Live Dealer Casinos

Updated: November 10, 2026

Although not as popular as mobile gaming, live dealer casinos fill a niche in the online casino industry. There are only a few software providers and a few games available, but many players would not play online any other way. The majority of live dealer online casino games cater to the male demographic, as the dealers tend to be beautiful young women.

Continue reading below for an explanation of how Live Dealer Casino games work, an overview of the individual games available, and a brief look at the software and live game providers.

How Live Dealer Casino Games Work

The integration of traditional casino games combines the land-based casino experience of having a real person deal the cards or spin the roulette wheel with the advantages of online play. Operated with webcams and video streaming over the Internet, you can relax in the comfort of your own room and still enjoy live dealer games. A camera is set up to show the dealer and the playing area, and this image is sent to you where you can view it on your screen. It's a totally immersive experience.

You use the same type of interface on your computer to make game decisions as you would in non-live dealer games. Once you make your decisions, they are displayed on a screen for the live dealer to understand and act upon. Now step through another example from a live dealer blackjack session.

You tap the chips to place a $25 bet at the live dealer blackjack table. The dealer deals you two cards and himself two cards. You hold a Jack and an Eight for a total of 18. The dealer displays a seven. You press the stand button and the dealer confirms your action on her screen. She reveals a Queen for a total of 17. You win the hand, she records the win on her system, and you are credited with a $25 profit.

Live dealer roulette experiences work almost the same way, except that you typically only observe the person spinning the wheel and the wheel itself. The betting interface or table layout is often digital, just like when you play at the online casino without a live dealer. It provides a unique, virtual experience.

Live Dealer Casino Games

The only games offered by live dealer online casinos are those that are popular enough to warrant having dealers and those that are live dealer friendly. The perfect example of a live dealer friendly game is Roulette, where the casino can take multiple bets and only has to spin the wheel once.

Here is an overview of the most popular Live Dealer games. While these may not be the only games you can find, they cover well over 95% of all Live Dealer games available online.

Blackjack

Blackjack is the most popular live dealer game played online today. It is a little more labor intensive for the casino than Baccarat and Roulette, but the larger player base makes it worth offering.

Each player places a bet and then the dealer deals each player two cards and takes two cards. Each player decides whether to hit, stand, double, split or surrender (if available) and the dealer completes the action. After all players have acted, the dealer turns over her second card and completes her hand.

Live Dealer Blackjack is played just like it is in land-based casinos, but it can be a little slower overall because the dealer has to wait for all the players to act. Of course, they have to wait for all the players to act in land-based casinos as well, but because they are isolated by the Internet, some players take longer in online live dealer play than they would in land-based action.

Roulette

Roulette is one of those games that is known almost everywhere in the world. Even if you do not play, you are probably familiar with the spinning of an ivory ball in a roulette wheel. Players can place bets on a wide range of possible outcomes, from black, red, even or odd, which pay even money, to betting on a single number, which pays 35 to 1.

Roulette wheels are available in double zero wheels, usually called American Roulette, and single zero wheels, called European or French Roulette. The single zero wheels offer a lower house edge than the double zero wheels. Most live dealer casinos offer single zero wheels, so these are the ones you should play on if you have a choice.

When you play Live Dealer Roulette, you choose how much you want to bet and where you want to bet it. For example, if you want to bet $20 on black, click on the chips to select $20, then click on the roulette layout to place your bet on the black area. The dealer then spins the roulette wheel and drops the ball into the wheel. As the ball lands, bets are settled and then bets are placed for the next spin.

Baccarat

Baccarat tends to play well as a live dealer game because the dealer performs all of the game's actions after the player has placed their bet. This is another game like Roulette where the casino can take just about any number of bets without changing the current hand or slowing things down.

Players place their bets on Tie, Banker or Player and then the dealer deals two hands of two cards each. There are set rules that must be followed and each hand either stands or receives an additional card. Winning bets are then paid and bets are placed for the next round.

3 Card Poker

3 Card Poker is only available in a few land-based casinos, but it is very popular in land-based and online casinos. You play a three card poker hand against the dealer and if you win, the payout is based on the strength of your hand.

Sic Bo

Sic Bo is a dice game that is very popular in Asian markets. Offered by some live dealer casinos, you place bets on what you think the outcome of the roll of the dice will be. Once all bets are placed, the dice are revealed and you are paid out based on the bets you placed. Different combinations pay out different amounts based on the odds of them landing.

Casio Holdem

This version of poker is not the same as the Texas Holdem you often see on television. Although it is based on Texas Holdem, it is a table game designed for one person to play against a dealer. There are a few different variations of this game available in live dealer casinos, and it is not available everywhere.

The player places an ante bet and the player and dealer are dealt two hole cards. The dealer turns over the three community cards, called the flop. The player can then fold or make an additional bet to complete the hand. If the player makes the additional bet, the last two community cards, the Turn and the River, are revealed and the winner is determined.

Payouts are determined by the strength of your winning hand. In different variations the bet sizing is different.

Live Dealer Software Providers

There aren't that many live dealer online software solutions, but the main ones offer a superior gaming experience.

The three major companies are Evolution Gaming, Playtech and Microgaming. One of the newer entrants to the market is Global Gaming Labs.

Below are brief overviews of each platform and the games they offer to their players. To be clear, these are the companies that provide the backend environment for the online casinos that offer the live dealer games. You are not playing these games on the sites owned by the companies listed below; you are playing them on the sites of the online casinos that lease these solutions.

Evolution Gaming is the most popular live dealer software and video solutions company in the online gambling world. The games offered by Evolution Gaming powered online casinos include Blackjack, Holdem Poker, Roulette and Baccarat. They also offer 3 card poker in some of their live dealer casinos.

Playtech has been offering online casino software solutions for years, and now they offer a live dealer solution as well. They are one of the few places you can find live dealer Sic Bo. They also offer Blackjack, Roulette, Baccarat and Holdem Poker.

Microgaming is the major online casino software provider used by hundreds of casinos around the world. They also offer a live dealer option that includes Blackjack, Roulette and Baccarat. Backed by such a large and successful software provider as Microgaming, you know you can trust them to deliver a quality and stable product.

Currently the only live dealer software platforms available to players in the United States, Global Gaming Labs powered casinos include Blackjack, Roulette and Baccarat. The software package is attractive and professional, but not widely available at this time.

If you enjoy playing live casino games, but do not have the time to go to your local casino, playing live dealer games online may be just what you are looking for. With great games like Blackjack, Roulette and Baccarat and multiple live dealer providers, there are plenty of options to choose from.

If you are able to check out more than one live dealer casino (only certain ones are available depending on where you live), you should definitely do so. There are different games available on different platforms and you may find that you enjoy one casino more than another.