How Live-Casino implements AR and VR technologies

1) What are AR and VR in the context of live games

AR (Augmented Reality): "add-on" on top of a real video stream. Examples: highlighting the winning sectors of the roulette, the trajectory of the ball, pop-up odds and chances, 3D tokens that "sit" on the physical field.

VR (Virtual Reality): a fully virtual room where a table, dealer (real via video/video mash or virtual avatar) and other players are present in the same space; gestures, spatial sound, private "boxes" are supported.

Key value: AR increases clarity and control (the player sees the meaning of the bet), VR gives presence and sociality (the effect of "I am in the hall").

2) Architecture: how to build AR/VR over live stream

2. 1. Video and sync

WebRTC for interactive (0.5-2.5 s e2e), LL-HLS as folback for viewers.

Time synchronization: all events (close bets, result) are labeled 'video _ ts'; The AR layer relies on these timecodes to keep the backlight/overlays in sync with the actual outcome.

Multithreading: media stream + event channel (WebSocket/DataChannel) for 3D metadata: table coordinates, camera perspective, round results, cell indices.

2. 2. AR conveyor

1. Table calibration: markers (ArUco/AprilTags) or marker-free calibration by reference points (wheel/table angles).

2. Projection: calculate the 'intrinsics/extrinsics' matrices of the camera and apply 3D overlays in a real perspective.

3. Render: WebGL/WebGPU on the web or native engine (Unity/Unreal) in the application.

4. Layers: priority of system overlays (timer/closing) over decorative ones.

2. 3. VR conveyor

Engine: Unity/Unreal with OpenXR; support for helmets (Quest/PSVR/SteamVR) and WebXR (browser version).

Content types:

"Video room" - a real dealer as a flat/curved screen + 3D environment.
"Hybrid" - a real dealer is projected onto an avatar/media store (volumetric or 3D reconstruction).
"Native VR table" - a completely virtual stage, dealer-avatar, physics of chips.
Network: synchronization of bets and positions of players through a server authoritative hub; voice chat with noise cancellation and moderation.

3) Latency and performance requirements

AR: target e2e ≤ 2.5 s; for a "living hand" - the smaller the better. Stability is more important than absolute number; jitter of timecodes breaks overlays.

VR: head movement requires 72-90 fps for comfort (render local), video/events are synchronized with the world. Motion-to-photon ≤ 20 ms for local objects; the external stream may be "slower," but the animation of the table and gestures is locally predictable.

Render: we use LOD, butching draw calls, instancing for chips/tokens; shadows are fake/projected so as not to "eat up" the GPU.

4) UX patterns AR: "highlight the meaning - do not overload the frame"

Thin overlays: contour highlights, soft glow, short animations 120-180 ms.

Utility focus: Odds/odds, current limits, "betting window closes through..." - everything is next to the corresponding area of the table.

Gests: taps in real cells through the smartphone/tablet screen; pinch zoom for sector approximation.

Accessibility: high contrast, alternative modes for color blind, text doublers of prompts.

5) UX VR patterns: presence and control

Thumb zone... in 3D: quick gestures (grab a chip, put), "beam" from the controller, large hover tips.

Spatial sound: direction of the dealer/players voice, "click" of chips; volume is tied to distance.

Social layers: private "lodges," emoji reactions with gestures, quick addition of friends.

No motion sickness: teleport, fixed camera in close-up, minimize sudden scene movements.

6) 3D data and machine vision

Object tracking: roulette/wheel/croupier - through pre-verified presets and/or markers; the hot zone position of the table is stored as anchor points.

Trajectory calculation: for roulette - AR-line of the ball trajectory after "close bets" (informative, not predictive!).

Calibration during camera switching: at each interchangeable angle - quick recalibration by markers/reference points; we keep the matrix cache on the client.

7) Safety and compliance in AR/VR

Honesty before "effects": no AR clues should give a "temporary advantage." "Truth" events come from server logic, not the client/visual layer.

RG (responsible game): session timer, soft pauses, late betting block with high e2e client delay - in both AR and VR.

Privacy: minimize PII; voice chat - moderation, local filters, mute/block in one action.

Cybersecurity: TLS 1. 3/mTLS, event signatures, tokenization, restriction protection (watermarks/dynamic overlays).

8) Pipelining content: from studio to device

Encoding: for live tables - H.264 (compatibility), if possible HEVC/AV1 for spectator feed; short GOP ≤ 2 c, keyframe-on-demand.

Metadata for AR: a separate channel (WebSocket/DataChannel) with 'table _ id', 'camera _ id', camera matrices, timecodes, round states.

VR assets: optimized mesh (up to 50-150k tris per table), 1-2K textures with atlases; dealer character retopology (if avatars).

Audio: Opus for WebRTC (48 kHz), compressed spatial mix for VR client.

9) Metrics and SLO: how to understand that everything works

Video/AR

e2e delay (95p ≤ 2.5 s), overlay synchronization (out of sync ≤ 150-250 ms), render frame rate ≥ 30-60 fps.

VR

Scene FPS ≥ 72/90 (depending on HMD), average frame time ≤ 13-11 ms; percentage of personnel drop <1%.

WebRTC/Network

RTT ≤ 120 ms (95p), packet loss ≤ 1-2%, TURN-relay share by region under control.

Product

Time to first bid, late-bet rate, NPS VR room, holding sessions AR vs regular UI, controversial rounds.

10) Implementation roadmap: phased and no "revolutions"

Stage 1. AR overlays on the web/mobile

Sector/delivered chips illumination, ball trajectory, timers.

WebGL/WebGPU render over live stream; synthetics and RUM metrics.

Stage 2. AR gestures and smart tips

Quick bets on touch anchors, contextual odds, a separate "training" topic for beginners.

Stage 3. VR Video Room

Real dealer on a curved screen + 3D room, voice chat, private rooms; minimum iron requirements.

Stage 4. Full VR table

Full virtual table, avatars, haptika (controllers/gloves), tournaments and VIP boxes.

Stage 5. Hybrids and UGC

Thematic studios, collaborations with streamers, custom "skins" of tables within the framework of compliance.

11) Haptika, gestures and ergonomics

Haptika: easy impulses when confirming a bet/winning, tactile "clicks" of chips.

Gestures in VR: capturing/shifting chips, pointer-beam for distant cells, snap prompts when hitting a valid area.

Fatigue: short sessions, the ability to play while sitting, "quick" macros (double, repeat).

12) Availability (A11y) and localization

AR: alternative color schemes, large controls, voice prompts.

VR: dealer subtitles, speech speed adjustment, scene "reduced mobility" mode, interface scale.

Localization: language tables, local currency/formats, RTL mode, cultural topics for studios.

13) Testing and observability

Synthetic samples: e2e delay, unsynchronized AR overlays, frame rate stability.

RUM/WebRTC-stats: RTT, loss, jitter, NACK/PLI/RTX, FPS render, time to first bet.

Soak tests: long VR sessions 60-120 minutes to detect memory leaks and overheating.

Incidents: pre-prescribed runbook 'and: switching profiles, folback VR → 2D, disabling "expensive" effects.

14) Economics and monetization features

AR onboarding: higher conversion of beginners (understandable bets and "live" tips).

VR-loyalty: premium experience, private tables, brand events.

Cross-sell: from AR mobile to VR parties with friends; from VR to themed slots/tournaments.

Payback: metrics - uplift to rate conversion, increase in LTV in the AR/VR cohort, decrease in dispute rate.

15) Frequent mistakes and how to avoid them

Overloaded AR screen: "fireworks" on top of the video → visual fatigue. Solution: priority of system prompts, limit of active effects.

High e2e delay: Overlays are "late." Solution: strict delay budget, keyframe-on-demand, adaptive buffer.

VR motion sickness: excessive camera/scene movements. Solution: teleport, fix camera, 90 fps.

Opaque "win clues": The player thinks the AR "prompts the bet." Solution: clear disclaimers and neutral wording.

Lack of RUM: the command is "blind" to AR/video misalignments. Solution: mandatory Clien metrics.

16) Production readiness checklist

Video and sync

WebRTC for Interactive, LL-HLS Folback
e2e AR ≤ 2.5s (95p), stable timecodes' video _ ts'
Keyframe-on-demand, GOP ≤ 2 c

AR layer

Camera calibration (anchors/markers), correct matrices
System overlay priority, A11y mode
RUM: overlay out of sync, render FPS

VR layer

72/90 fps, teleport navigation, no scene surges
Spatial audio, voice chat moderation
Quality Profiles, Fast VR → 2D Folback

Security/Compliance

TLS 1. 3/mTLS, event signing, tokenization
RG limits, block of late bets at high e2e
Voice/Video Privacy, WORM Replay Rounds

Operations

Synthetics and alerts (e2e, out of sync, FPS, RTT/loss/jitter)
Effect/Profile/Folback Switch Runbook
Post-incident reports and threshold tuning

AR and VR do not "decorate" live casinos - they strengthen its basic values: clarity, presence and control. AR gives hints "at the scene" and makes a meaningful bet; VR takes the player to an atmospheric hall with a social layer and haptics. Technically, success is built on delay discipline (WebRTC + timecode synchronization), neat 3D piping, thoughtful UX and strong security. A phased roadmap - from web AR to full-fledged VR tables - allows you to get business impact early and safely scale innovation.