How Live Dealer Casino Games Work
A live dealer game is an online version of a casino table game, such as blackjack, roulette or poker, in which a real dealer is streamed to your screen and the result comes from physical play. Our guide explains the studio, the technology and the UK rules, so you can see how the result reaches your screen and why the tables are fair.
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A Real Table, Streamed to Your Screen
If you are wondering how live casino games work, here is the short answer: they are games run by a real person and are streamed live, making them feel closer to a land-based casino. On classic tables, the outcome is determined by a physical wheel, card or ball rather than a random number generator, although game shows and Lightning games add RNG multipliers on top.
GLI, an independent testing laboratory, describes the dealer as a person who ‘deals the game in real-time from a gaming table at a secure physical gaming studio’. A high-definition video feed carries that table to your desktop or mobile, where you place bets through the screen.
At a casino licensed by the UK Gambling Commission, the studio falls under UKGC standards as well as the site you play on. If you already know the mechanics and want to place a bet, our guide to live casino sites for UK players shows where to play.
Inside a Live Dealer Studio
Every live studio is built around tables of commercial casino quality, with cameras trained on the action. The UKGC standard for live dealer games asks for equipment and consumables of that quality and for croupiers to undergo adequate training.
The dealers do not work unsupervised either. Staff oversee their activity, video surveillance records it, and access controls keep the secure areas for authorised personnel only. A round follows the same basic order at almost every table:
- A betting window opens, and a timer counts down on your screen.
- The timer ends, and bets lock for that round.
- The dealer spins the wheel, deals the cards or rolls the dice.
- Immediately, result-capture equipment identifies the outcome and sends it to the game software.
- The software settles every bet, and winnings reach your balance automatically.
Because betting closes before the physical action starts, nobody can place a stake once the ball is moving or the first card is out, which mirrors the ‘no more bets’ call at a land-based table.
How the Game Control Unit and OCR Work
GLI explains that the results of the dealer’s physical actions ‘are translated into data that can be utilised by the software by means of optical character recognition (OCR) technology.’ In plain terms, OCR is camera-based reading of what happens on the table.
Each table is also typically linked to a device often called a game control unit (GCU). It works alongside the video and recognition kit to pass the result to the game software, while the outcome itself still comes from the physical result at the table. That captured data also feeds the game logs UK rules expect live operators to keep.
How the Stream Reaches You
The supplier Evolution says its live roulette is ‘streamed to your screens in flawless HD quality’, using multiple cameras around the table. A betting panel sits over the video and shows the timer for the current round.
The picture travels to you over the internet, so it reaches your screen shortly after the action takes place in the studio. That short delay is one reason bets lock before the dealer spins or deals.
Live Casino vs RNG Casino Games
The biggest difference is where the result comes from. The table below compares the two formats.
| Feature | Live Dealer Game | RNG Game |
|---|---|---|
| Source of the Result | Physical cards, wheels or dice | Random number generator |
| Pace of Play | Set by the dealer and the betting timer | Set by you, one round per click |
| Atmosphere | Real dealer on camera, often with chat | Animated table, no dealer |
| What You Can Check | The physical action, live on screen | The game rules and stated RTP |
RTP often confuses people. RTP, or return to player, is a theoretical long-run return determined by the game’s rules and payout structure rather than whether the game is played live or through an RNG. For example, a single-zero roulette wheel has 37 pockets, and a straight-up bet pays 35 to 1. In theoretical long-run terms, the expected return is 36 units for every 37 staked, which is a theoretical return of 97.30%, live or RNG.
Only a rule change moves that figure, such as a different payout rate or an extra zero. Our guide to how RTP works covers the maths. UK rules require key information, including the game rules and relevant RTP, house edge or winning probabilities, to be easily available before you bet.
Pace is where the two formats really part ways. A live round waits for the betting window and the dealer, so it usually takes longer than an RNG round you trigger yourself. Roulette and blackjack keep the same rules in both formats. For tactics, see our blackjack strategy guide and roulette strategy guide.
Are Live Casinos Rigged? The UK Rules
Start with the licence. The UKGC’s licence guidance says a business needs a Commission licence to offer online gambling to consumers in Great Britain, regardless of where it is based.
Suppliers that manufacture, supply, install or adapt remote gaming software for the British market require the relevant gambling licence, too. The UKGC issues a separate remote gambling software licence, which allows a business to ‘manufacture, supply, install or adapt gambling software by means of remote communication’. Suppliers do not contract with players. Their games reach you through a licensed operator’s site.
RTS 17A states that ‘live dealer operations must be fair and independently auditable’. The standard covers video surveillance and game logs, and expects game data to be analysed for trends.
The UKGC’s Remote gambling and software technical standards (RTS 7) cover mechanical random outcomes, such as a roulette wheel. The guidance says mechanical pieces should not decompose over time (‘a ball shall not disintegrate’) and that the properties of physical items ‘should not be altered’.
It also says players should not be able to interact with, touch or manipulate the mechanics of the game. Independent testing backs this up. The UKGC publishes a testing strategy for compliance with its technical standards and keeps a list of approved test houses, which includes GLI among the approved labs.
GLI describes remote testing and on-site inspections as part of its live dealer testing. It carries out ‘an On-Site Inspection of the Live Dealer Studio and Premises’, covering staffing, premises, synchronicity and technical checks.
Before you bet, UK rules require the game rules and your chances of winning to be easy to find. RTS 3C says this information ‘must be easily available before the customer commits to gamble’, including how the game works, the house edge and the RTP or probability of winning.
One rule does not carry over from slots. The online slot stake limits of £5 per spin for players aged 25 and over (from 9 April 2025) and £2 for 18 to 24 year olds (from 21 May 2025) apply to slots only. UKGC guidance says they do not apply to other casino games, so live roulette and blackjack sit outside them.
Who Runs the Live Studios
The tables in a UK casino lobby usually come from specialist suppliers rather than the casino. Those suppliers need UKGC licences of their own, and two of the main names state theirs openly. Evolution says in its site footer that Evolution Malta Holdings Limited is licensed and regulated in Great Britain by the Gambling Commission under account number 41655.
Its rival Playtech makes the same statement in its site footer, for Playtech Plc under account number 38516. The casino operator and the relevant game supplier are subject to separate UKGC licensing requirements where applicable. A UK casino can also bring its own venue online.
Evolution announced in October 2017 that Dual Play Roulette would run live from the Vic, Grosvenor’s Victoria Casino in London, putting land-based patrons and online players at the same table.
Online players joined on desktop, tablet or smartphone. Evolution then extended the offering with Dual Play Baccarat at the Vic in January 2018. Playtech unveiled a dedicated Sky Vegas live casino studio in April 2021, and Sky Vegas called Playtech its ‘long-term technology partner’.
Pragmatic Play, Ezugi and Authentic Gaming are other names you will find in live lobbies. Game shows sit alongside the classic tables, and Evolution presents Crazy Time and Monopoly Live as live game shows. Each game page carries its published rules and RTP, so you can check both before you play.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the most common questions about live dealer games in the UK.
Sources & Further Reading
- RTS 17: Live Dealer Studios – UK Gambling Commission
- RTS 7: Generation of Random Outcomes – UK Gambling Commission
- RTS 3: Rules, Game Descriptions and the Likelihood of Winning – UK Gambling Commission
- Remote Gambling and Software Technical Standards – UK Gambling Commission
- Testing Strategy for Compliance with Remote Gambling and Software Technical Standards – UK Gambling Commission
- Approved Test Houses – UK Gambling Commission
- Remote Casino (Game Host) Operating Licence – UK Gambling Commission
- Remote Gambling Software Licence – UK Gambling Commission
- Online Slots Stake Limit Guidance – UK Gambling Commission
- Live Dealer Gaming – Gaming Laboratories International (GLI)
- Evolution Licensing Statement (Site Footer) – Evolution
- Playtech Licensing Statement (Site Footer) – Playtech
- Evolution Dual Play Roulette Will Be Live from Grosvenor Casinos (October 2017) – Evolution
- Evolution Extends Grosvenor’s Dual Play Offering with Dual Play Baccarat (January 2018) – Evolution
- Playtech Unveils New Dedicated Sky Vegas Live Casino Studio (April 2021) – Playtech
- Live Roulette – Evolution
- What Is RTP? – BestCasino.co.uk
- UK Gambling Commission Guide – BestCasino.co.uk
- Blackjack Strategy Guide – BestCasino.co.uk
- Roulette Strategy Guide – BestCasino.co.uk