Live casino vs RNG table games: how they differ in Kenya

What is the difference between live casino and RNG games?

The difference is what decides each result. At a live table a dealer deals real cards or spins a real wheel in a studio, and the video reaches your screen as it happens. In an RNG table game there is no dealer: software called a random number generator picks each card, spin or dice roll, and the screen shows an animation of it.

Evolution, which makes both kinds, sets out the split on its First Person page. In those games the card deals, wheel spins and dice shakes are determined by RNG software, while its live games stream the action in real time from a studio with a dealer or show host. How that stream travels from the studio to a phone is covered in how live dealer streams work.

The rules and payouts can stay the same across the two formats. Evolution says its First Person games have the same rules and paytables as its live games, and each has a "Go Live" button that moves you from the animated table to the live one. Its First Person Lightning Roulette lists a straight-up win at 30x the bet, which is consistent with the live table's 29 to 1 once the stake is added back.

Live and RNG table games side by side

The table sums up the differences that the provider pages and Kenyan law describe. Most rows are taken up in the sections below.

Which is faster: live or RNG?

An RNG game runs at the speed you set. Evolution says its First Person games let you change the speed of the game, and its First Person Blackjack has a "Deal Now" button for playing at any pace. A round moves on when you press the button, not when a timer runs out.

A live table runs on the studio's clock. Pragmatic Play gives the normal betting time at its blackjack tables as 14 seconds, extended to 20 seconds at its VIP tables, and the dealer then has to deal the cards. Every player at the table waits for the same deal or spin.

Pace changes how much is staked in an hour. Illustrative example: at KES 50 a round, 30 rounds put KES 1,500 through a game and 120 rounds put KES 6,000, whichever format you choose. The house edge applies to every shilling staked, so a faster game carries a higher expected cost per hour at the same stake.

How do bet limits compare?

The legal floor is identical. Section 71(1) of the Gambling Control Act, 2025 forbids an online bet below twenty shillings, and the s.2 definition of online gambling as gambling by remote communication and on the internet covers a streamed table and an animated one alike. For neither format is a ceiling set in the Act or the Regulations as gazetted.

Above the floor, the live format has a constraint the other lacks: a table seats only so many players. Pragmatic Play's live casino page says licensees control table ranges and VIP limits from its back-end platform. An RNG table has no seats to fill, and the guide to live casino bet limits sets out how table ranges and VIP tables work.

How is fairness checked in each format?

For RNG games, the check is on the software. Regulation 45(2) of the Gambling Control (Conduct of Gambling Operations) Regulations, 2026 requires the random number generator used for all games of chance to be certified by the Authority or its approved agent, which tests statistically for randomness and theoretical return to player. Under r.45(4), the theoretical RTP of every game must be disclosed to the Authority.

Test labs describe what certification involves. GLI says an RNG must be adequately and fully tested so that outcomes cannot be predicted and no bias exists towards certain results, and its RNG evaluations typically include a source code review. Evolution names GLI and eCOGRA as the independent agencies that validate and certify the RNGs in its First Person games.

For live tables, the check is on the room and its staff. Pragmatic Play says a team of shufflers keeps card games running without interruptions, Shift Managers monitor the whole operation permanently, and its live casino is certified by an independent Accredited Testing Facility. Cards, shoes and cameras are examined in whether live dealer games are fair.

What you can check yourself differs as well. At a live table you watch the card leave the shoe or the ball drop into a pocket, while in an RNG game the outcome is decided inside software you cannot see, so the certification is the check. Provider return figures for each live game are listed in RTP of live casino games.

Some live games mix the two. Evolution's Lightning Roulette is played on a real wheel with 1 to 36 and a single zero, yet the one to five Lucky Numbers it multiplies each round are selected at random. Whatever the format, r.20(2) of the Conduct Regulations obliges the licensee to display the game rules, odds, house edge and average return to the player, and r.20(3) carries that duty into online gambling.

What stays the same in both formats?

The law treats both as online gambling. Section 28(1) of the Act bars anyone from offering a gambling activity or service that is not licensed under it, and s.67(1) lists the online casino licence among the three online gambling licences. The s.2 definition of a casino includes an approved virtual or online platform where a person plays a game approved by the Authority, and nothing in it separates a dealer on camera from an animated table.

The account checks match as well. Regulation 82 of the Conduct Regulations requires an identity check, location verification and an age assurance check, using verifiable data before the account is activated and before any wagering deposit, and s.72(3) of the Act adds proof of age of majority as a condition of registration. Who holds the licence for a live game, and how to check it, is covered in live casino licences in Kenya.

The house edge follows the rules, not the camera. Illustrative example: single-zero roulette has 37 pockets, so every standard bet carries a house edge of 1/37, or 2.70%, whether a dealer spins the ball or software picks the number. Payouts follow the same law too, since s.70(1) of the Act requires a monetary online win to be credited to the player's account within two days.

Player protection tools work at account level. A deposit limit set under r.84(2)(a) of the Conduct Regulations caps the money going into the account, whichever format it is later staked on. The self-exclusion option that r.84(2) requires, of at least twenty-four hours, is linked to the national gambling self-exclusion register rather than to any one game.

How much mobile data does each use?

A live table is video. It streams for as long as the table is open on your screen, whether or not you bet on a given round. An RNG table shows an animation instead of a camera feed, and that is the main difference on a mobile data plan.

The provider pages cited here publish no megabytes-per-hour figure for either format, so this guide gives none. Your phone's own data counter, in its settings, shows what a session used.

What this comparison does not cover

This page does not rank formats or operators, and it leaves out slots, crash games and side bets. For studios, rules, fairness and the law in one place, start with live casino in Kenya: how live dealer games work.