In this latest entry in our ongoing series on gambling technology, we take a look at some of the casino advances that help bring the best of the real-world experience home.

Live Streaming Cameras

In the context of an online casino, streaming refers to live video of casino play, either for spectating, or, more enjoyably, actually participating. This is a great way to bring players from many different locations throughout the world into a shared experience. It’s fun enough to play against those people from your own town, city, state, province, or country, but it can bring a whole other level of excitement (and challenge) to play against people from radically different cultures.

As you might expect, this type of technology has improved greatly over even the last few years, with dramatically higher performance and better resolution and overall clarity. Of course, this technology will only continue to get better, particularly as both wired and mobile broadband infrastructure improves on the player’s side.

Optical Character Recognition

In the traditional sense, Optical Character Recognition is typically described as the mechanical or electronic conversion of images of typed, handwritten, or printed text into machine-encoded text, whether from a scanned document, a photo of a document, a scene-photo, or from subtitle text superimposed on an image. As it relates to casino technology, however, Optical Character Recognition, or OCR, is what is used by online platforms to translate the live actions of a real-life casino dealer into digital actions carried out by a digital avatar.

To put it more simply, for live casinos that make use of OCR, online players see the actions of a digital dealer that are powered by a human dealer. This type of interaction can help build greater trust and comfort in the online gambling experience since you’re literally dealing with a real person rather than just an artificial intelligence, or AI. And the better the translation of live actions, the more immersive and enjoyable the overall experience.

Safety and Challenges

Any potential dangers or issues with these technological advanacements are mitigated by an onsite I.T. manager who is constantly present. This I.T. manager is not only able to address any functionality issues, but can also mediate any player disputes.

Of course, there are some challenges. For instance, this advancement in technology means that online casinos have to pay more to the game providers. This can translate to some online casinos offering fewer tables and game variations. Of course, even for this, there’s a solution. At LiveCasino.com, for instance, they compare live casinos based on the number of tables offered, min and max stake prices, specific live casino bonuses, wagering requirements, and much more.

Conclusion

As with any technological advances, there are challenges with live casinos and streaming and OCR. As you have read, however, while these and other technologies continue to improve, the best establishments are keeping up with the necessary enhancements and safeguards to continue to provide the best possible experiences for their players. As such, it’s with enthusiasm, not trepidation, that we can look forward to the continued onward push of fascinating gambling technology like these.