Gaming is one of the fastest-developing of all tech niches. Highly competitive and worth billions in annual turnover, it is an industry that rewards rapid product development and out-of-the-box thinking. That is especially the case in the real money iGaming niche. Online and mobile casino gaming is even more competitive than the rest, especially in markets like the US and Nigeria, both of which are growing rapidly year on year, albeit for different reasons.
In the US, the shift is regulatory, with states clamoring to push though legislative reforms that will allow iGaming businesses to operate – and pay taxes – within their borders. In Nigeria, it is more a technological revolution, as mobile handsets become affordable for all and connectivity improves.
Live dealer gaming
On the subject of connectivity, 5G is proving to have come along at just the right moment for the iGaming sector. Traditionally, casino games have required minimal processing power or bandwidth – after all, it’s just a random number generator and some symbols, cards or dice.
But then along came live dealer online casinos to change all that. Here, you are linked to a real human dealer via the online casino, whom you can see on a webcam dealing the cards, spinning the roulette wheel rolling the dice and, as we shall soon see, doing much more besides.
Evolution in every sense
When live dealer online casinos first arrived on the scene, they were greeted as an interesting gimmick, a way to make the online experience a little more authentic. They also appealed to those of a technophobic nature who harbored suspicion against RNGs. These players felt more comfortable and confident with a real human shuffling a real deck of cards.
Then one of those developers we talked about earlier showed up with some left-field thinking and a rapid product development process. Evolution Gaming is based in Sweden but is truly global. For example, it was the first, and so far the only, live casino provider to be licensed in two US states, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Evolution observed the arrival of live dealer casinos, but noticed that the games they offered had all been around for years. Roulette was invented in the 1700s, and according to some historians, the game of craps was being played during the religious crusades of the 12th century!
The question “why” had surely passed through hundreds of minds, but it was the ones at Evolution who sought to do something about it. In a few short years, they have released more than a dozen live casino games that are either completely new or that add a new dimension to an old classic.
Taking a chance
Online casinos have plenty of studio space for streaming live games, so they do not have to worry about getting the optimum revenue out of every square foot like a real casino. It means they can afford to take a chance on Evolution’s innovations.
Popular titles include the TV gameshow-style Dreamcatcher, the popular yet simple Football Studio and new twists on time-honored classics like Lightning Roulette, Infinite Blackjack and Super Sic Bo.
