“Live Casino helps operators to attract new customers to their land-based venue”

Could you start with a short explanation of how streaming Live Casino from a land-based casino works and what’s involved?
Yes, of course. Live Casino from a land-based casino involves the set up of a Live Casino studio within the land-based venue. This live studio includes one or more live tables, the live dealer/s and also the broadcast kit required to record the live action and stream the live games to online players. This kit includes lighting, cameras, microphones, monitors and so forth. However, not all of the technical kit needs to be located ‘in venue’ as the land-based venue’s live studio can plug into the core infrastructure and the MCR (Media Control Room) located at Evolution’s central studios in Riga. This reduces the cost of entry for the land-based casino.

Once the service is live, the casino’s players – and new customers too – can enjoy these live table games, streamed direct from the casino, on desktop, tablet and smartphone.

What specifications and regulations does a casino need to comply with to be able to stream live games from a Live Casino studio within a land-based casino?
This varies according to the jurisdiction in which the land-based casino is located. In Spain, for example, an online Live Casino service has to be broadcast from a licensed land-based casino within that jurisdiction – there is no other choice.

In Italy, meanwhile, where we have just launched an in-venue live studio for Casinó Campione d’Italia, there is no such requirement. The Live Casino service could have been branded Casinó Campione but broadcast from our central studios. Instead Casinó Campione took a strategic choice to deploy the live studio within their land-based venue. They chose this route because they see an in-venue live studio as a vital component of the modern casino and, in particular, because it will help them to attract new customers to their land-based venue.

Can you give us a few more details about Casinó Campione d'Italia and the live studio deployment – for example, numbers and statistics, how it works, what live games are offered?
Casinó Campione was established in 1917 as Italy’s first ever casino; today, it is the Italian land-based leader, based on 2013 revenues. The current casino was designed by world famous Swiss architect Mario Botta and rebuilt in 2007 on the same site as the original Casinó Campione. With nine floors and 55,000m² of floor space it is Europe’s largest land-based casino.

It’s also in a stunning setting right on the shores of Lake Lugano, so taking advantage of Live Casino’s massive online outreach to attract new visitors to the land-based venue makes a great deal of strategic sense.
The Casinó Campione in-venue live studio launched on 27 June, initially providing a Live Casino  service to desktop. Two weeks later on 9 July the service rolled out for tablet and smartphone.

The live studio itself is showcased on the casino’s slots floor and comprises three Live Casino tables: Live Roulette, Live Blackjack and Live Baccarat. Space has also been allocated for a fourth Live Casino table, which is likely to feature an additional card-based game. All the tables are staffed by a dedicated team of dealers and pitbosses and offer online Live Casino gaming to existing and new customers from 7pm to 3am.

In addition to the above, Casinó Campione is also harnessing Evolution generic shared tables, located at our central Live Casino production studios in Riga and Malta. In this way Casinó Campione can provide extended choice for players 24/7.

Can you give our readers an insight into what was involved in this particular live studio deployment?
As a brand new customer with whom there was no existing software integration, this project went through the entire life cycle and involved all departments and skillsets at Evolution.

We integrated with their platform; we designed and built the live studio with dedicated IT infrastructure including network, server racks and electrical distribution boards and grounding. We trained their staff, we made graphical and software changes to meet their needs, we thoroughly tested all aspects, and we went through the AAMS (Amministrazione Autonoma Monopoli di Stato) certification of the games and the live studio itself. Finally, we ensured the smooth launch of the live studio by supervising their staff on-site during a short transition period.