Streaming, particularly video-on-demand streaming, has become a colossal sector of technology. Now, streaming platforms are taking over other traditional methods of home entertainment, with the likes of Netflix and Prime Video closing the gap on premium satellite and cable television providers. While these and music streaming platforms are very popular, another line of streaming continues to grow at a rapid rate.
Over the next five years, the global live streaming market is tipped to hit $247 billion, showcasing a compound annual growth rate of over 28 percent. Live video streaming instantly connects the streamer or content with the audience, tapping into the ever-increasing need to be a part of an event live. For the most part, live streams have been a viewer experience, but now, they’re becoming interactive thanks to live casino gaming.
Real time, authentic gaming via the live stream
Few would find much entertainment in watching a table game like roulette going through the motions at a casino – unless someone was betting big at crazy stakes. What people do enjoy is playing these real games at their convenience, which is what live casino games have managed to achieve. They live stream from a studio with a croupier and real table game with the player on the other side being able to place bets in real-time.
By installing what’s termed a game control unit, the live table games can relay to the software running the game on the online casino platform what’s happened while the UI that the user sees allows them all of their usual betting and play options. It’s a tremendous feat in entertainment technology because it creates real-time live gaming, showcasing how advanced and two-way live streams can become.
It all started by making the classic table games into live casino games. So, roulette, baccarat, blackjack, and casino pokers were the dominant titles in live gaming for a long time. However, with the live sections becoming so popular, developers became bolder, trying new live gaming ideas. Now, there are the likes of Monopoly Live, Deal or No Deal, and Dream Catcher, which are more like gambling game shows.
A feature that all big gaming companies should embrace
The biggest name in video game streaming right now is Twitch. With millions of users and billions of hours being watched each month, while there are live shows, the most interactive that many get is chatting with the streamers via the chatbox. As forgotten about as it is, one gaming platform had sought to bridge the gap between viewing live streams and engaging with them and seemingly succeeded.
Google’s cloud gaming service, Stadia, failed to take off and hasn’t gone much further since. Many see Stadia as already having a plot dug out in Google’s infamous graveyard list, but the strides it made in this regard should be adopted by other major gaming companies. Crowd Play is an option that YouTube streamers can check to then have gamers on Stadia queue up to join them in the live game that they’re streaming.
While the Stadia platform isn’t going to take off any time soon, it does offer the feature most akin to the tech that powers live casino gaming. Were Twitch and a company like Microsoft to create their own version, it’d mark the next big step in streaming tech for the entertainment sector.