Pragmatic Play is perhaps better known as a slot developer than as a creator of live dealer games. They were founded in 2015, and are headquartered in Malta. The company started producing live dealer casino content a couple of years after they launched the studio, and it has been over a decade now that we’ve had the pleasure of playing Pragmatic Play live casino games.
The company continues to deliver premium slots while expanding its live casino package. A key early milestone in their expansion was the purchase of Extreme Live Gaming in early 2018. This London-based brand wasn’t particularly renowned, but it had the infrastructure Pragmatic Play needed.
The Maltese-based software provider relies on a licensed production plan to host 40+ gaming tables supplying a range of live dealer games encompassing roulette, blackjack, and baccarat. And for the most part, they succeed – they have an impressive production rate of 3-5 casino games each month.
Moreover, Pragmatic Play operates across a range of markets and countries thanks to over a dozen licenses that are certified and up to date. European players can place bets with peace of mind. Believe it or not, this company is licensed by regulators in Malta, UKGC, Gibraltar, Sweden, and Italy. And this is just to name a few! For crypto deposits and a wide array of jurisdictions, they’ve also snatched a Curacao license. All of this means one thing – they’re absolutely legit and abide by online gambling laws.
Pragmatic Play live casino games went live in the first half of 2019 at selected casinos, and in the period leading to the games’ release spokespeople for the company assured reviewers that their live casino solution would easily rival Evolution’s portfolio. Since the development team consists of former Ezugi, Evolution, and Playtech developers, we couldn’t help but get our hopes up. Now that the games are a regular thing in the live casino vertical, we can safely say that Pragmatic Play is easily the biggest challenger of Evolution’s dominance.
Extreme Live Gaming, the company whose infrastructure Pragmatic Play purchased, used to stream from a London studio. They were previously owned by Novomatic Games, who aren’t really a major name in the live casino niche. Instead of just adopting the British facilities, Pragmatic Play decided to start anew by opening up a space in Bucharest, Romania. It is there that you will find most of the action going on. What’s impressive is that the studio isn’t really that big, but it’s well-designed and well-organized. This is what gives it an iconic charm and a premium feel. So, despite what some tell you, less is indeed more.
A great boost to an already great studio are the dealers themselves. These professional hosts have all the chops needed to run a pro-level casino game. Not only are they fluent in English, but you can also enjoy supreme camera angles, pleasing animations, and soothing colors as a nice backdrop to the chatter. It’s obvious that the standards are pretty high over at Pragmatic Play, which is one of the reasons why we love this particular provider.
Before, they made some dazzling slots, but now they’re applying that same Midas’ touch to the world of live casino games. And they’ve done all of this in a short period of time, and they continue to prove why they are a top studio with each new release.
While it may be weird for a casino software provider of Pragmatic’s stature to have just one studio, this is actually a wise decision. It’s better to have your own facilities and control every aspect of live casino action than make compromises. And this is precisely what this brand did. They got all the room for native tables, as well. German, Italian, and Russian can all be heard at Pragmatic Play tables. It’s great to see this dose of variety accomplished in such a short period of time. Whatever the case may be, you can enjoy all of this in either HD or 4K quality, depending on the table you’re at.
Pragmatic Play has been a key player in slot-making, but their great dedication to the expansion of their live portfolio has made them a major name in the live casino sector. The portfolio is a diverse ecosystem of tables – from high-stakes tables to game shows, live roulette games, and live baccarat tables to lottery-style, and more – which means a lot is happening behind the scenes that we don’t know, but which ensures everything runs smoothly and fairly.
Here are some of the key security measures and practices that Pragmatic Play uses for its studio environments.
If there is one major vulnerability of live casino tables that persists throughout the years (although it may not seem so), it’s the coverage of the tables. More specifically, camera coverage.
Casino game protection researcher Richard Marcus spent years documenting how land-based casinos that invested a lot in visual surveillance still failed to prevent manipulation in real-time. He concluded that “casino personnel depend too much on video surveillance”, which creates gaps in reaction as cameras do indeed observe – but cannot react as human staff can.
Pragmatic Play found a way to solve that issue in its studio architecture.
Across its studios in Bucharest and other regulated markets, the company combines camera feeds with automated card-reading systems and result logging in real-time.
A great thing about these systems is that they do not need a supervisor to notice an anomaly. They work instantly, flagging any kind of issue (deviations, anomalies, etc.) automatically, so the time window that humans require for a reaction is not necessary. They flag the issue right away, so the issue of taking too long to notice something like that is directly eliminated.
Pragmatic Play works under Malta Gaming Authority and UK Gambling Commission licensing, which are two of the three most demanding regulatory bodies in the entire iGaming industry.
To get these licenses, providers must undergo regular studio inspections, dealer certification, and equipment audits, which is far more than studios under less strict licensing jurisdictions go through.
Even the physical part of the studios, where tables and the dealers are, is subject to independent verification, not just internal quality control. Shuffle and card handling protocols and dealing mechanics are all regularly documented, which is not something providers working outside MGA and UKGC have to do.
Another effective protection measure that companies use, including Pragmatic Play, is the use of a rule that no one can bear the sole responsibility for the entire process. What that means is that no individual can be the only one responsible for one or more decisions. It has to be a two-person authorization, at least. This way, the studio, tables, and gameplay are protected from outcome manipulation or any other kind of schemes.
This mirrors the principle that Marcus identifies as central to game protection: the most dangerous scenarios are when one person has unchecked access.
Pragmatic Play has rapidly grown into one of the most dominant live casino providers, particularly in game shows and traditional casino live content. What began in 2019 with a handful of roulette, blackjack, and baccarat tables has expanded into a catalog of 40+ live titles spanning game shows, speed formats, multiplier variants, and even native-language specialty games. The portfolio today is the work of a tier-1 provider, that has an unmatched production rate.
Its content is lauded for its polished, simplified look that players cannot help but compare with Evolution. And while Evolution indeed can be better than this studio in some categories, Pragmatic Play wins in the categories of sustainability, accessibility, and overall practicality. It also helps that the studio is focusing on smaller markets, bringing premium Pragmatic Play live casino games to wider audiences.
In the sections below you can get to know the studio’s live portfolio better with a closer look at some of its most famous game categories.
Pragmatic Play entered the live game show category after Evolution had already established the wheel-based format.
The studio’s approach was to build on proven mechanics rather than introduce new formats with completely new structures. Instead, they’d use something that already exists, but add distinct visual identities and branded themes.
Sweet Bonanza CandyLand takes the idea from their successful Sweet Bonanza slot and applies it to a money wheel format. The live game show’s RTP ranges from 91.59% to 96.83%, depending on bet selection.
There’s also the Treasure Island. Treasure Island uses a pirate theme with an RTP of 96.55%, which is almost competitive with Evolution’s Dream Catcher. Mega Wheel is their most straightforward wheel title, with a 96.51% RTP.
Here’s a table with the most popular Pragmatic Play live casino game shows.
| Title | RTP | Unique Features | Type |
| Sweet Bonanza CandyLand | 91.59–96.95% | Slot-inspired candy theme, volatile RTP | Wheel + bonus rounds |
| Treasure Island | 96.54% | Pirate theme, consistent mid-range RTP | Wheel |
| Mega Wheel | 96.51% | Simplified wheel mechanics | Wheel |
| Money Time | 96.60% | Wheel-based game with a fun format | Wheel |
| 24D Spin | 97.50% | Dual-wheel format, unique beta | Wheel |
| Dice City | 96.57% | Dice and bonus rounds, interactive | Dice |
| Snakes & Ladders | 96.30% | Famous board game-inspired | Bonus rounds |
Pragmatic Play’s game shows are visually themed, and even though they might not be as popular as Evolution, they still are among the best in the entire industry.
Plus, Pragmatic Play has a regular roadmap production rate, meaning we get new games regularly. Check out this guide for more live casino game show titles.
These are the two providers that define the live casino space in 2026. Evolution holds approximately close to half of the global live casino market, but Pragmatic Play has a solid portio as well.
Here’s a table that compares the two studios based on four criteria: game shows, studio scale, game variety, and UX design.
| Criteria | Pragmatic Play | Evolution | Winner |
| Game Shows | Sweet Bonanza CandyLand, Boom City, Money Time, etc. | Crazy Time, Dragon Tiger, Lightning Dice, Mega Ball, etc. | Evolution |
| Scale | Mainly Bucharest | 1700+ tables in over 4 continents | Evolution |
| UX Design | ONE Blackjack mobile interface is class-leading; game show panels competitive; slightly busier in bonus rounds | Industry benchmark across all formats; multi-camera switching, seamless mobile scaling, minimal interface clutter | Evolution |
| Game Variety | Most live casino game categories but also a strong focus on online slots | Covers all live dealer categories, including specialty games and game shows | Evolution |
Evolution is leading in all categories at the moment, but the gaps are closing slowly. The studios are working at a number of competitive markets, but while Evolution focuses on major markets, Pragmatic Play is making waves in smaller, emerging markets across Latin America.
Just like other leading software providers, Pragmatic Play makes sure its games are available on all devices. While this doesn’t necessarily include Windows smartphones, iOS and Android are perfectly equipped to handle the high-quality footage. Just be sure to check which version of the OS your phone is running. If it’s an older one, the streams might be a bit buggy. As for the Windows-related issue, the company has discontinued its mobile division and all updates with it. Therefore, Livecasinos.com can’t guarantee that Pragmatic Play live casino games will work on all devices. Sure, the newer Lumias are okay, but the older ones aren’t a sure thing.
Android (Android Phone & Tablet)
iOS Apple (iPhone & iPad)
Windows (Windows Phone & Tablet)
Pragmatic Play games are often associated with casino bonuses. In fact, its not rare to see a live casino welcome bonus accepting Pragmatic Play live casino games as eligible titles. Still, not every bonus is worthy and solid.
Have a look at our top 3 live casino bonuses for Pragmatic Play live dealer games. Each of the deals we ranked is fair, has decent wagering requirements, and offers fair playing conditions.
| Casino | Playthrough | Validity | Conditions | Rating / GO TO |
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