A studio, in casino language, means one of two things. In live casino it is the purpose-built room, filled with cameras and real tables, from which dealers stream games to your screen. In slots it is the development team that designs and builds games, often working under a larger provider that sells them to casinos.
A live casino studio is a filmed set with real dealers, wheels and cards.
A slot studio is a game development team, sometimes owned by a bigger provider.
UK rules such as the autoplay ban apply to live games wherever the studio is based.
Where a studio sits changes nothing about the odds; the game’s rules set the house edge.
Live sense
Room games are streamed from in real time
Development sense
Team that designs and builds games
Evolution hubs
Riga, Malta and Tbilisi
Pragmatic Play Live roulette
Broadcast from Bucharest
UK minimum per round
5 seconds for non-slot casino games
Two meanings of studio at a casino
The word turns up in game lobbies, reviews and provider news, and it doesn’t always mean the same thing. Our casino glossary separates the two senses, because a live casino studio is a physical place you can see on screen, while a slot studio is a company or team you only ever meet through its games.
Live casino studio vs slot studio
Live casino studio
Slot or game studio
What it is
A filmed room with tables and dealers
A team that designs and codes games
What you see
Real people, cards, wheels and dice
The finished game on your screen
How results are made
Physical equipment, read into data
A tested random number generator
Example
Evolution’s Riga studios
Reel Kingdom, maker of the Big Bass games
Who sells it to casinos
The live provider
The studio itself or a distributor
What happens inside a live casino studio
Live dealer games are streamed in real time either from a land-based casino or from a studio built to look like one. A typical set-up, as described in Wikipedia’s online casino entry (opens in a new tab), needs at least three rooms: the live studio itself, a server and software room, and an analyst’s room. Staff usually include camera operators, several croupiers, an IT manager and a pit boss who settles disputes.
Optical character recognition turns the dealer’s physical results, such as the card drawn or the pocket the ball lands in, into data the game software can settle bets with. Evolution says on its live casino page (opens in a new tab) that its games broadcast in real time, often 24 hours a day, from sets designed like TV or film studios with multi-camera video, lighting and audio. You place bets and chat through the game software, and the live dealer can reply out loud. Our guide to how live casino works follows a round from bet to payout.
A studio game’s pace drives how much you stake in an hour. Evolution says its Speed Auto Roulette, an automated wheel with no dealer, runs 2,500 games a day, about 104 an hour. On single-zero roulette each pound staked costs 2.70p on average, because the zero gives the house 1 pocket in 37.
£1 on every round of a 104-an-hour wheel: £104 staked, about £2.81 average cost an hour.
£5 on every round: £520 staked, about £14.04 average cost an hour.
UK ceiling: non-slot casino games must allow at least 5 seconds per game cycle, so no game can exceed 720 rounds an hour.
These are averages over many rounds; a real hour can finish well up or well down. Our cost per hour guide compares games side by side.
Slot studios and the providers behind them
In slots, a studio is the team that creates games, and many sit inside bigger groups. Evolution’s group brands include NetEnt, Red Tiger, Big Time Gaming and Nolimit City alongside its live brands. Games Global says its portfolio of 1,300+ titles comes from 40+ in-house and partner studios. Reel Kingdom builds the Big Bass series and Pragmatic Play distributes it, so you may see both names on one game.
The words studio and game provider overlap: a provider is whoever supplies the casino, and that can be the studio itself or a distributor selling its games.
UK rules for live studio games
A studio in Latvia or Romania doesn’t take its games outside British rules when they are offered to British players. Since 17 January 2025 autoplay has been banned on all online casino games, live casino included, though a re-bet button isn’t autoplay; see the autoplay ban. The same date brought the 5-second minimum game cycle, real-time display of net spend and time, and a ban on playing several games at once.
Online slot stake limits of £5 (or £2 for 18–24s) apply to slots only, not to live roulette or blackjack. Our guide to UK rules for live casino covers the detail.
Related studio terms
Live vs RNG games: how a studio table differs from a software version.
Game shows: the studio sets built for wheel and bonus shows.
Live studios and our partner offers
Our partners’ welcome offers are built around slots, not studio games: live and table games are often excluded from bonuses or count for less towards wagering, so check the terms and the casino’s live lobby before you play. All offers are 18+ and terms apply.
Casumo: opt in as a new customer and deposit at least £20 for a 50% bonus up to £100; wagering is 10x the bonus within 7 days, stakes are capped at £5 a bet while it’s active, and game, play and payment restrictions apply.
10bet: select the casino welcome bonus at sign-up and make a first deposit within 7 days for a 100% match up to £25 (new UK customers); it must be wagered 10x on slots within 3 days, bonus winnings top out at £1,000, and Skrill and Neteller deposits don’t count.
Coral: new players who deposit and bet £10+ on slots from 1 October 2026 to 1 February 2027 get 100 free spins at 10p on selected games, with 48 hours to accept, 7 days to use them and no wagering on winnings; Neteller, PayPal, Paysafe, Skrill, prepaid cards and certain debit cards are excluded.
Significant terms: 18+. New customers only. Opt-in required. 50% deposit bonus up to £100 on first deposit. Minimum deposit £20. 10x wagering on the bonus amount. Maximum bet or spin £5. Bonus valid for 7 days. Game, play and payment method restrictions apply. Full T&Cs apply. GamCare.org.uk
Significant terms: 18+. New UK customers only. Select the casino welcome bonus at sign-up and make your first deposit within 7 days. 100% bonus up to £25. Wager the bonus 10x on slots within 3 days. Maximum bonus winnings £1,000. Skrill and Neteller deposits do not qualify. Bonus is not redeemable. Full T&Cs apply. GamCare.org.uk
Read our 10bet reviewLicence: Blue Star Planet Limited, Gambling Commission account 43173. Offer checked 5 October 2026.
Significant terms: 18+. New players only. Offer runs 01/10/2026 to 01/02/2027. Deposit (certain types excluded) and bet £10+ on slot games to get 100 free spins (selected games, £0.10 each, 48 hrs to accept, valid 7 days). No wagering on free spin winnings. Deposits by Neteller, PayPal, Paysafe, Skrill, prepaid cards and certain debit cards do not qualify. Restrictions and T&Cs apply. GamCare.org.uk
Read our Coral reviewLicence: LC International Limited, Gambling Commission account 54743. Offer checked 5 October 2026.
18+. Every casino game has a built-in house edge, so over time you should expect to lose what you stake. Set a budget before you play and stop when it’s gone: safer gambling tools and support. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.
Frequently asked questions
What is a live casino studio?
A live casino studio is a purpose-built room where real dealers run tables that are filmed and streamed to players in real time. It holds cameras, lighting, the tables and equipment, with separate rooms for servers and for staff who monitor the games. Your bets go through the game software, and the dealer’s physical results are read into data to settle them. Our guide to how live casino works and the live casino studios page explain the set-up.
Where are live casino studios located?
Most studios serving UK players are in Europe, especially the Baltics, Malta and Eastern Europe. Evolution names Riga, Malta and Tbilisi as its hubs, with studio and office locations across 15 countries, and Pragmatic Play says its roulette is broadcast from Bucharest. Some tables are filmed inside land-based casinos instead. Our answer on where live casino studios are and the Evolution live casino page give more detail.
What is a slot studio?
A slot studio is a team or company that designs and builds slot games, from the maths and features to the artwork and sound. Some are independent; others belong to larger groups that sell their games to casinos, such as NetEnt and Red Tiger within Evolution. The studio that makes a game isn’t always the company that distributes it. See our game provider entry and the slot providers hub for examples.
Does the studio location affect the odds?
No, where a studio is based has no effect on the house edge, which comes from the game’s rules and payouts. A single-zero wheel has a 2.70% edge whether it spins in Riga or Bucharest. What protects UK players is that games offered to them must meet British standards, including the 5-second minimum round time and the autoplay ban. Our page on whether live casino games are rigged and the house edge guide explain why.
Are live studio games faster than RNG games?
Usually they are slower, because a dealer has to deal cards or spin a wheel and give players time to bet. Automated studio games can run quickly: Evolution says its Speed Auto Roulette runs 2,500 games a day, about 104 an hour. UK rules set a floor of 5 seconds per round for non-slot casino games. Our comparison of live vs RNG games and the speed games page cover pace and cost.
We use no tracking cookies. We store one item in your browser to remember this notice. Casino sites may set their own cookies after you follow an advert link. Cookie policy
