Live dealer games are streamed in real time from a studio: a real dealer, a real wheel or shoe, and optical recognition software reading the physical outcome. The outcome is not generated by an RNG; it happens in a room.
Why the operator restricts them
Look at the margins:
| Game | House edge |
|---|---|
| Live blackjack, basic strategy | about 0.5% |
| Live European roulette | 2.7% |
| Slots | 2% to 12% |
An operator makes several times more per dollar staked on a slot than on a competently played blackjack hand. Which is exactly why live tables are weighted at 0% to 10% toward wagering requirements.
Do the arithmetic: a $17,500 wagering requirement at 10% weighting means $175,000 of live blackjack turnover. At 0% weighting it means the requirement can never be cleared there at all. The operator is not going to let you clear a bonus on its thinnest-margin product, and it says so, in a table, below the fold.
Where the margin actually is
Two places:
Side bets. Perfect Pairs, 21+3, Lightning multipliers, insurance. These carry house edges of roughly 3% to 8% and higher — many times the base game's. They are placed on the felt directly under your cursor, and they are the reason the live table is profitable.
Game shows. The wheel-and-multiplier formats that dominate live lobbies sit at the high end of the edge range, dressed in the visual language of a low-edge table game. The presenter, the studio and the pace are all doing work.