Buyers choosing a live casino software provider are reading reliability clauses as closely as the game list. For live dealer tables, a dropped stream does more than annoy players. It freezes a round mid-hand and forces settlement decisions in real time.
Why the uptime percentage needs context
A headline figure hides a lot. 99.9% allows roughly 8.8 hours of downtime a year, while 99.99% allows about 53 minutes. Ask how it is measured: per table, per studio or platform-wide? Are maintenance windows excluded? Does a laggy, degraded stream count as “up”? Whether you assess Playtech or a smaller supplier, those definitions matter more than the number.
What to ask for
- Redundancy: separate encoders, network paths and game servers per studio, plus a documented failover route to another studio.
- Round recovery: what happens to bets in an interrupted round. Are they voided, completed from game-server state or refunded? Get it in writing.
- Incident communication: named contacts, time to first notice, update cadence and a post-incident report.
- Credits: service credits are usually capped against fees and rarely cover lost revenue or player churn. Check claim deadlines.
- Testing: evidence of failover drills, not just a diagram.
What to do next
Estimate your peak hourly revenue, multiply it by a plausible outage length and compare the result with the credit cap. The gap is your real exposure. Then ask for a failover demonstration before signing.
FAQ
What uptime SLA should a live casino provider offer?
There is no universal number. Look for a stated percentage, a clear measurement method, defined exclusions and stream-quality coverage. A slightly lower figure with strict definitions and fast incident response often protects you better than a bold figure full of exclusions.
Do SLA credits cover lost revenue?
Usually not. Credits typically reduce future fees up to a cap and may require a timely claim. Check whether the contract covers consequential losses, and weigh that against your own outage cost estimate.
