SmartLiveCasino.com — the London-based online casino which broadcasts live roulette on satellite and digital terrestrial telly — gave regular punter a shock this morning when it “disappeared” from the airwaves.

Worried viewers phoned the casino’s helpdesk to ask why SKY was showing “Channel Unavailable” when they tried to access channel 851.

Unexpected Switch

But normal service was resumed when they were told that the service had simply MOVED to channel 869: the Freeview service which broadcasts between 1am and 3am is not affected.

A customer service spokesman for Smart TV — the company which runs Smart Live Casino from studios in west London — said the switch had been FORCED on them by satellite broadcasters BSkyB.

“You might think it’s almost as if they like to juggle things around a bit,” he joked. “But actually, it’s all down to upcoming new channels on the SKY network.

Another Wheel

“Our presenters have been warning about the change for a while but some people always miss out on the news — including some of our staff! We were happy to help out.”

At the same time, Smart TV have also launched a NEW gaming channel — Casino TV on SKY 870 — which will show uninterrupted coverage of a fully-automatic live roulette wheel 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Smart Live Casino also shows an automatic wheel outside presenter-led times (3am – 5pm).