The short answer is no: live dealers cannot see you or hear you. The video and the dealer’s voice travel one way, from the studio to your screen, and the only things that travel back are your bets and anything you type into the chat.
That one-way design shapes everything else about a live casino. This page follows a single bet from your phone to a real table and back, using the testing standard most US states and many other regulators rely on, regulator orders about specific studios, and the largest provider’s own annual report. Where a source does not say something, we say so instead of guessing.
- Live studios run by Evolution, the largest provider, at the end of 2025
- 24
- Evolution Annual Report 2025
- Live tables Evolution operated for casino customers at the end of 2025
- ~2,000
- Evolution Annual Report 2025
- Frame rate of the CCTV cameras in one New Jersey studio, recorded 24/7
- 30 FPS
- NJ DGE order, 2022
- Minimum time GLI-19 says game recordings are kept, unless a regulator sets a different period
- 90 days
- GLI-19 v3.0, C.6.3
What dealers can and cannot see or hear
A live table has two directions, and they carry very different things.
From the studio to you: the video of the table, the presenter’s voice, the table and game number, the date and time, and the digital layout with your bets, results, and icons for chat and tips. GLI-19, the interactive gaming standard published by Gaming Laboratories International, says the whole process is “viewed by all players through real-time remote audio and video feed”. Pennsylvania’s guidance on studio layouts lists icons for “chat, tips, camera views” as ordinary parts of the screen.
From you to the studio: your bets and decisions, sent “through the player interface or another communication channel” (GLI-19, 4.18.1), and typed chat. Evolution’s job postings describe the presenter’s side of it. A game show host in Michigan will “interact with players through the Live Chat system”. A Philadelphia posting tells applicants there are “no physical players at your table”. A presenter in British Columbia is told to “engage in friendly conversation, without offering your opinion”.
Studio to you
- Live video of the table GLI-19 4.18.1: the whole process is shown by real-time audio and video
- The dealer's voice GLI-19 4.18.1; NJ DGE order PRN 0392302 (hosts talk to players)
- Table and game ID, date and time GLI-19 C.6.4 (a)
- Digital layout, results, chat and tip icons PGCB guidance on studio layouts, 21 September 2023
You to the studio
- Your bets and decisions (hit, stand, split) GLI-19 4.18.1 (b): sent through the player interface
- Typed chat messages Evolution postings: presenters interact "through the Live Chat system"
- Tips, where the casino offers them PGCB layout guidance lists tip icons; US postings pay presenters tips
- Not sent: your camera or microphone No fetched provider, regulator or lab document describes such a channel
So when a dealer greets you by your screen name or answers your question, they are reading text you typed. They reply out loud because the audio channel only runs their way. None of the regulator, test-lab or provider documents we read describes a channel that carries a player’s camera image or microphone to the studio.
What the dealer’s screen shows
Presenters work from a screen. The postings say they “follow on screen instructions”, “introduce players” and announce winners, and New Jersey’s order on celebrity guests refers to the “Dealers’ Modules” at each table. We could not find a public description of exactly what that screen shows for each game, so we do not list its contents. What the standards do require is that the dealer has no way to influence the result beyond the game’s design: GLI-19 says dealers “shall not have the ability to manipulate or influence the physical randomness devices”, and Ontario’s standard 4.36 requires controls “to ensure live dealer game presenters do not compromise the integrity of a game”.
The dealer can see who is betting big and deal against them
The dealer does not choose the cards: they come from a shoe prepared, counted and logged under written procedures, and dealers must have no way to influence the outcome beyond the game’s design (GLI-19, 3.4.4 and C.6.8). The game screen may not give anyone information that predicts the outcome or tracks the cards remaining (4.18.2).
Inside a live studio
A live studio is a set built around real casino tables, with cameras, lighting and a control room. Evolution’s 2025 annual report describes three main “production studios” that serve most of its markets: Riga in Latvia, where new games are developed and launched; Fort Mrieħel in Malta, mainly for native-language tables in regulated markets such as Denmark and Sweden; and Tbilisi in Georgia, its largest hub. It lists 24 studios in total, about 2,000 tables, and presenters speaking 24 languages.
Some studios exist because the law requires it. The report says several were “built to meet the national gaming regulations requiring a physical presence in each market”. Michigan is an example: rule R 432.639b says the live game environment “must be located in this state” unless the board approves otherwise in writing. Pennsylvania’s first live gaming studio opened in October 2020, according to the state board.
| City or state | Country | Role in the report | Country on the group licence list |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riga | Latvia | Production hub; new games developed, tested and launched here | Yes |
| Fort Mrieħel | Malta | Production hub; native-language tables for markets such as Denmark and Sweden | Yes |
| Tbilisi | Georgia | Production hub; the largest | Yes |
| Kaunas | Lithuania | Studio | Not listed |
| Madrid | Spain | Studio (plus on-premise studios at land-based casinos in Spain) | Yes |
| Bucharest | Romania | Studio (plus on-premise studios at land-based casinos in Romania) | Yes |
| Sofia | Bulgaria | Studio | Yes |
| Prague | Czech Republic | Studio | Not listed |
| Yerevan | Armenia | Studio | Not listed |
| Vancouver area | Canada | Studio | Yes |
| NJ, PA, MI, CT | United States | Studios in four states | Yes (each state) |
| Buenos Aires | Argentina | Studio | Yes |
| Medellín | Colombia | Studio | Not listed |
| São Paulo | Brazil | Studio | Not listed |
| Cebu | Philippines | Studio | Not listed |
The licence list names jurisdictions where at least one Evolution brand holds a licence. It is not a list of studio licences, and 'Not listed' does not mean a studio is unlicensed. The report also names Dual Play tables on the premises of land-based casinos in the UK, Malta, Romania and the USA.
Source: Evolution Annual Report 2025, pages 11, 15 and 25 (fetched 9 October 2026)
Source: Evolution Annual Report 2025
See the numbers as a table
| Number of countries | |
|---|---|
| Europe and the Caucasus | 9 |
| South America | 3 |
| North America | 2 |
| Asia | 1 |
Other providers run their own studios. We found only trade-press reports, not company or regulator pages, for the locations of Playtech’s and Pragmatic Play’s studios, so they are not in the table.
Who licenses a studio
The casino you play at holds a licence where you live. The studio is approved separately. In New Jersey, the Division of Gaming Enforcement approved a temporary Evolution studio at an Atlantic City casino in 2022 only after reviewing its camera system, and it set conditions: monitoring equipment installed in the Division’s own office, unrestricted access to surveillance, timestamped recordings and no changes without approval. The Isle of Man takes a different route: a licensee using a studio anywhere in the world must have it inspected on site by an approved test house before use and at least once a year after that.
Cameras, card readers and recognition
Live tables are filmed for two purposes: the stream you watch and surveillance. Standards allow one camera feed to be split for both, or separate networks (GLI-19, C.6.4). The New Jersey approval describes “two closed circuit television (‘CCTV’) systems that include both live game and security feed”, with cameras running at 30 frames per second, security recordings kept 24/7 for at least 30 days, and live game video recorded whenever gaming happens. The UK Gambling Commission’s RTS 17 asks for “video surveillance to record all dealer activity”.
Your screen shows the result as data, not just as video. A card or the winning number is read by what the standards call a specialised device using “automated recognition”, and passed to the game server. GLI-19 (4.18.4) sets four conditions for that software. It must:
- identify results with “a very high degree of accuracy”;
- reveal nothing that could compromise the game, such as the cards in the shoe;
- not change how the device behaves; and
- include a manual mode to correct “an erroneous result (where the device misreads a card, the position of the ball, etc.)”, with players told when that mode is in use.
If the data and the physical result ever disagree, the physical result wins (GLI-19, 4.18.5). Evolution’s report says most of its real-time game protection systems are “based on advanced video recognition technology”. Some tables do not even have a printed felt: Pennsylvania approves “blue or green screen felt layouts that are replaced with a desired digital layout through chroma-keying”.
Source: GLI-19 v3.0, C.6.3; NJ DGE order, Petition 2632201
See the numbers as a table
| Days | |
|---|---|
| GLI-19 C.6.3: game recordings (default) | 90 days |
| NJ DGE order: security recordings | 30 days |
| NJ DGE order: live game video | 30 days |
The path of a bet, step by step
Here is what happens between your tap and your payout. The money never touches the studio: Evolution’s report notes that “it is the operators that handle all monetary transactions with their end users”.
- 1You place a bet in the casino app. The casino operator holds your account and checks your balance.
- 2The operator passes the bet to the provider's game server. Bets are accepted only while the on-screen timer runs.
- 3The timer closes and the dealer plays the round. Nobody may see the outcome before wagers are final (GLI-19 C.6.4).
- 4A recognition device reads the card or the ball. A manual mode exists to correct a misread; the physical result wins (GLI-19 4.18.4, 4.18.5).
- 5The server records the result, then posts it. Results are recorded before they reach any player (GLI-19 C.6.4).
- 6The operator settles your balance. Evolution notes operators handle all money transactions with players.
Sources: GLI-19 v3.0 (sections 4.18 and C.6); Evolution Annual Report 2025. Simplified: real systems add encoders, content delivery networks and the operator's own platform layers.
Two rules in GLI-19 keep the order honest. The studio’s servers must “prevent anyone from accessing the live game outcome prior to finalizing a wager”, and must “record game results before posting” them (C.6.4). That is why bets close on a timer before the card is dealt or the ball drops, and why a late click is refused.
Why the picture lags
Video has to be encoded, sent across the internet and decoded on your device, so the stream runs behind the table. The Nevada rules for a live blackjack game say plainly: “Due to the nature of the Internet, video latency may occur.” GLI-19 requires players to be told that transmissions “may be subject to delay or interruption” and, where a delay is apparent or created by the platform, that “the scale of the delay shall be displayed”. The studio also has to give every player an equivalent feed and publish a minimum connection requirement (C.6.4). We could not find an official figure for typical delay in seconds.
Live dealer, virtual dealer and RNG tables
The word “live” matters. A virtual dealer game can look similar, but nothing in it is physical. Pennsylvania defines virtual dealer games as using “pre-recorded video footage of dealers, computer-generated imagery and green screen technology”, with every outcome decided by a tested random number generator. Since 2025 casinos there may not list them under “Live Dealer”, and players must tick a box acknowledging that the footage is pre-recorded before the first game.
| Game type | What decides the result | What you watch | Lobby category | Main checks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Live dealer table | Physical cards, wheel or dice in a studio | Live stream of the real table | Live Dealer | Studio audit, surveillance, game logs (GLI-19 C.6) |
| Virtual dealer table | Random number generator | Pre-recorded dealer footage and graphics | Not Live Dealer (Pennsylvania rule) | RNG and game testing; disclaimer required in PA |
| RNG table game | Random number generator | None; animated cards or wheel | Table games | RNG and game testing |
Source: PGCB Industry Guidance 2025-04 (29 May 2025); GLI-19 v3.0
The odds are the same whichever kind you play, provided the rules match. Live blackjack with the dealer standing on all 17s and blackjack paying 3 to 2, as in the Nevada filing, carries the same edge as a physical table with those rules; how blackjack rules move the edge has the details, and our comparison of every casino game by its edge puts live tables in context.
Shuffling and card handling
Cards in a studio are handled by staff whose only job is preparing them. An Evolution shuffler posting in Vilnius lists the duties as “checking card quality, replacing and shuffling cards following the set procedures” and reporting problems to team leaders. The Nevada blackjack filing uses “eight, pre-shuffled standard decks”.
The standards treat cards as controlled stock. GLI-19 requires “consistent card shuffling procedures, including a verification of the card count, frequency of shuffling, and cases for reshuffling”, with every shuffle logged. Used cards must be destroyed so they cannot return to play, every deck needs an audit trail showing who handled it, and no single person may handle every step of card management (C.6.6 and C.6.8). The Isle of Man adds that card shoes need tamper controls once loaded, and that any card-reading equipment must be tested for reliability against the actual cards before play.
Dealer rules, scripts and rotation
Presenters are trained performers working to procedures, not to a fixed script. A Madrid posting promises hosting “just like a TV presenter or vlogger (no script required!)” after two weeks of training. A British Columbia posting gives conduct rules instead: introduce players, the rules and the winners; make friendly conversation without offering opinions; and “always use a positive parting remark”.
The rules that matter for fairness are about behaviour and rotation:
- Prohibited and mandated behaviour. Staff must be trained in “any physical behavior which is prohibited or mandated (including hand signals, talking, the handling of the cards, etc.)” (GLI-19, C.6.8).
- Random table allocation. Dealers should not know which game they will run until just before their shift, and time on any one table is limited “to minimise mistakes and prevent collusion” (Isle of Man procedures; GLI-19 says the same).
- Constant supervision. A supervisor must be present whenever games run, and staffing logs are kept per table (GLI-19, C.6.8).
- Collusion checks. Studios should flag players who keep leaving tables until they reach a preferred one.
Even a celebrity guest has rules
When New Jersey allowed celebrity guests at two Atlantic City studios in 2023, the order let them talk to players “both verbally and via chat” but barred them from touching cards, balls, shoes or shufflers, from the dealer’s module, and from delaying the game. A manager must supervise them at all times.
Disconnects, misdeals and disputes
Studios must have written procedures for “player disconnection or any video, voice, or data stream disruptions”, and for dropped cards, misdeals, re-spins, aborted games and device misreads (GLI-19, C.6.8). Players must be told about them too, including “the possibility of human error by the gaming attendant” (4.18.2). So the answer for your game is in its rules screen. One published example:
Your connection drops with a decision still open
The live table carries on for everyone else.
An "interrupted game" is created for your hand
Only the cards already on the table when you dropped are carried over.
The game waits a set time for you to reconnect
The rules do not state the length of the wait.
You reconnect in time
You finish the hand yourself.
You do not
AutoComplete plays it with optimal strategy, using only Hit or Stand: no new money (no double, no split).
Source: Nevada Gaming Control Board, "Blackjack Live Rules of Play" (fetched 9 October 2026).
If you think a result was wrong, the recording is the evidence. GLI-19 says recordings must be detailed enough “to confirm whether the game rules and procedures were followed” and available to the operator or regulator “in the event of a player complaint/dispute”. An authorised employee can void a game result if necessary (C.6.4). Your complaint starts with the casino, because it holds your account, and then goes to its regulator.
Regulators do find errors. In July 2025, New Jersey adopted Order #2844 imposing a $12,000 civil penalty on Evolution’s New Jersey business for “violations of the rules of the games”, described in the order as “various dealer error violations”. The penalty was accepted.
Audits and testing labs
Several layers check a live studio, and they overlap on purpose.
| Layer | What it checks or requires | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Provider control room | Evolution says it monitors all gaming on its floors in real time, around the clock, through automatic and manual systems | Evolution Annual Report 2025 |
| Test house (studio audit) | Responsibility, technical, synchronicity, staffing, premises and systems tests on site | GLI; Isle of Man GSC |
| Isle of Man regulator | At least one on-site visit by an approved test house per studio, every year | Isle of Man GSC procedures |
| UK Gambling Commission | Live dealer operations must be fair and independently auditable | RTS 17A |
| Ontario regulator | Access to live dealer supplies limited to staff with a business need; controls so presenters cannot compromise a game | AGCO standards 4.35, 4.36 |
| New Jersey regulator | Approves each studio; requires monitoring equipment in its own office and unrestricted access to surveillance | NJ DGE order, 2022 |
Source: Documents listed under Sources (fetched 9 October 2026)
GLI says its live dealer testing has two parts: remote testing of each game and the player interface, and an on-site inspection of the studio covering “Responsibility Tests, Technical Tests, Synchronicity Tests, Staffing Tests, Premises Tests, Systems Tests”. The Isle of Man’s procedures spell those out. Technical tests include “checks on the randomness of any equipment or procedures” and that payout ratios are right. Synchronicity tests check that what you see really is live and cannot be manipulated to “relay false information”. eCOGRA describes its live testing as “a thorough review of physical security, equipment, training material, and game outcomes”, plus ongoing monitoring of live sessions.
Live dealer rules, in order
-
Isle of Man live dealer inspection procedures take effect
Annual on-site visit to every studio by an approved test house.
-
GLI-19 v3.0 published
Section 4.18 and Appendix C.6 set out live game requirements.
-
Pennsylvania's first live gaming studio launches
-
UK RTS 17 on live dealer studios last updated
Operations must be fair and independently auditable.
-
Ontario live dealer standards 4.35 and 4.36 take effect
-
Pennsylvania separates virtual dealer games from Live Dealer
-
New Jersey $12,000 penalty for dealer error violations
Source: Isle of Man GSC, GLI, PGCB, UK Gambling Commission, AGCO, NJ DGE
None of this changes the maths. A live table pays exactly what its rules say, so the house edge is the same as on a physical table with identical rules. To practise decisions before playing anywhere, try the free blackjack trainer, and if you are curious about the people on the other side of the camera, see what studio presenters are paid.
What we could not verify
- The dealer’s screen. Postings mention on-screen instructions and New Jersey refers to dealer modules, but we found no public description of what the presenter’s monitor shows for each game.
- Typical stream delay. No regulator or provider page we fetched gives a figure in seconds, so we give none.
- Recognition technology by name. Standards say “automated recognition” by “specialized devices”. Whether a given table reads cards by camera, by a sensor in the shoe or both is not stated in the documents we read.
- Other providers’ studios. Studio locations and licences for Playtech, Pragmatic Play and others came only from trade press, so we left them out.
- The details behind New Jersey’s 2025 penalty. Press reports describe specific dealing errors, but the order and summary we fetched only say “dealer error violations” and “violations of the rules of the games”.
- Test labs’ own studio methods. We could not find live-studio testing pages on iTech Labs’ or BMM’s websites. GLI’s method comes from its own page and the Isle of Man procedures.
- Your casino’s rules. Disconnect, chat and void rules vary by game, provider and regulator. The Nevada example is one game’s filing, not a universal rule.
About this page
We are not lawyers or industry insiders. This page summarises public standards, regulator documents and company reports as they stood on 9 October 2026. It can contain errors, and rules change. Check the game rules screen and your regulator for the position that applies to you.