What Is a Live Dealer Casino?
A live dealer casino streams real tables, real cards and real wheels from a studio in real time. Here is how the video, the equipment and your bets fit together.
Live Casino vs RNG Casino Games
How live dealer games and RNG games differ: where each result comes from, how pace changes what a session costs, how limits and variety compare, and when each format suits you.
By the Lunaris Editorial TeamPublished Sep 6, 2026
RNG games are run entirely by software: a certified random number generator picks the outcome the instant you place your bet. Live casino games are run by a human dealer with physical cards, wheels or dice in a studio, streamed to your screen in real time. Both are held to the same standard when properly certified — what differs is how the result is created, how fast the game moves and how it feels to play.
For most players the practical question is not which format is more trustworthy but which one suits the session they want. That comes down to pace, stakes, variety and how bonuses treat each type of game.
Where the result actually comes from
In an RNG game, every outcome traces back to a random number generator — a piece of certified software that produces unpredictable values on demand. When you spin a slot reel, deal a virtual blackjack hand or click a roulette wheel, the generator selects a number and the graphics simply illustrate what it chose. Independent testing laboratories examine that software before it goes live and confirm that its output is statistically random and matches its published return figures. Our guide to how random number generators work covers the testing process in more detail.
In a live game, the outcome is a physical event. A ball lands in a numbered pocket, a card comes off a shoe, a wheel stops on a segment. Optical recognition software reads that result and translates it into your bet settlement, but the event itself happened in front of a camera. The studio's controls — sealed shoes, calibrated wheels, supervisors, multiple camera angles — are what make it reliable, and you can watch each one unfold. The live dealer casino guide explains how those studios operate.
The distinction matters mostly in how trust is established. One format asks you to rely on independent certification of code you cannot see; the other shows you the physical event directly. Neither approach is loose.
Pace: the difference that costs the most money
The most underrated difference between the two formats is speed, because speed determines how much money passes through the house edge.
A live table runs on a fixed rhythm. Bets open, a countdown runs, the dealer acts, results are settled and chips are cleared. That cycle takes as long as it takes, and it is the same for everyone at the table. An RNG version of the same game has no such constraint: the next round begins the moment you ask for it.
| Aspect | Live dealer table | RNG table |
|---|---|---|
| Who sets the pace | The dealer and the betting timer | You |
| Rounds in a session | Fewer, on a fixed cycle | Many more, if you keep clicking |
| Pausing mid-session | The table continues without you | Stops entirely |
| Typical minimum stake | Higher | Lower |
A worked example: one hour of European roulette
European roulette carries a house edge of about 2.70% regardless of whether the wheel is physical or simulated. What changes is how many spins you get through.
Suppose you bet $2 per spin in both formats. A live table gets through roughly 40 spins in an hour once you account for betting windows, the spin itself and settlement. Playing an RNG table at a comfortable but unhurried pace, you might complete 200 spins in the same hour.
| Metric | Live table | RNG table |
|---|---|---|
| Spins in the hour | 40 | 200 |
| Stake per spin | $2 | $2 |
| Total wagered | $80 | $400 |
| House edge | 2.70% | 2.70% |
| Expected cost of the hour | About $2.16 | About $10.80 |
The percentage is identical. The expected cost of the session is five times higher on the faster format, purely because five times as much money crossed the table. This is the single most useful thing to understand about the comparison: an RNG game is not a worse bet, but it is a faster one, and speed multiplies whatever edge exists. If you want to keep an hour's entertainment within a set budget, either lower the stake on the faster format or slow down. The house edge guide walks through this arithmetic in more depth.
Variety, limits and availability
RNG libraries are far larger. Slots, video poker, crash games, instant-win titles and dozens of table variants exist only as software, and many have no live counterpart at all. Minimum stakes are usually lower, games load in seconds, and you can move between titles freely.
Live libraries are curated rather than vast. A studio can only run as many physical tables as it has staff and floor space, so you get a focused selection of blackjack, roulette, baccarat, poker variants and game shows. Table limits often run higher at the top end, and tables open and close on a schedule rather than being available in every variant at every moment.
How bonuses treat each format
This is where the two formats diverge in a way that catches players out. Bonus programmes almost always weight game types differently when counting progress towards a wagering requirement, and live tables are usually weighted lowest.
At Lunaris the contribution table works out as follows:
| Game type | Contribution towards wagering |
|---|---|
| Non-progressive slots | 100% |
| Video poker | 20% |
| RNG blackjack variants | 10% |
| Roulette | 10% |
| Live games | 1% |
Lunaris also does not offer bonuses on live casino games at all, so a live session is played with your own funds. The practical takeaway is straightforward: if you are working through a bonus, slots do the job efficiently and live tables do not.
Common misconceptions
- Myth: live games are honest and RNG games are not. Reality: certified RNG software is tested by independent laboratories against the same standards the studio equipment must meet. The verification method differs; the requirement does not.
- Myth: RNG games remember what you have won and adjust. Reality: each result is generated independently. Software does not track your session balance and change the odds in response to it.
- Myth: live tables have better odds. Reality: the odds follow the rules of the specific game. An eight-deck blackjack table paying 6:5 is worse than a six-deck RNG table paying 3:2, whichever format it is in.
- Myth: a live dealer can influence where the ball lands. Reality: studio wheels are calibrated and supervised precisely to remove that possibility, and dealers rotate between tables under continuous recording.
- Myth: playing faster gives you more chances to win. Reality: it gives you more chances to win and more chances to lose, with the house edge applied to every one. Faster play increases expected cost, not expected profit.
Live and RNG games at Lunaris
Lunaris runs both formats side by side, with a library of over 1,000 games from established providers covering slots, table games and live dealer tables. The live casino section holds the streamed tables; the slots section and the wider casino lobby hold the RNG titles, and you can see which studios supply what on the providers page. Everything runs in a browser on desktop and mobile without a download.
A reasonable approach is to use both for what each does well: RNG games for low-stake exploration, variety and bonus play, live tables when you want the pace and atmosphere of a real table and are playing with your own funds. Whichever you choose, the figures in this guide describe long-run averages, not what will happen in your next session. Decide on a budget before you start, treat it as the cost of entertainment, and use the limit tools in your account to hold the line. Play is for adults aged 21 or over, or the legal gambling age in your jurisdiction if higher. Questions about a specific round can go to [email protected] with the game name, round number, stake and time.
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