-speaking dealers across its live blackjack, roulette, baccarat, and poker tables.
2006 - Microgaming and Evolution Gaming Introduce Their Live Platforms
As live casinos grew in popularity, many major software studios followed Playtech’s example by adding live dealer platforms to their portfolios. Two notable examples are industry pioneer Microgaming and Evolution Gaming.
Microgaming entered the live casino arena in 2006 with a sophisticated platform that delivers in-home replicas of classic casino games such as baccarat, roulette, blackjack, poker, and Sic Bo.
The company provides a premium gaming experience from its studios in the Philippines and Canada. In 2010, Microgaming upgraded its live dealer product, replacing the previous blue-screen background with a stylish casino floor to create a more authentic environment for players.
The year 2006 was also marked by the debut of Evolution Gaming, which went on to become one of the leading suppliers of live casino software worldwide. The following year, the company signed its first deals with major operators such as William Hill, Expekt, PartyGaming, and Gala Coral.
Launched in 2009, Evolution’s live studio in Riga occupies more than 2,000 square meters of gaming space and offers dedicated environments for blackjack, roulette, baccarat, casino-banked poker, and dice games.
By 2016, the company had already won seven consecutive EGR awards for Live Casino Supplier of the Year. It now operates studios in Belgium, Romania, Malta, Georgia, the Netherlands, Sweden, the UK, the USA, and Canada.
2007 - Sky TV Live Casino Broadcasts Begin
In 2007, the interactive gambling company that operates major gaming sites such as Super Casino, Smart Live Casino, and Jackpot247 NetPlay TV received a license from the UK Gambling Commission. As a result, Super Casino and Smart Live Casino began offering live dealer roulette games on dedicated TV channels Freesat and Sky TV.
Super Casino was, in fact, the first gaming operator to broadcast live casino games on British television. Sky TV viewers could now place wagers via the casino website, over the phone, or on their smartphones.
The broadcasts ran every weeknight. However, Super Casino was removed from the Freesat channel in the summer of 2010, and Sky TV ceased broadcasting its live games in March 2016.
2008/2020 - The Growth of the Live Casino Industry
By 2008, live casinos had become a force to be reckoned with in the interactive gaming industry. No self-respecting online casino would forgo adding live tables to its lineup of gaming products. Over the next decade, the industry continued to grow at an unprecedented rate, as the following paragraphs show.
2008/2010 - More Operators Add Live Dealer Games
2011 - The First Localized Live Dealer Games Arrive
2012 - First Dedicated Live Dealer Rooms and Mobile Games
2013 - More Live Games Go Mobile, Landbased Casino Streams Commence
2015 - Regulated Live Games Arrive in the US
2017/2020 - Latest Improvements in Live Casino Gaming2008/2010 - More Operators Add Live Dealer Games
The number of gaming operators incorporating live dealer games continued to grow steadily after 2007. In 2008, operators such as Blue Square, Unibet, and BetVictor launched live casinos powered by the Evolution Gaming platform.
That same year saw the formation of William Hill Online, a joint venture between software supplier Playtech and William Hill Plc. The partnership led to the launch of William Hill Casino Club, which featured live casino games provided by Playtech. Several years later, William Hill bought out Playtech’s 29 percent share, gaining full control of William Hill Online.
More live casinos went online in 2009, when operators Paddy Power, 888, Ladbrokes, and PartyCasino all added Evolution Gaming’s live dealer offerings to their websites. During the same period, Evolution Gaming expanded its Latvian studio by an impressive 400 percent, adding more live tables.
Evolution casinos continued to sprout in 2010, and the company was named Live Casino Supplier of the Year at the 2010 EGR Awards. At the same time, Microgaming upgraded its live platform and added live blackjack to its lineup.
2011 - The First Localized Live Dealer Games Arrive
Localized live dealer games began to appear in 2011. That year, Betfair added a selection of live games from Playtech’s European studio. These language-specific tables were designed to cater to players from different markets, giving casino fans access to multilingual user interfaces and native-language dealers.
Evolution also reached several milestones in 2011. The studio collected its second consecutive EGR award for Live Casino Supplier of the Year and received a license from the Italian regulator AAMS, allowing it to legally serve players in that market. The company then launched localized tables with native-speaking Italian dealers, including Venezia Live Roulette in 2011 and the 2012 release Ventuno Blackjack.
2012 - First Dedicated Live Dealer Rooms and Mobile Games
In 2012, many major gaming suppliers expanded into the Italian market, launching “.it” domains under local licenses. Notable entrants included PartyCasino, William Hill, and Unibet, all of which adopted Evolution Gaming’s localized live tables.
Unibet became the first gambling operator to secure a dedicated Evolution Gaming live dealer room in March 2012. The casino’s live section was upgraded with five exclusive tables, four for blackjack and one for live roulette. These tables featured unique backdrops, and dealers wore specially branded uniforms displaying the Unibet logo. William Hill followed suit in May of the same year.
The first live dealer games for iPads had been introduced a year earlier by Macau-based supplier EntwineTech. However, mobile live games did not gain real traction until 2012, when major operators Grosvenor Casinos and Blue Square added Evolution’s live roulette for iPads. The mobile gaming sector quickly took off.
2013 - More Live Games Go Mobile, Landbased Casino Streams Commence
In 2013, Playtech introduced live roulette for iPads, while Evolution Gaming added live iOS blackjack to its lineup. Live casino apps began to appear in Apple’s UK App Store, and Swedish software supplier NetEnt joined the live gaming revolution that same year.
Until 2013, live dealer games were hosted and broadcast primarily from dedicated studio environments. This changed when Playtech announced plans to incorporate live streams from a real land-based venue, Spain’s Casino Gran Madrid, into its expanding selection of live dealer games.
Evolution Gaming quickly recognized the potential and followed suit, launching live roulette streams from Spain’s Casino Rincon de Pepe and Italy’s Casinò di Campione. The company now also broadcasts live games from London’s Hippodrome Casino and Malta’s Dragonara Casino.
2015 - Regulated Live Games Arrive in the US
In 2006, the administration of President George W. Bush enacted the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). The legislation made it illegal for financial institutions to process transactions between US residents and offshore gambling operators that lacked US licenses.
Because only a few states issued such licenses, online operators had to partner with land-based casinos to serve local players legally. This situation forced many live casino suppliers, including Microgaming and Playtech, to withdraw their products from the US market.
Fortunes improved in 2015, when the Golden Nugget Casino in Atlantic City added a selection of live dealer tables to its online gaming site. The software was provided by Ezugi, which Evolution Gaming acquired in January 2019.
2017/2020 - Latest Improvements in Live Casino Gaming
As noted earlier, Playtech spent much of 2017 moving its live dealers to a new, larger studio in Riga, a turning point in the company’s history. In the years since, the live dealer segment has continued to evolve, with more providers introducing in-casino streams and innovative gameplay.
Noteworthy contributors include Evolution Gaming, Extreme Live Gaming (recently acquired by Pragmatic Play), and Authentic Gaming. Authentic Gaming, in particular, offers exclusive live roulette games streamed from Italy’s Saint-Vincent Resort & Casino, Georgia’s Hilton International Casino in Batumi, the US Foxwoods Casino, London’s Aspers Casino, Casino Bucharest in the Romanian capital, and Germany’s Casino Bad Homburg.
A host of new features has been introduced to enhance the player experience, including betting behind, multiple camera angles, multi-tabling, and multi-player tables. Fast play has become a phenomenon, with most suppliers adding speed deal and speed spin tables to their suites. The live casino industry is sure to keep improving at a steady pace in the years ahead.
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Find the answers of questions people asked so far:
When were Live Game Shows first introduced to online casino players?
Live Casino providers have introduced a fresh way to enjoy online play with a wide selection of live table games, but they have not stopped there. Although table games are extremely fun and deliver an authentic casino feel, many players prefer other types of games when they play online. For that reason, many Live Casino providers have added game-show-style titles to their lineups. Evolution Gaming was one of the first to expand its Live Casino offering, adding popular shows such as Deal or No Deal, Dream Catcher, and Monopoly Live. Today, Evolution and other providers feature a large selection of Live Game Shows, giving players a truly unique online casino experience.
Are Live Casino slots a new concept or are they just another variation of Live Casino Game Shows?
Live Casino slots blend Game Shows with RNG-based slots. These live dealer titles are truly unique, delivering a thrilling experience for slot fans. Playtech’s Live Casino studio, for example, has launched games such as Buffalo Blitz Live and Everybody’s Jackpot Live, which provide an interactive slot format. You still play familiar slots with the same paylines, bonus features, and symbols, but you do not control when the reels spin. Instead, everyone who has joined the live slot places their bets and then waits for one automatic spin that applies to all players who wagered in that round. Paying combinations, bonus features, and free spins are therefore triggered for all participating players simultaneously.
What are some of the latest innovations in the Liva Casino sector that are available across numerous online casinos?
More software developers are introducing live-dealer games, and Quickspin is one example. Through a collaboration with Playtech, Quickspin has entered the Live Casino space, giving players a fresh way to spend their time online. While many companies continue to release classic table games, providers such as Evolution Gaming, Pragmatic Play, and Playtech add a variety of bonus features to these classics, making them even more engaging for casino fans.
Live shows, variety games, and slots are also appearing at more virtual casinos, bringing a new Live Casino concept to online players. Finally, some providers now offer hybrid games that combine RNG titles with live-dealer elements. The outcomes are still determined solely by an RNG, but pre-recorded videos of real dealers reveal the results after each betting round.