Key facts
- Live dealer blackjack is an online casino game under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, so it cannot legally be offered to people in Australia, even with a real dealer on screen. Playing is not an offence, but the sites are unlicensed here.
- The studios are overseas. Evolution, the largest maker, lists studios such as Riga, Malta and Tbilisi, and its licence list does not include Australia.
- Classic live tables seat seven players, with Bet Behind for everyone else. Infinite Blackjack deals one shared starting hand to unlimited players and adds a Six Card Charlie rule.
- Some formats change the price a lot: Lightning Blackjack adds a 100% fee to every initial bet, and Power Blackjack removes the 9s and 10s from 8 decks.
- If you bet behind another player, their mistakes become yours: hitting 11 against a dealer 6 instead of doubling gives up about 34% of the bet on that hand in our solver.
Is live blackjack online legal in Australia?
No provider can legally offer live blackjack online to people in Australia. A real dealer and real cards do not change what it is: a casino game played over the internet for money, which the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 prohibits. ACMA's list of illegal online services names casino-style games including blackjack.
The law targets the provider, not you. You commit no offence by playing, but every site offering live dealer blackjack here does so without an Australian licence, ACMA asks internet providers to block them, and ACMA warns that players risk losing their money. There is no Australian regulator to hear a dispute about a frozen balance.
The tables themselves are overseas. Evolution, the largest live casino maker, says it runs over 2,000 live tables and lists 18 studio locations, among them Riga, Malta and Tbilisi. Its published licence list covers regulators in Europe, Africa, the Americas and the Caribbean, but not Australia. Our guide to live dealer casinos covers the wider picture, and Evolution Gaming has the maker's background.
How live dealer blackjack works
A live blackjack table is a studio table filmed from several angles. The dealer deals from a shoe, and software reads the cards and settles the bets. You make decisions with on-screen buttons within a time limit. Evolution describes these common features:
| Feature | What it does |
|---|---|
| Seven seats | Classic tables seat seven players, as on a casino floor |
| Bet Behind | Bet on another seated player's hand and ride on their decisions |
| Initial decision | Players in seats two to seven choose at the same time to speed up play |
| Dealer's second card | Dealt face down at the start in Lightning Blackjack |
| Side bets | Perfect Pairs and 21+3 on most tables; others on some formats |
That face-down second card is one difference from Australian casino blackjack, where the dealer's second card comes only after everyone has played. The maths is identical if a dealer blackjack takes only your original bet; check the help screen to see which way a table handles your doubles and splits.
Live blackjack formats compared
The live versions differ more than the dealers' outfits. From Evolution's own descriptions:
| Format | How it differs | What it does to the maths |
|---|---|---|
| Classic Blackjack | Seven seats, Bet Behind, side bets | Depends on the deck count and rules in the help screen |
| Infinite Blackjack | Unlimited players share one starting hand; side bets Any Pair, 21+3, Hot 3, Bust It; Six Card Charlie | Six cards totalling 21 or less win automatically, even against a dealer blackjack |
| Free Bet Blackjack | Free double on hard 9 to 11, free split on all pairs but ten-value cards | Usually paid for with a dealer 22 push; on Crown Melbourne's rules we calculate 1.44% |
| Power Blackjack | 8 decks with the 9s and 10s removed; double, triple or quadruple down on any two cards, even after a split | Removing 10s hurts the player and the extra down options help; the net depends on the full rules |
| Lightning Blackjack | 100% fee on every initial bet; winning hands earn a 2x to 25x multiplier for the next round | You pay twice the stake every round; the fee only comes back through multipliers |
| Blackjack Party | Low stakes, music, a dealer and co-presenter, Bet Behind | Check the help screen for the deck count and payouts |
| Always 6 Blackjack | The dealer's open card is always a 6; six decks | A 6 is the dealer's weakest up card, busting about 42% of the time with 6 decks in our calculation, so check what the game pays in return |
| Easy Blackjack | Only the dealer gets cards; you bet that a fixed score of 16 to 20 beats the dealer | A different game: your result depends only on the dealer's total |
| First Person Blackjack | Animated random number generator game, up to five hands | Not live at all |
We have priced Free Bet with Crown's approved rules because they are published. For the others, the rules that set the price, such as what blackjack pays and whether the dealer hits soft 17, sit in the in-game help, so read it before you assume a format is cheap.
The Lightning fee in dollars
Lightning Blackjack shows how a feature can change the cost of every round. With a $10 initial bet, the 100% Lightning fee adds another $10, so every round puts $20 on the line. A win earns a multiplier of 2x, 5x, 8x, 10x, 15x, 20x or 25x, which applies to your payout in the next round if that hand wins too. Evolution says an unused multiplier stays available for up to 180 days.
The fee is certain and the multiplier is conditional. Unless the game's published return to player says otherwise, treat Lightning as a different, more volatile game rather than blackjack with a bonus.
Bet Behind: other people's mistakes
Bet Behind lets you back another seated player's hand. You win or lose with their hand, but you cannot make their decisions. That matters because basic strategy errors are expensive. From our blackjack solver, per hand, as a share of the bet:
| If the seated player | Instead of | The hand gives up |
|---|---|---|
| Hits 11 against a dealer 6 | Doubling | about 33.7% |
| Hits a pair of aces against a 10 | Splitting | about 24.9% |
| Hits 15 against a 6 | Standing | about 21.6% |
| Stands on 13 against a 7 | Hitting | about 20.5% |
A player who makes a few of those an hour turns a game costing under 1% into something far more expensive for everyone behind them. Our blackjack strategy guide has the full chart.
Card counting and live tables
Counting needs a shoe dealt deep before a shuffle, and live studios do not publish how deep they deal. On Infinite tables everyone shares the same hand, so the count is the same for every player. Our card counting guide explains how small the edge is even in ideal conditions.
Side bets on live tables
Live tables carry the same side bets as land-based ones and a few more: Perfect Pairs, 21+3, Any Pair, Hot 3, Bust It and Lucky Ladies, depending on the format. Every one has its own pay table, and in our calculations the side bets we could price cost several times the main game. See blackjack side bets for the odds.
Pundit tip: if you want blackjack with a real dealer, play it at an Australian casino. The rules are approved by a state regulator, published, and the money is protected by an Australian licence.
Live blackjack in Australian casinos
Every Australian casino deals blackjack face to face. Victoria's regulator has approved semi-automated Rapid Blackjack tables with a dealing shoe and automatic shuffling machine, and Crown Melbourne's approved rules include Free Bet, Buster and many other variations. The full set of versions and their costs is in our online blackjack Australia guide. If you are worried about how much you play, gambling help is free, confidential and available around the clock on 1800 858 858.
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Frequently asked questions
Is live blackjack legal in Australia?
Not for the operator. Live dealer blackjack is an online casino game, and online casino games cannot legally be offered to people in Australia under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001. It is not an offence for you to play, but the sites are offshore, unlicensed here and blocked by ACMA.
Where are live blackjack games streamed from?
From studios overseas. Evolution lists 18 locations, including Riga in Latvia, Malta and Tbilisi in Georgia, and says it runs over 2,000 live tables. Its licences are from regulators in Europe, Africa, the Americas and elsewhere, not Australia.
What is Infinite Blackjack?
An Evolution format where any number of players sit at one table and all receive the same first two cards. Each player then makes their own decisions. It includes a Six Card Charlie rule: six cards totalling 21 or less win automatically, even against a dealer blackjack.
How does the Lightning Blackjack fee work?
Evolution adds a 100% Lightning fee to every initial bet, so a $10 hand costs $20. A winning hand earns a random multiplier from 2x to 25x for your next round's payout. The fee is certain; the multiplier only pays if you win again.
Can you play live dealer blackjack legally in Australia?
Yes, in person. Every Australian casino deals blackjack at tables with a live dealer under rules approved by the state regulator. Victoria's regulator has also approved semi-automated Rapid Blackjack tables with a dealing shoe and automatic shuffler.
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