Many different areas of play combine to make up an online casino platform. One of the most popular is live dealer games, which players flock to because they offer a taste of in-person gambling in a virtual setting. That chance of interaction with a real dealer gives a more personal playing experience than just sitting at a virtual slot.
Live dealer games come in many themes, but the staples of live dealer games are roulette, blackjack and baccarat. Let’s take British casinos, for example. A visit to any of the highly recommended platforms from a trusted casino review service like Legalcasino in the UK, however, will also bring up a lot of alternative options, like live gameshow-type features and crash games.
Sports and Live Dealer Games
One theme that is a little underused in live dealer games is sports. One of the most popular ones that is around is Football Studio from Evolution Games. This is a fast-paced title where the player is presented with a 3D rendition of a live football studio.
Cards drive the game and there are three betting options, a Home Win, Draw and Away Win. The dealer draws a card to the Home team and the Away team, and the highest number wins. If the cards match, then the result is a draw.
The Home and Away options run at even money payout with an RTP of a little over 96%. The draw pays out the highest in the game at 11/1. It’s a simple game to play, but fun and challenging as well, and a good chance to potentially engage in a bit of banter with the dealer.
Is There a Basketball Version?
There isn’t a basketball version of Football Studio, but a similar game concept could just as easily be incorporated into a live dealer game with a basketball theme. The only thing that would need to change is the studio format, shifting the theme and design to a basketball court and even having the dealer wearing a referee’s shirt.
But while that would naturally appeal to basketball fans, simple copies of existing games don’t tend to do well and there’s little value for developers creating them. Players instead thrive off of innovation. So what could a new live dealer basketball game look like?
High and Low
A basketball concept that could be utilised could be a high-and-low game format. Basketball games are high-scoring affairs compared to football matches, for example. So a live dealer game that challenges players to reach a higher tally than the live dealer, similar to a blackjack-style game, could be a great challenge for live players.
Three Pointers
Because a big element of basketball is three-pointers, a live game concept could be created around that. This could be evolved in many different ways, such as trying to get a winning hand that includes getting at least one 3-card.
Basketball Roulette
A live roulette game could be developed with features from basketball incorporated. That could include special three-pointer slots that triple the original bet, for example, or free throws that reward something like an extra ball on the next spin and even special types of bets on number groups, perhaps five for the number of players on a team.
Basketball Trumps
A version of basketball trumps could be incorporated into a live dealer format as well. That could be drawing from a pile of cards after selecting a nominated category of fictional players like rebound, or three-pointer skills.
All-Star Dice
Dice games are popular for live dealer casino features, and a basketball theme could also be run on this. It could simply be having a player bet on the outcome of rolls, and certain combinations of rolls, like a double three for example representing three-pointers, can reward higher odds.
Basketball Fortune Wheel
Another popular feature of live dealer games is Fortune Wheels. This could easily be incorporated into a basketball format, with the different segments representing a prize element that ties into the sport.
In Conclusion
The popularity of live dealers at online casino sites is huge. But the number of games that are available on a casino site still pales in comparison to regular slot titles. So there is plenty of room for expansion and new themes to be tapped into.
Given the popularity of basketball, especially from the elite league of the NBA, it’s not a stretch to see big live dealer basketball casino games coming along. There is likely a market for them because basketball is one of the most popular sports in the world.
But the popularity of them in a casino setting could come down to the location. They would likely be more popular in places like Spain and Italy which have a big following for the EuroLeague than in somewhere like the UK.
