EZ Baccarat, a popular variant at retail casinos, will soon be available for online play thanks to Galaxy Gaming and Evolution. What’s more, Galaxy Gaming will be introducing two new side bets for the game at this year’s Global Gaming Expo: Divine 9 and Golden Talons. These will complement the existing two side bets, Dragon 7 and Panda 8.
Per CDC Gaming Reports, online distribution for EZ Baccarat will come through Evolution, soon to become Galaxy’s parent company. Evolution and Galaxy Gaming have a long relationship, which led to the gaming giant announcing a $85 million deal to acquire Galaxy in July.
The Difference Between EZ Baccarat and the Traditional Game
EZ Baccarat is popular with players and casino operators alike because of its fast pace of play.
The most significant difference between EZ Baccarat and traditional baccarat is that EZ baccarat has no commission on winning bets on the banker’s hand. To preserve the house edge, the game instead includes the “Dragon 7” rule, which results in banker bets becoming a push if the banker wins with three cards and a score of seven. It’s this refinement that allows for faster gameplay and more hands per hour by eliminating the need to count out a 19-20 payout.
In its original form, EZ Baccarat has two side bets, Dragon 7 and Panda 8:
- Dragon 7 wins if the banker hand wins with a three-card total of seven—the same result that leads to standard banker bets becoming a push. It pays 40-1.
- Panda 8 wins if the player hand wins with a three-card total of eight, paying 25-1.
With the new update, the game will include four side bets. The Divine 9 side bet follows the same pattern as the other two, paying out if the winning hand is a three-card total of nine. It only pays out 10-1, but it doesn’t matter whether the winning hand is the player’s or the dealer’s. What’s more, it pays out 75-1 in the case of a tie, if both players have a three-card nine.
The Golden Talons side bet is more complicated, paying out according to a table based on “natural” hands (a two-card eight or nine) or certain margins of victory.
Read More: How to Play Baccarat
Evolution Takeover Opens Online Doors for Galaxy
Evolution’s acquisition of Galaxy Gaming comes after a nearly nine-year collaboration.
Historically, Galaxy’s focus has been on the US retail casino market. However, Evolution has brought its games to international audiences in the form of online live dealer adaptations, including Double Ball Roulette, Caribbean Stud, and Texas Hold’em Bonus Poker. Interestingly, these variants haven’t yet made it into Evolution’s US-based live dealer studios. However, Evolution has incorporated some of Galaxy’s popular side bets in its US live dealer games, such as the 21+3 blackjack bet.
In 2023, following the announcement of a 10-year partnership extension, Galaxy’s Director of iGaming & Performance, Jason McCulloch, told Bonus that Evolution would bring two of its games to US online casinos.
So far, that hasn’t happened, but Evolution’s acquisition of Galaxy may accelerate the process. Bringing Galaxy in-house is a long-term cost-saving play for Evolution, giving it access to many unique games and side bets without the need to pay royalties. Strategically, that makes it likely that we’ll see more adaptations of Galaxy’s games for live dealer play once the acquisition is complete. These include concepts like Roulette Up, Split To Double Blackjack, Yes Dice, Three Dice Baccarat, Buster Blackjack, and Bonus Craps.