L&W Authentic Gaming Live Casino with BetRivers – Fifth Live Dealer Brand in the US

Live dealer game developer number 5 enters the US market via a new L&W Authentic Gaming Live Casino partnership with Rish Street’s BetRivers! (Images courtesy of Authentic Gaming + L&W)

A new landmark deal for Authentic Gaming’s live casino platform has been announced with BetRivers in the USA. However, the deal is under the Light & Wonder (L&W) Premium Live Dealer brand.

The BetRivers online casino in Michigan operates on the Rush Street Interactive aggregator platform. Its BetRivers platform will now showcase Authentic Gaming titles via L&W.

The USA’s iGaming market now has 5 live casino software provider brands. Evolution, Playtech, and now the L&W Authentic Gaming live casino brands compete for market share in Michigan alone. I am still waiting to see if Pragmatic Play Live will eventually push into the USA, but that’s for another story!

Five New Live Dealer Games Hitting the Michigan BetRivers Live Casino Lobby

The new BetRivers Light & Wonder Premium Live Dealer by Authentic Gaming has a slightly different portfolio than the games we have seen at live casinos under European operators under Curacao, UKGC, and MGA licensing. However, the new launch does not appear to include the recently released live casino game show collaboration between Authentic Gaming and Light & Wonder – the 7’s on Fire LIVE Gameshow title.

Premium blackjack, Stadium blackjack®, Premium roulette, Premium baccarat, and All Michigan auto roulette™. The Michigan roulette game has been branded for the state itself. However, this also means the door is open for the Light & Wonder by Authentic Gaming live dealer portfolio to go further and expand into the BetRivers Pennsylvania online casino and sportsbook. Adding to this, Rush Street Interactive also has a BetRivers casino and sports platform in Ontario, Canada.

Authentic Gaming Founder Jonas Delin said: “We have worked incredibly hard to create a studio and live product that we believe will have a major impact on the online casino market across the United States”.

The Fifth Live Casino Software Provider to Enter the USA

This is the fifth live dealer brand to enter the US market. Ezugi came first until Evolution bought out the brand and then took the Evolution name into the USA. Playtech soon joined, making it number three.

Then, on 12 July, Matthew O’Connor published the ‘Stakelogic Live Casino in Rhode Island’ news report. That made it four. And now, in this latest news report, the Light & Wonder Premium Live Dealer by Authentic Gaming goes live with BetRivers in a landmark U.S. launch Light & Wonder Premium Live Dealer by Authentic Gaming brand is the country’s fifth live casino software provider.

For the full story from Authentic Gaming, look at the Authentic Gaming goes live with BetRivers news story on the software providers’ news page.

BetRivers Authentic Gaming L&W Titles

• Premium blackjack experience
• Stadium blackjack®
• Premium roulette
• Premium baccarat
• All Michigan auto roulette™

Will the Authentic Gaming Brand Phase Out into L&W

Since Scientific Games bought out Authentic Gaming and rebranded its iGaming online slot division to L&W, how long will Authentic Gaming last? In all likelihood, the plan is to phase out the Authentic Gaming name and re-brand entirely to Light & Wonder. However, I could be wrong. Evolution has kept Ezugi separate, and Playtech now has Quickspin Live, the most recent brand to hit our live dealer casino software page.

The US is a growing market, so we can expect many live dealer brands already available via European operators serving the UK, Ireland, South Africa, India, New Zealand, Canada, and Australia to hit the USA at some point. However, there is a significant barrier for live casino game developers. Unlike virtual slots, which require a platform to deliver its games from a cloud or server in the US, this is not possible due to the physical nature of live casino games. Currently, eight states allow online gambling: Michigan, New Jersey, Delaware, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Nine states allow iGaming if we include Nevada, but this state only allows online poker.

The primary barrier is that the live casino games must operate from a physical location with state gambling licensing. Hence, Evolution, Ezugi, and Playtech have physical studios in New Jersey and other states. Stakelogic games will be hosted in Bally’s land-based casino in Rhode Island. Evolution is an exception, as its Pennslyvania studio also serves Connecticut via a state-by-state agreement. Therefore, for now, the future introduction of more live casino brands into the US will be a slow process.

Only time will tell, but maybe separating L&W for slots and Authentic Gaming for live games is the plan. Like my Pragmatic Play Live prediction mentioned above, yet again, this is a story for another time.