Today, we can enjoy a wide range of online games and technologies that offer countless new ways to gamble. One of the greatest developments was the introduction of ‘live dealer games,’ which brought us closer to the brick-and-mortar casino experience from the comfort of our homes!
If you’re new to this world of innovative online gambling, the team at Wisegambler.com has put together this guide, along with their commercial partners, to take you through what you can expect to find when you play at a top live casino site, as well as our experts’ top picks for sites you can check out today.
bet365 Casino T&Cs: Deposit and stake £10 on eligible Casino games to get 100 Free Spins. Registration Required. Time limits, game restrictions and T&Cs apply.
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Offer T&Cs:
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Live casinos have continued to rise in popularity over the years, not only offering exciting casino games in an innovative format but also wholly unique ways to enjoy online gambling. There are many things that go into making these sites genuinely fantastic platforms, so here are the top criteria our experts look for in the best live dealer casinos:
Live Dealer Games Variety
The most straightforward standard is simply the live dealer game library. What’s the point in a live casino that doesn’t have a good variety of games to play? Our experts at least want to see the most popular casino games, like blackjack, roulette and baccarat. But the best live casinos can do so much more than that, offering less common games like craps or sic bo, harder-to-adapt games like poker, and even unique titles to the format like live game shows. With a good variety like this on offer, live casinos can ensure that they’ll cater to the broadest audience and prevent the experience from growing stale.
Streaming Quality
Just as important as the presence of a good library of games is the technical quality of those games. Live dealer games are played through a live stream, and if the streaming technology is prone to lagging or the studio cameras are accurate, there’ll be more problems than just frustrated players. This will come down to a combination of choosing the right software providers and the quality of the hosting website — and, of course, you can’t blame a casino for your own troublesome internet connection.
Professional Dealers
As with land-based casinos, we expect the croupiers to act professionally and know what they’re doing. Professional croupiers should have formal training in the proper way to handle the table and know how to deal with difficult customers. Feeling like you’re in capable hands is a critical part of the live casino experience, allowing you to sit back and enjoy yourself.
User Interface
A live dealer game will, by necessity, have a different interface than the standard online casino games we’re used to. Live streams can add a layer of separation between players and the table, so it’s crucial that the user interface is simple to understand and easy to use. Some games will be naturally inclined towards this more than others, but our experts want all the games to be fun without creating unnecessary problems.
Mobile Compatibility
When they first hit the scene, live dealer games felt like a genre of casino game that wouldn’t be viable on mobile devices. However, modern smartphones are just as powerful as our computers, and live dealer games work just as well on apps and mobile browsers! As such, our experts hold live casinos to the same standards as regular online casinos when it comes to mobile compatibility. While dedicated apps that streamline the gaming experience will always be preferred, the best live casinos should at least have a high-quality mobile website.
Security and Licensing
Finally, we always want to know that any casino we recommend has a rock-solid casino licence and keeps its players safe. In the UK, it’s illegal for casinos to operate without a valid gambling licence (either from the UKGC or another approved body), as it means sites are held accountable when they transgress player rights. Additionally, we expect all top sites to employ encryption security to protect user data, especially across financial transactions.
Our experts have gone through and found their top picks for the best live casino sites in the UK. Here’s a closer look at what you can expect from each one:
William Hill Vegas Live Casino at a glance:
Game Variety:★★★★★
Streaming Quality: ★★★★☆
Professional Dealers:★★★★☆
Mobile Experience:★★★★☆
Bonus Availability for Live Games: ★★★☆☆
What We Liked:
William Hill is a well-established gambling brand with a history dating back to the 1930s. Today, it’s a huge, multi-faceted gambling site with excellent games and sports betting abound! The live casino offering is particularly good, with a wide range of titles covering all your favourite casino games and quirky online exclusives! We also love that William Hill hosts live casino games in many languages, including German, Arabic and Italian!
The platform at large is also nothing to sniff at. With worthwhile promotional offers, a good range of payment options and dedicated mobile apps to download, it’s easy to see why it’s such a popular site.
Potential Improvements for the Future:
We did feel that the customer support could have been improved with more points of contact, and the promos didn’t include any live-dealer compatible bonuses, but this all felt negligible when put into context.
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888 Live Casino at a glance:
Game Variety:★★★★★
Streaming Quality: ★★★★★
Professional Dealers:★★★★☆
Mobile Experience:★★★★★
Bonus Availability for Live Games: ★★★★☆
888 Casino is a casino that doesn’t need much of an introduction and is well-known in the UK. Its live casino isn’t a dedicated feature, but even as a tab in the larger casino, it still manages to stand out! The game selection is easy to browse through, and the thumbnails all show snippets of how each game looks! You even get a preview of your host’s name, which adds a personal touch! The collection isn’t as varied as some of our other brands, but it covers all your favourites, and a good range of game shows to mix things up.
We also loved how 888 looked and functioned; the site was slick and felt good to use. There are plenty of promotional offers up for grabs, games you can play for free every day, and even mobile apps if you prefer to play on your smart device. Cashing out is also quick at 888, with processing taking no more than a day!
Potential Improvements for the Future:
The collection of games isn’t as varied as some of our other brands, but it covers all your favourites, and a good range of game shows to mix things up. We also found that there aren’t that many payment options, but they are varied, and most can be used to withdraw, too. So, while 888 doesn’t have the most extensive live casino spread, the site it’s hosted on guarantees that playing here will provide an excellent experience.
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Betano Live Casino at a glance:
Game Variety:★★★★☆
Streaming Quality: ★★★★☆
Professional Dealers:★★★☆☆
Mobile Experience:★★★★☆
Bonus Availability for Live Games: ★★★☆☆
What We Liked:
Betano is the youngest live casino site on this list, and despite being a greenhorn, Betano offers a fantastic casino experience. The live dealer lineup covers all of your favourite casino games like blackjack, roulette and baccarat; not to mention the live game shows! It would have been nice to see some language variation, but the live casino library was great for a site this new. Betano also offers dedicated apps and features and an extensive customer support system, adding to a fantastic betting experience.
Potential Improvements for the Future:
It wasn’t all sunshine and daisies; the promotional offers were few and far between after the welcome bonus, and the tiny collection of available payment methods was a letdown. But payouts are super speedy, and the site is licenced and safe to play at. So, taking the good with the bad, we decided that Betano Casino was well worth your time.
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Pub Live Casino at a glance:
Game Variety:★★★☆☆
Streaming Quality: ★★★☆☆
Professional Dealers:★★★☆☆
Mobile Experience:★★★☆☆
Bonus Availability for Live Games: ★★★☆☆
What We Liked:
Pub Casino stands out for offering a dedicated live casino page, separate from the online casino! It hosts all of the fan favourites, like blackjack, poker and baccarat; all from top developers. And of course, you can find all your favourite live game shows too!
Beyond the live game library, Pub continues to impress with thousands of regular casino games, a huge range of payment options and a reliable customer support service.
Potential Improvements for the Future:
Unfortunately, Pub Casino has some flaws, like the lack of promotional bonuses, and the welcome bonus isn’t compatible with live casino games. While the live casino offering was good, we did find it hard to figure out what was what, as the game thumbnails didn’t feature the game’s name or any info on the betting limits.
Also, in regards to mobile compatibility, Pub Casino has an iOS app, but we found it strange that there was no equivalent for Android devices, so we’d like to see one added in the future. But if you’re just looking for a solid casino site with excellent live dealer games, this site will serve you well.
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Mr Vegas Live Casino at a glance:
Game Variety:★★★★★
Streaming Quality: ★★★★★
Professional Dealers:★★★★★
Mobile Experience:★★★★☆
Bonus Availability for Live Games: ★★★★☆
What We Liked:
Mr Vegas embodies the standard of modern online casinos. The game collection features seven thousand titles to choose from and one of the most extensive live casino collections on the internet. We particularly liked that Mr Vegas had a great filtering system, so you could find exactly what you wanted to play even with so many games to sort through. Although, considering how many games there were, it was a little odd that the site doesn’t feature multi-lingual titles.
Potential Improvements for the Future:
There isn’t a dedicated mobile app for Mr Vegas, but the mobile website works great, and you can use the great bonus offers no matter how you access the site. There are also plenty of payment options, giving you an elevated level of control over your gaming! The foundation of Mr Vegas is solid and reliable, so we’re more than happy to recommend this site to our readers.
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So we’ve been over what our experts look for in the best live casino sites, and some of their favourite sites. But what about you? Everyone will have different preferences, so here are a few tips on what to look out for when choosing a live casino site for yourself.
First and foremost, what sort of betting experience are you looking for? What features and games do you expect from your live casino gaming? You’ll want to look through the live gaming library at a site to ensure it offers games you enjoy and maybe even in a language you prefer! You might also opt for a site that hosts a specific developer you know you’re a fan of. However, if you’re brand new to live casino, just find your favourite classic casino game and ensure the site has a live version of it.
Online casinos excel when it comes to promotional offers, providing additional funds to keep your play session going! On the one hand, you should make sure the site you’re playing at has plenty of bonuses to claim if that interests you. Second, check that the bonuses are relevant to how you play! If you don’t like slot games, picking up lots of free spins isn’t worth your time. Additionally, if you want to play live dealer games in particular, try to find bonuses that are compatible with them, as many won’t be.
What’s the point of signing up for a casino site if you don’t have a way to move money in or out of your account? Always check the available payment methods on the site you’re looking at to ensure there’s a payment method that works for you there. And don’t just look at deposits; if you win something and can’t withdraw, that’s just as much of a problem.
Customer support is the backbone of any gambling site, so your live casino of choice should have solid service. The best support services will provide quick and friendly help through multiple contact channels. When picking out a site, it’s worthwhile ensuring it features a contact point that’s convenient to you specifically. If you feel more comfortable through direct messaging, a social media account or live chat function may suit you better than an email query.
While this won’t be a deal breaker for everyone, if you’re the type of person who prefers to play through their phone, making sure you pick a site with a good app is crucial. Live casino games have the potential to work seamlessly on smartphones and tablets; you just have to find the right platform to do it with. Good live casino apps should be available through your device’s official app store and have positive customer reviews. No lagging or lower standards of service are acceptable.
Live dealer games come in all shapes and sizes, so you’ll find live versions of all your favourite casino games. Card games, dice games, and even games you haven’t thought of before make their way to live casinos, so here’s a rundown of some of the top titles.
You can find more information about UK live casino games here.
Roulette is probably the most iconic casino game, with the spinning roulette wheel practically serving as a logo for casinos worldwide. And it’s also the game that made the smoothest transition into live dealer formats. As a spectator game, roulette doesn’t require the croupier to do much more than collect bets and spin the wheel. This means that when switching from land-based casinos to live casino sites, you lose very little from the roulette experience. If you’re after an authentic casino experience from the comfort of your couch, roulette is the place to start!
On the other end of the spectrum, poker is easily one of the hardest games to adapt to live dealer formats. However, we’ve already made the jump to online poker, so if you’re used to regular online poker sites, live dealer poker won’t be much different. Additionally, if you choose games like Casino Hold’em or Caribbean Stud Poker, you’ll find yourself playing against the dealer, which simplifies the gameplay loop in a way that’s perfect for live casino sites.
Blackjack is the most popular casino game in the world, so you bet your britches that you’ll find many, many versions of it at live casinos. Even the smallest live dealer casinos will feature a handful of blackjack games. While it’s not quite such a good adaptation as something like roulette or craps, live blackjack is played against the dealer, which makes the transition much smoother.
Baccarat, much like roulette, is most commonly played online as a spectator game, which makes it a perfect fit for live casinos. The dealer plays for both the house and the player, and you simply bet on the outcome! However, you can find more involved, European versions of baccarat too.
One of the most interesting things to come from the rise of live dealer casinos is the invention of live game shows. These aren’t games that came from the casino, but rather from television and pop culture. With these titles, you can be the contestant of your very own game show, whether it’s Wheel of Fortune, Who Wants to be a Millionaire or Deal or No Deal! You can also find plenty of original games to take a shot at. This also expands to things like live slot games. There’s a lot of variety here, so even if you’re not in the mood for a classic casino game, you’ll find something to catch your eye.
Like regular online casinos, live casinos also enjoy the pleasures of promotional offers. These bonuses can extend your fun and fatten your bankroll as you play! And the right live casino will do this every time you return to the site. If you’re interested in live casino games, try to find bonuses that are compatible with live dealer titles, as this won’t be universal.
The first bonus you claim from an online casino will be the welcome bonus. This is also inevitably the most generous bonus you’ll ever receive. While they tend to have higher wagering requirements, welcome bonuses will grant you the largest value of bonus funds, which is the perfect way to kick off your gambling journey! Welcome bonuses can vary a lot, but deposit match bonuses are the most common type at live casinos. If you want a bonus that works with live dealer games, try to find a special live casino bonus.
The most basic type of casino promotion is the deposit bonus, which grants you bonus funds of some sort in exchange for making a deposit. You may have to input a promo code while making the deposit or else click a link to activate it. The bonus you receive may be fixed, or it might be proportional to the value of your deposit. These are common as welcome bonuses, which might match your deposit by 100% to 300% in bonus funds!
Reload bonuses are a type of deposit match bonus that can be claimed regularly. In short, they reward you with a value of bonus funds directly proportional to how much you deposit. Usually around 10-50%, depending on the live casino site and whether you’re a member of a VIP scheme. Reload bonuses are usually available once a week, but some live casinos might offer these bonuses every day.
A cashback bonus returns a portion of your losses over a specified period of time. This is usually a week or sometimes a month. While you shouldn’t ever rely on cashback bonuses to make back your losses, it does give you a chance to recoup some of it! And the majority of cashback bonuses don’t require wagering, so there are next to no downsides. Although you might need to make a deposit to claim them.
Free spins might seem like a strange bonus at a live casino, but you can find live slot games. However, they are rare, and you’re more likely to get free spins as part of a larger bonus or simply because your live casino is merely a single part of a larger online casino — the latter is actually very common. Free spins let you play slot games free of charge, although they often have high wagering requirements, especially if you receive them through a welcome bonus. But free spins are also very common as log-in bonuses and are the easiest to get your hands on. If you want to dip into some slots between sessions of live dealer games, these will be your best friend.
Live dealer games work as well as they do almost entirely thanks to the large operations that develop and manage the games. Live casino games are far more demanding than regular online casino development, requiring large studios, professional staff, expensive equipment and more to keep functioning at peak quality. Here are some of the best live casino game providers available in the UK:
The single most important figure in live casino gaming is Evolution Gaming. While it didn’t invent the idea of the live casino game — that started as early as the 90s! — it pioneered the genre and is largely responsible for the success of live dealer casinos today. You’ll find that most popular live casino games are created by Evolution, especially game shows. Since its founding, Evolution has grown into an iGaming empire, acquiring many of the world’s most popular casino game devs. This success allows them to bolster their products, and you can always be confident that Evolution games will be a good time.
Playtech is one of the older developers on the block, and their experience shines through. Playtech live casino games might sometimes feel old-fashioned, but they always work well and guarantee a professional experience. Playtech isn’t just an experienced developer; it’s well-trusted by sites across the net, and you’ll find its products all over the place.
Pragmatic Play is an iGaming company that’s enjoyed unprecedented success since it launched less than a decade ago. Since 2016, Pragmatic Play has developed dozens of games across all sectors of the industry, including live casinos. Its games are always sophisticated and work flawlessly across mobile devices. If you’re looking for a modern and innovative developer, games of Pragmatic play will more than fit the bill.
OnAir Entertainment is one of the youngest developers, founded in 2020. It’s already managed to establish itself in the libraries of some of the top casino sites in the country. This is in large part because it’s the live casino sector of the much larger Games Global, and this support has allowed OnAir Entertainment to put plenty of resources into making sure it provides a stellar live casino experience.
Ezugi was established in 2011 and has been delivering top-quality live casino games ever since. Many of your favourite live casino games are probably brought to you by Ezugi, and the developer also emphasises innovation and bringing new ideas to the table, like with its unique game show options. Ezugi is a part of the Evolution group, so it also enjoys the wealth of resources and expertise in live casino games granted by such an umbrella.
The UKGC is dedicated to safeguarding the public and overseeing online gambling. Online casinos are required to offer self-regulation tools and support resources such as GAMSTOP. You have access to effective tools like deposit limits, betting limits, and time limits. Additionally, the UK provides a comprehensive internet-wide exclusion from all participating casino sites.
If you’re interested in finding out more about the different types of online casinos, click this link.
A live casino is an online casino website that specialises in live dealer games. These let you play your favourite casino classics with a human dealer through a live stream.
The biggest live casino developer in the UK is Evolution Entertainment, with the most widespread presence. Other top developers include Pragmatic Play, Ezugi and OnAir Entertainment.
Yes, live casino games are the same as playing in a real casino. You can see the cards being dealt and have the same probabilities as when playing at a real table.
Yes, modern live casino games are compatible with mobile devices.
Yes, live casinos offer many gambling bonuses. However, double-check that your bonus can be used with live casino games, as many cannot.
