Best Live Dealer Casinos of 2020
Note: At the time of writing very few if any casinos actually allow you to play live games using a no deposit bonus. We therefore list regular no deposit and free spins offers here. Any live deal bonus codes will be at the top of our list.
- $25 No Deposit
- Wager: 30x B
- Use Code: SOV25
- 30 Free Spins
- Wager: 50x
- Use Code: SPINVEGAS
- $30 No Deposit
- Wager: 50x B
- Use Code: 30AUPOKIES
- 10 Free Spins
- Wager: 99x B
- No Code Required
- 30 Free Spins
- Wager: 50x
- Use Code: 30BANDITS2
- $30 No Deposit
- Wager: 50x B
- Use Code: 30GRATIS
- 33 Free Spins
- Wager: 30x
- No Code Required
- 25 Free Spins
- Wager: 40x
- No Code Required
- 20 Welcome Spins
- Wager: 20x
- No Code Required
- 11 Welcome Spins
- Wager: 50x
- No Code Required
- 22 Bonus Spins
- Wager: 35x B
- No Code Required
- 25 Free Spins
- Wager: 50x
- No Code Required
- 15 Free Spins
- Wager: 50x B
- No Code Required
- 25 Free Spins
- Wager: 20x
- No Code Required
- 21 Free Spins
- Wager: 49x
- No Code Required
- 42 Welcome Spins
- Wager: 75x
- No Code Required
- 21 Welcome Spins
- Wager: 35x B
- No Code Required
- $40 No Deposit
- Wager: 75x B
- Use Code: 21D60KING
- 7 Free Spins
- Wager: See Casino
- No Code Required
- 77 Welcome Spins
- Wager: 75x B
- No Code Required
- 33 Free Spins
- Wager: 50x
- No Code Required
- €5 No Deposit
- Wager: 50x B
- No Code Required
- 25 Free Spins
- Wager: 40x B
- Use Code: FRUITZEN
- 10 Welcome Spins
- Wager: 35x B
- No Code Required
- 10 Welcome Spins
- Wager: 35x B
- No Code Required
- 10 Welcome Spins
- Wager: 35x B
- No Code Required
- 10 Free Spins
- Wager: 20x
- No Code Required
- 22 Free Spins
- Wager: 50x B
- No Code Required
- 20 Free Spins
- Wager: 45x B
- No Code Required
- 20 Free Spins
- Wager: 60x
- Use Code: 20BOOM
- 15 Free Spins
- Wager: 40x
- No Code Required
- 20 Free Spins
- Wager: 35x B
- No Code Required
- 10 Free Spins
- Wager: 150x
- No Code Required
- 20 Free Spins
- Wager: 40x B
- No Code Required
- 30 Welcome Spins
- Wager: 30x
- No Code Required
- $50 No Deposit
- Wager: 20x B
- No Code Required
- 23 Welcome Spins
- Wager: 40x
- No Code Required
- 10 Free Spins
- Wager: 40x B
- No Code Required
- 30 Free Spins
- Wager: 40x B
- No Code Required
- $14 No Deposit
- Wager: 60x B
- Use Code: FREE14
No Deposit Live Dealer Casinos
Not all live dealer casinos offer a no deposit bonus; in fact very few of them do. The no deposit bonus that you get at these casinos is a free cash/casino credits bonus. You get a limited amount of funds in the form of free cash or casino credits that you can use to play the games available.
Some casinos list out the games that you can play with the no deposit bonus. Ensure that you stay away from the games that are not covered by the bonus, if any.
The games come with the usual terms and conditions:
Wagering requirements: You will need to wager your bonus amount a specified number of times to be able to cash out winnings.
Maximum capped amount: Casinos will usually place a cap on the maximum amount you can withdraw out of your total winnings with a no deposit bonus when playing a live casino game. You forfeit any winnings above the maximum capped amount.
Minimum qualifying deposit: While the no deposit bonus is available for free the moment you sign up, you will need to make a minimum qualifying deposit to be able to withdraw winnings that you earn from it.
Live Casino Deposit Bonuses
A number of casinos offer a welcome bonus specifically for playing live casino games. This is usually a match deposit bonus: you make a deposit into your casino account to specifically play live casino games and the casino matches that deposit with one of its own.
The deposit bonus is offered as a percentage of your deposit amount, and there is a maximum limit to which the casino will match your deposit. For instance, you could get a 100% match welcome bonus up to $500.
There are other deposit bonuses that you get for playing live casino games.
These include, primarily:
- Reload bonuses: The casino offers you a match deposit bonus once you run through your welcome bonus and reload your casino account with funds. Some casinos offer reload bonuses on every deposit beyond the welcome bonus.
- Cashback bonuses: This bonus is offered when you deposit funds into your casino account and run through it without scoring a win. Also, the cashback bonuses are usually available only if you have not used a bonus while playing. The frequency of the cashback bonus depends on the casino – at some casinos you get it on a weekly basis and there are casinos that also offer them daily.
Live Dealer Gaming Software Providers
Live dealer gaming is a specialized experience and not every online casino software provider offers it. The providers offering it include a few specialists and the big guns in the industry.
The following table lists the major providers of live dealer casino games today:
Evolution Gaming (EGR B2B Live Casino Supplier of the Year 7 years in a row
Studios
Latvia, Malta, UK
Tables
500+ tables, 800+ staff
Features
Smooth streaming at slow connection speeds; Exclusive live studio support; Player can control stream views
Games
25+ games including live variants of blackjack, roulette, baccarat, Casino Hold’em, Three Card Poker, Caribbean Stud, Texas Hold’em, Deal or No Deal, Sic Bo
Mobile Gaming
Yes
NetEnt
Studios
Malta
Tables
0 to 10
Games
Live Common Draw Blackjack, Live 7-Seater Blackjack, Live Dealer Roulette, Automatic Roulette
Mobile Gaming
Yes
Playtech
Studios
Riga (Latvia), Bucharest (Romania), Manila (Philippines)
Tables
50 to 100
Features
Dual platform approach allows; showcasing of Asian and European games; Multiple simultaneous displayTST Audited
Games
Live Sic Bo, Live Casino Hold’em Poker, Live Baccarat, Live Hi-Lo, Live Roulette, Live Blackjack
Mobile Gaming
Yes
Ezugi
Studios
Belgium, Bulgaria, Costa Rica. Direct streaming from land-based casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Cambodia
Tables
20 to 50
Games
Live Baccarat, Live Roulette, Live Blackjack, Live Keno, Live Double Ball Roulette
Mobile Gaming
Yes
Extreme Live Gaming
Studios
London
Tables
11 to 20
Games
Live Baccarat, Live Roulette, Live French Roulette, Live Blackjack, Live Golden Ball,
Mobile Gaming
Yes
Microgaming
Studios
Canada, Philippines
Tables
20 to 50 (100+ brands use their live dealer software)
Games
Regular and Playboy variants of Live Blackjack, Live Roulette, Live Baccarat, Live Casino Hold’em
Mobile Gaming
No
XPro Gaming
Studios
Slovakia, Bulgaria
Tables
20 to 50
Games
Live Blackjack, Live Roulette, Live Baccarat, Live Caribbean Poker, Live Texas Hold’em, Live Sic Bo, Live Dragon Tiger
Mobile Gaming
Yes
Media Live Casino
Studios
Malta, Italy, Slovenia
Tables
11 to 20
Games
Live Blackjack, Live Roulette, Live Baccarat
Mobile Gaming
Yes
Netplay TV
Studios
London
Tables
0 to 10
Games
Live Roulette
Mobile Gaming
Yes
Global Gaming Labs
Studios
San Jose (Costa Rica)
Tables
11 to 20
Games
Live Poker, Live Blackjack, Live Baccarat, Live Roulette
Mobile Gaming
Yes
Ho Gaming
Studios
Philippines, Estonia
Tables
0 to 10
Games
Live Blackjack, Live Baccarat, Live Roulette, Live Sic Bo, Live Dragon Tiger
Mobile Gaming
Yes
Portomaso Gaming
Studios
Malta
Tables
0 to 10
Games
Live Punto Banco, Live Roulette, Live Baccarat, Live Blackjack
Mobile Gaming
Yes
Opus Gaming
Studios
Manila, Philippines
Tables
20 to 30
Features
3D games; Availability in 7 languages; Multi-table gaming
Games
Live variants of blackjack, roulette, baccarat
Mobile Gaming
Yes
Vivo Gaming
Studios
Philippines, Costa Rica, Laos
Tables
20 to 40
Features
Multi-player option to play with friends at the same table; Mini side games; Multi-lingual availability; multi-user interface
Games
Live variants of Roulette, poker, baccarat, Sic Bo, Blackjack, Craps, Dragon Tiger
Mobile Gaming
Yes
Authentic Gaming
Studios
UK, Romania, Italy, Austria, Malta, Denmark Georgia, USA
Tables
Up to 20; Streams live from land-based casino tables; one studio in Malta
Features
Streaming from land-based casinos; Shipboard Gaming for passengers looking for live casino gaming on ships; Mobile is at the core of their offerings
Games
Live variants of Roulette
Mobile Gaming
Yes
Visionary iGaming (ViG)
Studios
Costa Rica
Tables
11 to 20
Features
Streaming from studio and land-based casinos; 200+ employees; Over €2.1 billion in real money wagers annually
Games
Live blackjack, roulette and baccarat
Mobile Gaming
Yes
EntwineTech
Studios
Philippines, Malaysia
Features
98.99% uptime guarantee; Download and Flash formats; 80+ licenses across the world; state-of-the-art mobile platform
Games
Live variants of blackjack, baccarat, roulette, Sic Bo
Mobile Gaming
Yes
Types of Live Casino Games
The most commonly found table games at live casinos are:
Evolution’s VIP live blackjack tables
How do Live Dealer Casinos Work?
Live dealer casinos use multiple technologies to record and stream from the studio. The games are played at a real table and run by dealers. The dealer sets up the table, asks for bets to be placed and then deals out the cards or spins the wheel, depending on the game. Once the round is over the dealer clears the table for the next round.
The Tech Behind Live Casino Gaming
Live casino gaming providers use the latest technology to bring gaming action of the highest quality directly to you from well-equipped live dealer studios. Some providers have collaborations with actual land-based casinos, and this allows them to stream directly from the tables at the casino.
A live dealer studio usually has 3 types of rooms:
- A room(s) with the game tables and the dealers
- A room for the software and equipment
- A room for the IT manager/software analyst
Live Dealer providers invest a lot into the aesthetics of their studios
The following are the different tech components in a live dealer studio:
- HD Cameras: Each studio has multiple HD live streaming cameras set up to capture the action as it unfolds. They are designed to stream games live 24×7. Each studio has at least 3 cameras, which means you get at least 3 views of a table:
- Overall view
- Views of the table/wheel
- Picture-in-picture display
- Game Control Unit (GCU): You have one GCU for each table. The function of this device is to encode the video being streamed from the studio.
- Monitor: The monitor allows the live dealer to see the players who are online and playing at their tables. One thing about the monitor; there are blind spots that are outside the field of view of the cameras capturing the action. The dealer will not be able to see a player who is at a blind spot.
For roulette tables an important element is the wheel. It is equipped with sensors to interface with the software and facilitate the entire process of image capture and streaming.
The software elements to a live casino studio include Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology.
This is what the OCR does:
- Translates physical dealer action into data for the software to read, analyse and act on
- Records all events at the studio in detail
- Converts recorded images to data in electronic format that is then streamed live
Live Casinos for Mobile
Mobile casinos that offer live casino gaming come with a responsive design interface and full HD graphics, making for a riveting experience. Driving this growth is the rapid advancement in mobile technology and the availability of higher Internet speeds. Because of the technology requirements and higher cost of operations, however, not all casinos offer mobile live casino gaming.
We list some of the best live casinos available on your mobile device which offer exciting games, a good range of payment methods and excellent customer support.
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How We Zero In on the Top Live Dealer Casinos
Our expert panel of testers and analysts follow a rigorous testing strategy for every casino offering live dealer games.
The following are some of the criteria that we test them for:
Software: We look for the reputation and quality of the software provider offering the live dealer games at these casinos.
Live stream quality: We test live dealer casinos for the quality of live streaming. Things we look for include: Clarity, Speed, Stability, Reliability.
Live dealer: A good live dealer is a big contributor to a good live casino experience and that is why we test all the casinos that we come across for their live dealers. We check for their efficiency, training, friendliness,
Game portfolio: We check which games are offered and how large the range is.
Bonuses: One thing that we look for is the quality and range of bonuses that the casinos offer. We specifically look for no deposit bonuses and also the welcome bonus, if any.
Live chat support: We check that the casinos offer live chat support from mobile. We also check for speed and accuracy of support.
Payments: We check that the payment options are decent and the fees are fair.
Live Dealer Casino FAQs
Are live casino games secure?
Live casino games are highly secure. Security is a must-have for these games given that they are streamed live over the Internet and are mostly available for real money; no player would want to play them if there was a question about security.
Do we get live dealer games in free practice mode?
Most of the times the answer to that question is no. Live dealer games have higher cost of operation – you have to pay for the studio, equipment, maintenance and staff. Free play would effectively block a seat at the table and deprive the casino of much-needed revenue. However, nowadays you find a few providers who do offer live dealer games for free practice play.
Is live casino gaming possible from my smartphone?
Mobile casino gaming is big nowadays and almost every casino software provider now has games that are mobile-optimized. This is true of live casino gaming as well; a significant number of providers offer their live casino games for mobile.
I am looking to play live casino games and wanted to know: what could go wrong?
Nothing could possibly go wrong from a security point of view when you play live casino games. However, there are external dependencies, such as Internet speed and connection quality. Slow Internet speeds can be annoying because it can cause buffering and game lag or disruption, though nowadays there are providers with games that work even at slow speeds.
Do I have to download software to play live casino games?
That is completely your choice. There are providers like NetEnt, Evolution Gaming and many others that offer live casino gaming in the instant play format only. However, you will also find providers that offer software in both instant play and download modes.