Live dealer content is a distinct product from RNG casino games, and the API that delivers it inherits that difference. This guide is written to be useful whichever suppliers you end up with: what a live casino API does, how live integration differs from slots, who the major live studios are and what each is genuinely known for, and which technical questions decide whether a live lobby works for your players. For the general integration mechanics, see the casino games API guide and the iGaming API developer hub.
What a live casino API is
A live casino API lists the tables available to your brand, opens a session for a player at a specific table, and settles the bets that player places there. The visible game is a video stream produced by the studio, with a betting interface layered over it; your API traffic carries the surrounding state — which tables exist, their limits and languages, when betting is open, and what each round settled to.
Catalog, session launch and wallet callbacks are recognisable to anyone who has integrated slots. What is new is that the game exists independently of your player and keeps running whether they are seated or not.
How live differs from RNG slots
Six differences drive most of the practical work. None of them makes live integration harder in a technical sense; they make it different in an operational one.
Real-time video
The game surface is a live stream from a studio, not client-side software. Stream delivery, bandwidth and regional edge performance become part of the player experience.
Shared table clock
Tables run on the studio's schedule with defined betting windows. Players join a round in progress rather than starting one, which changes session and UI behaviour.
Many players per round
One round settles for everyone seated. Wallet traffic arrives in bursts around window close instead of spreading evenly as with slots.
Human dealers and language
Localization means native-speaking dealers and localized tables, not just translated strings — a physical operating decision on the studio side.
Latency sensitivity
A delay that a slot player never notices can cause a live player to miss a betting window, so latency is a product concern rather than a nicety.
Finite capacity
Studio tables are physical assets with real limits at peak. Table availability and seat capacity are commercial questions worth asking early.
For how the slot side behaves by comparison, the slots API guide covers launch, wallet models and metadata in detail.
Major live casino providers
The descriptions below reflect what each supplier is publicly and widely known for. They are deliberately qualitative: we do not publish market-share figures, pricing or performance statistics about other companies, and you should be sceptical of anyone who does. Availability differs by market, so always confirm against your own licences.
Evolution
The most widely recognised name in live dealer content, known for a broad table portfolio spanning classic games and game-show style formats, a large multi-studio footprint and extensive localized tables. Frequently the reference point operators compare other live suppliers against.
Pragmatic Play Live
A live vertical from a supplier already well established in slots, offering core live table games alongside game-show formats. Its appeal is often the ability to source live and RNG content from a single well-known brand with a consistent presentation style.
Playtech Live
A long-established supplier with substantial live studio operations and strong experience in regulated markets. Known for dedicated and branded table capability and for serving large, licensed operators with bespoke live environments.
Ezugi
Recognised for a strong regional and emerging-market focus, with localized tables and dealers aimed at specific player communities, including game variants popular in particular regions rather than a purely European table set.
BetGames
A distinctive supplier focused on betting-style live formats such as dice, lottery-style and card draws presented by live hosts. It suits operators wanting live content that sits closer to a betting product than to a classic casino table.
Beyond these, a number of regional and specialist live studios serve particular markets well, often with language and game variants the larger suppliers do not prioritise. If your player base is concentrated in one region, those are worth shortlisting alongside the global names.
Key technical considerations
Streaming latency and stability
Test from the regions your players are in, at your peak hours. Ask how streams are delivered and what happens on a degraded connection — does quality step down or does the stream drop?
Mobile experience
Most live play is mobile. Check portrait layouts, data usage, behaviour in in-app browsers and whether a session recovers cleanly after a network switch mid-round.
Localization
Native-language tables and dealers materially affect engagement in many markets. Ask which languages have dedicated tables rather than only a translated interface.
Table customization
Options typically range from shared tables, to branded environments, to fully dedicated tables. Each step increases commitment and operational involvement.
Bet limits and currency
Limits are set per table, so your VIP and mass-market segments may need different tables. Confirm currency support and how limits map to your player tiers.
Wallet behaviour under bursts
Settlement for a whole table lands at once. Your wallet must stay idempotent and fast under that pattern, which differs from steady slot traffic.
Certification and markets
Live tables are certified for the markets they operate in, and the studio's own licensing position matters as well as the game's. Which tables you may offer, which limits apply and what must be recorded are jurisdiction-specific. Your licence and your market-by-market content restrictions remain your responsibility as the operator — a supplier or aggregator supports those conditions but does not carry them for you. Take local legal advice before launching live content in any market.
How aggregation applies to live content
Aggregation works the same way for live as for RNG: one integration and one wallet contract can expose tables from several live studios, with a single catalog shape and one reporting surface. That is useful when you want more than one live supplier — for example a global studio plus a regional one — without repeating the integration for each.
What aggregation does not change is that the stream and the table are the studio's. Video quality, dealer operation, table schedules and capacity stay with the studio, and an aggregator that claims otherwise is overselling. IPlayGames is one aggregation option for reaching live studios through a single integration, and it should be compared honestly against going direct to a live supplier — the one API vs many providers comparison and the casino game aggregator guide set out both sides.
Evaluating a live casino provider
Availability in your markets
Provider and table availability varies by jurisdiction and licence. Check the specific tables, not just the provider name.
Test the stream yourself
Watch tables during your peak hours from your players' regions and on real mobile networks, not from an office connection.
Ask about capacity
What happens at your busiest hour if the tables you rely on are full? Understand seat capacity and overflow behaviour before launch.
Documentation and sandbox
Clear, current documentation and hands-on sandbox access before signing tell you a lot about how the integration will feel afterwards.
Support and escalation
Live issues are visible to players immediately. Confirm escalation paths and response expectations in writing.
Reporting granularity
Check that reporting distinguishes table, round and player at the level your reconciliation and compliance processes need.
Frequently asked questions
What is a live casino API?
A live casino API is the interface an operator uses to list live dealer tables, open a seated session for a player against a real studio table, and settle the bets placed at that table. The game itself is a live video stream from a physical or virtual studio, with a betting layer rendered over it, so the API also carries table state such as open and closed betting windows.
How does live casino integration differ from RNG slots?
Slots are self-contained software rounds started on demand by one player. Live tables run continuously on the studio's own clock, shared by many players, with fixed betting windows and streamed video. That changes capacity planning, session behaviour, latency sensitivity and how bet settlement is timed, even though the catalog and wallet interfaces look broadly similar.
Which providers supply live casino content?
The best-known names in live dealer content include Evolution, Pragmatic Play Live, Playtech Live, Ezugi and BetGames, alongside a number of regional and specialist studios. Each has its own studio footprint, table portfolio and localization strategy, and availability varies by market and licence.
What technical factors matter most for live casino?
Streaming latency and stream stability for your players' regions, mobile behaviour including portrait play and recovery after a dropped connection, language and dealer localization, whether branded or dedicated tables are available, and the certification position of each table in each market you operate in.
Can live casino content be delivered through an aggregator?
Yes. Aggregation applies to live content in the same way it applies to slots: one integration and one wallet contract can expose tables from several live studios. The video stream still comes from the studio itself, so stream quality and table operation remain the studio's responsibility rather than the aggregator's.
Are branded or dedicated tables worth it?
They can be, where a brand has enough concurrent live players to keep a dedicated table busy and wants a distinctive live product. They carry a commercial commitment and operational involvement that a shared table does not, so they suit established live-focused brands more than a new lobby finding its audience.
The right live line-up depends on your markets, languages and player mix. If you would like to see how live tables look through a single integration, the iGaming API developer hub covers the interfaces, or talk to our team about which live studios fit your markets.
Try it in the sandbox
Full documentation and SDKs — sandbox credentials are configured for your integration after a short setup call.