Expert roundtable: What is the future of live casino?

How important is live casino for operators today, compared to slots and sports betting?

Sharon McHugh: Ultimately, what’s important to players is what’s important to operators. Players are looking for engaging and authentic experiences, with strong win potential, while operators are looking for content that keeps them coming back for more. That demand continues to drive investment in live casino innovation, whether that’s new game formats, greater personalisation or more immersive environments. Pragmatic Play aims to combine cutting-edge technology with exceptional presenters and feature-rich products to deliver entertainment players love.

Gary Francis: It will continue to form the core of the industry, and this situation is not expected to change. No other area requires the same level of operational effort, with actual studios, decor, tables, cards, dealers, shifts, as opposed to the apparent lower level of complexity found in RNG products. It is exactly this level of complexity that enables it to maintain its current status. However, focusing solely on live casino games has its limits. Providers who have only live tables will, at some point, receive a query from an operator asking whether they also offer slots, instant games, crash games and this kind of question comes more frequently than most live-only providers anticipate. Operators do not buy out individual verticals; instead, they look for partners who can grow with an expanding range of offerings. Having depth in live casino is the starting point, but having a wide variety of formats is now a necessary condition.

Anna Efimova: While live casino isn’t the biggest vertical by revenue, I would argue that it is one of the most important strategically. Looking at raw numbers, online casinos are still the anchor, accounting for roughly half of global online GGR. RNG slots make up around 61% of online casino revenue, compared to about 28% for live dealer games. Sportsbook is another major source of revenue and one of the fastest-growing verticals, showing around 14% growth in 2026, driven in part by the expansion of the US and Brazilian markets. So, if you are asking what pays the bills today, it is still slots and sports. Where I would push back on a simple ranking is regarding the trajectory and quality of revenue. Live casino is growing faster than the overall online casino market, at around 19% year-on-year versus roughly 11%. In mature markets, live already accounts for up to a third of online casino revenue. Therefore, the way I would frame the portfolio is this: slots are the cash-flow base, sportsbook is the acquisition and scale play, and live casino is the retention and 
margin layer.

Amnon Liebermann: Live casino is no longer an afterthought added to round out a casino tab. It has become a core driver for player acquisition and retention, especially for audiences seeking a genuine, interactive experience. Operationally, it is also very different from RNG. A live casino requires studios, dealers, technology, training, risk management and quality control, all running around the clock. It is a complex business, but that complexity gives operators more ways to stand out. Today, the debate is not whether operators need live casino. It is whether they have the right quality, content and experience for their players. We are also seeing a clear shift towards a multi-supplier strategy and away from single-provider dependency.

Editor’s Takeaways: Our expert contributors all agree that live casino forms a core element of today’s market – but mainly from a growth perspective. The vertical is no longer an “afterthought,” though it is not yet the biggest moneymaker on a casino platform, either.

Live casino is growing quickly, so its revenue generation will only increase. Currently, however, it can mainly be seen as the “retention and margin layer.” You cannot run a platform with live casino alone – but you cannot run a platform without it. Indeed, it is a true differentiator for player experience.

What are the biggest advancements live casino has made in the last 12 months?

GF: Speed and personalisation. Or the speed at which personalisation is achieved. Since players have become accustomed to moving through highly personalised digital environments in other areas of their lives, they’ve carried that expectation into the casino. A standard studio feed now seems a bit dull, which has caused providers to have to speed up the process of taking a custom, branded environment from initial idea to final go-live without compromising on production quality. Improved logistics, shorter timeframes and more authentic methods of tailoring a game environment to an operator’s specific identity. This kind of discipline has been the main achievement of the past year and is not limited to live casino. There is now the same demand for speed and specificity across all areas that operators interact with, because when players expect personalisation in one place, they expect it everywhere.

SM: There have been significant advancements across the industry, not least in the way AI is being explored. For us, the human element is still central to the live casino experience, as trust, authenticity and the interaction between players and presenters are what make live casino unique. Other technologies have also advanced at pace. Pragmatic Play’s Gates of Olympus Roulette represents the pinnacle of digital and physical effects in live casino. Another example is Smart Studio, which lets operators customise the live environment to match their own brands and promotions. Behind the scenes, scalability may not grab headlines, but delivering fast, uninterrupted gameplay to an increasing number of concurrent players globally is critical. Players expect reliability as much as entertainment, so investing in resilient infrastructure remains just as important as the on-screen experience. 

AE: Security and fraud prevention. Fraud is becoming increasingly organised and professional. We are no longer talking solely about individual players or small groups. There are dedicated teams with offices, shifts and KPIs whose entire job is to attack casinos systematically. With the growth of crypto casinos, VIP products, higher limits and faster payouts, there is more money to be made from successful attacks. The resulting losses can run into millions. The goal now is to recognise the warning signs early and prevent an incident from affecting the game or the player. At Winfinity, we use several security tools, including recognition cameras combined with AI-powered monitoring, that can automatically trigger a security workflow.

AL: The most obvious evolution is the shift toward true localisation. Operators no longer accept a standard blackjack or roulette table with a translated UI. They expect localised dealers, authentic regional accents, bespoke studio environments and gameplay tailored to the target market. Speed to market has also become critical. Operators want partners who can take a concept, understand the brief immediately and execute without getting bogged down in lengthy development cycles. Behind the scenes, AI is delivering practical value. While industry chatter remains focused on AI-generated dealers, the real impact today is operational: monitoring dealer performance, detecting unusual player behaviour, managing risk and streamlining floor management. Finally, baseline production standards have jumped. Advanced camera tech, sharper visual presentation and modern studio design mean players notice the quality long before the first card is dealt.

ET: Several different areas were identified by our speakers here (isn’t it great when everyone doesn’t just say the same thing?). There was emphasis on how the speed of games has improved, as well as personalisation – a key area given players are now so used to this in other areas of their lives. 

Localisation was highlighted, as well as the impact of AI – but more behind the scenes than taking over the frontend live casino experience. Finally, security and fraud prevention has improved over the past year, in response to a growing threat from criminals.

What are live casino’s biggest geographical markets across the globe?

GF: Europe still has the largest portion of regulated online casino revenue, largely due to the increasing share of live dealer content. In the Asia-Pacific region, the fastest growth is being driven by mobile-first gaming. In Latin America, regulatory frameworks are opening up quickly enough to require providers to rapidly develop licensing playbooks. All of these responses can be justified, yet none of them actually answers the actual question. The straightforward view is that the size of the market depends entirely on your own operator network and licensing objective. A company focusing on regulated Anglophone markets will have a completely different set of opportunities than one aiming at Central and Eastern Europe or Latin America. The market does support scale in all areas, but it doesn’t indicate where you should direct your capacity in the next quarter. The largest market is the one that you are actually in a position to enter.

SM: Mature iGaming markets, such as those in Europe, are well-established locations for live casino games. Regulated markets across other continents may hold more immediate growth potential, with Latin America a particular focus for us at the moment – as demonstrated by the opening of a new live casino studio in Colombia offering a mix of popular and localised Pragmatic Play content.

AE: Europe is the largest region at around $42bn in online GGR. It is the most mature and best-regulated home for dealer-hosted play. Asia-Pacific is the other heavyweight and the true engagement powerhouse. It is the fastest-growing region, with a roughly 12% compound annual growth rate, driven by massive live baccarat volume, though much of it still runs through offshore or grey-market channels. North America sits third and is climbing as regulation develops across the US. The most exciting growth story, though, is Latin America. Brazil added around $4.5bn in regulated GGR in its first year, and the regulated share of the Latin American region has risen from 28% in 2024 to 52% in 2026. Africa is a smaller, mobile-first follow-on market, up around 27% from a low base and led by Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa.

AL: Europe is the largest region at around $42bn in online GGR. It is the most mature and best-regulated home for dealer-hosted play. Asia-Pacific is the other heavyweight and the true engagement powerhouse. It is the fastest-growing region, with a roughly 12% compound annual growth rate, driven by massive live baccarat volume, though much of it still runs through offshore or grey-market channels. North America sits third and is climbing as regulation develops across the US. The most exciting growth story, though, is Latin America. Brazil added around $4.5bn in regulated GGR in its first year, and the regulated share of the Latin American region has risen from 28% in 2024 to 52% in 2026. Africa is a smaller, mobile-first follow-on market, up around 27% from a low base and led by Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa.

ET: There was universal agreement among our contributors that Europe is the main, most-regulated hub of live casino, while Asia was also mentioned as a key region. 

Growth prospects were identified in Africa, although the biggest current driver of growth has pretty unanimously been highlighted as Latin America – particularly Brazil.

Where does live casino go in the next 12 months?

GF: Growth is ongoing – and the most evident sign is not any one particular technology but the nature of the content itself. Game shows are increasing in number because they offer a solution that standard table formats do not: they allow operators to introduce novelty into a vertical that would otherwise just involve repeating the same classic games. There will be more experimentation with new kinds of bet structures and multiplier mechanisms, along with further work on AI, though this will mostly take place behind the scenes rather than at the table. The situation in which AI replaces dealers will not occur – the whole idea of a live casino is that a real person is running a real game in real time; and removing that element is not an evolution of the category, it is the creation of a completely different product. Hyperpersonalisation will cease to be an optional feature and will move towards becoming a standard practice.

SM: I think we’ll continue to see more innovative live casino experiences alongside greater use of AI and automation. While AI will play a role in shaping the industry’s future, the real impact is still unfolding. What won’t change is player demand for engaging, authentic experiences they can trust. Pragmatic Play continues to invest in the things that matter most: exceptional presenters, premium studio environments, cutting-edge production and a diverse portfolio that appeals to every type of player. From classic table games to thrilling game shows, our focus is on creating immersive experiences that keep players engaged. We’re continually refining and expanding our portfolio, with an exciting pipeline of new products and feature updates planned over the coming year.

AE: I think live casinos are going to become much more technology-driven and highly personalised, with AI at the centre of that change. We will see more practical uses of AI rather than just experimental features. Voice-to-voice translation is a great example. It can remove language barriers in real time and make the same live experience accessible to new markets. We will also see more AI dealers and other AI-powered formats. However, technology shouldn’t take away the core elements that make a live casino truly “live” – human interaction and emotion. AI is simply a tool to help us localise games, personalise them for different audiences and make it easier to scale the experience across different markets. For me, the interesting story isn’t about AI replacing live casino; it is about AI making a genuinely live experience possible for more players and in more formats.

AL: Operators will become far more selective with their supplier rosters. They will look past sheer volume of games and prioritise operational reliability, integration speed, execution quality and how well a provider understands their bottom line. The core games will remain important. Blackjack is still blackjack and roulette is still roulette. The difference will be in how those classic games are presented, localised and adapted to different audiences. Demand for dedicated, branded studio environments will also continue to rise. Operators want distinct brand identity, delivered fast. Reliability will be another major focus. Live casino runs 24/7, so providers need strong infrastructure and backup systems that allow them to maintain service if something goes wrong at one location. Ultimately, operators expect speed without sacrificing quality. Delivering one without the other simply won’t cut it. 

ET: Expert focus here went to the “nature of the content,” with game shows increasing, alongside the innovative use of AI and automation (behind the scenes). There was an additional warning that operators will become far more selective with 
their supplier rosters. 

“Hyperpersonalisation” will continue to see industry attention, although there was pushback against AI dealers from some of our speakers. Live casino delivered by a fully AI dealer was argued to be a completely different product and that live casino needs to remain “human” to retain its “live” element.

What is the future of live casino – AI, video or human?

GF: There is no choice among the three. It’s more of a stacked arrangement, the human dealer serving as the fixed element with all the other features added on. The value AI brings is about expanding the range of possibilities around what already exists: enabling a higher degree of personalisation, allowing for quicker operational decisions and providing tools that enable the dealer to concentrate on the table rather than on the logistical aspects behind it. Iconic21’s iDealer Blackjack is a good example of this principle in action, with a layer of AI that is added on top of an otherwise lonely RNG blackjack table. Sticking with live play rather than pre-recorded content is still the correct approach, since it is the genuine experience being purchased. I’d also say technologies will continue to emerge faster than most current roadmaps anticipate, in areas no one is yet confident of predicting.

SM: As much as AI is becoming part of the conversation in live casino, the word to focus on here and now is “live.” That’s what makes the vertical so compelling. It’s the connection between a presenter and the players, creating an atmosphere that extends far beyond the few seconds it takes for the roulette wheel to spin or the cards to be dealt. Technology has an important role to play, whether that’s enhancing production, personalising experiences or improving efficiency, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of the human interactions players value. We see that every day in our game shows, where a presenter’s personality and energy make all the difference. For us, the future isn’t necessarily about choosing between AI and people. It’s about using technology to enhance the experience while keeping the human element at its heart. That’s what builds trust, creates entertainment and keeps players coming back.

AE: Live casinos are “live” for a reason. The strongest part of the experience is still the human connection. This includes the dealer, the interaction, the emotion and the feeling that something real is happening in front of you. I don’t think technology can ever fully replace that. What AI can do is make the experience smarter and easier to scale. It can help us adapt content to different markets, personalise the experience and make the day-to-day operations much more efficient. Therefore, I do not see this as a choice between human dealers and AI. The human remains at the centre and AI works around them. It is not about replacing the human element, but rather using technology to make that element more relevant, more personal and easily available to a much wider audience.

AL: I believe the future remains distinctly human, backed by video production and AI support. The human element is the foundation of live casino. Players choose live tables for authentic interaction, personality and spontaneous energy. Strip that away and, while you might still have a functional game, you no longer have live casino. Video capabilities will continue to advance, bridging the gap between the player and the physical table. AI-generated dealers may find an audience and create a new type of product, particularly for younger players. But I do not think they will replace human dealers across traditional live casino anytime soon. For now, AI can add more value behind the scenes by helping providers monitor quality, manage risk, detect unusual behaviour, improve scheduling and make better operational decisions. It isn’t a choice between AI, video or humans.

ET: While others in the industry may argue to the contrary, there was unequivocal agreement among our experts that the human element must remain strong for the future of “live” casino. Continuing last question’s theme, it was suggested there is no actual question of “AI, video or human.” 

Our contributors feel the three work in tandem and that AI can help support the backend processes that enable human presenters to deliver. Game shows are become ever more popular – and these are presented in a very “human” way. Indeed, whether this will change in time, the verdict here was unanimous in declaring the human element “the foundation of live casino.”