Live casino

How a live casino differs from ordinary table games

In ordinary online roulette or blackjack, a random number generator (RNG) picks the result - software you never see. At a live table the result is whatever happens on the table: the dealer deals the cards, the ball drops into a pocket, and a camera shows it all live. You bet in the game window while the betting timer runs, then the dealer starts the round.

The pace differs too. A live round takes as long as the dealer and the players need, so you get far fewer rounds an hour than in the automated version. Live tables usually have no demo mode, and on a weak connection the picture can stall. In return, you see every card.

Which games a live casino has

Our casino cards most often name four game groups in the live section: blackjack, roulette, baccarat and game shows. Before you bet, know the house edge - the share of each stake the casino keeps over the long run. Every game sits side by side in our guide to the house edge of casino games.

Blackjack

Blackjack tends to fill most of a live section: in October, 315 of Spinbara's 569 live tables were blackjack. Rules and basic strategy are in our blackjack guide, and live-table quirks such as Bet Behind and side bets in our live blackjack article. Before you sit down, open the table rules. A table that pays 6:5 on a blackjack instead of 3:2 adds roughly 1.4 percentage points to the house edge. A dealer who hits soft 17 adds about 0.22 more.

Roulette

In live roulette the dealer throws the ball and you see the result on a real wheel. Rules and bet types are in our roulette guide. Before you bet, check how many zeros the wheel has: on American double-zero roulette the house edge is 5.26% on standard bets and 7.89% on the five-number bet (0, 00, 1, 2, 3).

In Evolution's Lightning Roulette, each round has one to five Lucky Numbers that pay 50x to 500x straight up. In exchange, an ordinary straight-up win pays 29:1 instead of the usual 35:1. What that does to the odds is in our Lightning Roulette guide.

Baccarat

In baccarat you bet on the banker, the player or a tie, and the dealer does the rest by fixed rules. With 8 decks the banker wins 45.86% of hands, the player 44.62%, and 9.52% end in a tie. The banker bet with 5% commission carries a 1.06% house edge, the player bet 1.24% (calculated from the game rules). Third-card rules and bet types are in our baccarat guide.

Game shows

In game shows a host spins a big money wheel, and the real action is in the bonus rounds. Evolution launched Crazy Time in July 2020 and states its RTP as 96.08%, with a 1 in 6 chance of landing a bonus round on each spin. That makes the house edge 3.92%, well above baccarat. The top multiplier in the bonus game is 20,000x. Why the shows took off is in our piece on casino live shows.

Do live bets count towards bonus wagering?

This is where live players most often get let down. Welcome bonuses are usually built for slots, and live tables are the exception in their terms. Klondaika's casino card, based on its terms, puts it plainly: "Wagering has to be met on slots; live games don't count."

Other casinos vary, but in the same direction:

• Live tables close during a bonus. RioAce, Cosmic Slot, Lollyspins and Casabet lock live games while a bonus is active.
• Live bets don't count, or the bonus doesn't work there. That's how the Spininio and Art casino terms read.
• Live bets count in part. Kingmaker and Spinbara count live bets at 10%, and Spinbara counts Crazy Time and similar shows at half.
• Some live games are allowed. iWild lets bonus money go into six Evolution live games, including Crazy Time, and Snatch counts those six towards wagering.

Some offers are aimed at live players. In October Spinbara ran a 25% live casino cashback up to €200. Klondaika's card lists €0.25 back per bet on the Extra Chilli Epic Spins show, up to 40 times, with a deposit of at least €100, and Optibet's card counts six live casino offers on its promotions page. If live tables are why you came, compare such an offer with a welcome bonus whose wagering ignores live bets.

Which casinos have live games

The table lists all 18 casinos with game counts, welcome offers and what each card says about the live section. We read Optibet's and Klondaika's live table and show counts (219 and 217) from their sitemaps on 6 October 2026, and checked Spinbara's live section from Latvia on 25 October.

What to check before your first bet at a live table

• Which studio runs the table? Live tables usually come from a game provider's studio, and the casino adds them to its lobby. On our cards Evolution comes up most often, then Pragmatic Play Live, Ezugi and Amusnet. The line-up can differ from Latvia: in October, Evolution was missing from Spinbara's provider page.
• What are the table limits? Each table usually shows its minimum and maximum bet, and they vary between tables. Check them before you pick one. With a bonus, mind the maximum bet too: €5 at iWild and Snatch, €100 at Spinbara.
• Does the stream run smoothly on your phone? Live games are video, so they use more data and need a steadier connection than slots. Watch a couple of rounds before your first bet and make sure the picture doesn't stutter and the bet button is easy to hit.

SpinsPilot sets the order of the list. We have partnership agreements with some of these casinos: if you sign up through our link, we earn a commission, but your bonus and terms stay the same.