Why is my online casino not working? What happens on the stream, and what happens in the round

Why is my online casino not working when the live stream stops?

The short answer to "why is my online casino not working?" in a live game: the picture has stopped, but the round has not. A frozen or black stream means the video on your screen has stalled. The round carries on at the operator's game server and is settled there.

So there are two questions, not one: why did the picture stop, and what did your bet do while it was stopped? The first is about your connection. Your account history answers the second, not the last frame you saw.

Status: Not tested. We did not time a stream or force a disconnection for this page. What follows comes from the Gambling Commission's standards and one operator's help page, all read on 23 September 2026.

Sources: Gambling Commission: RTS 10; Gambling Commission: RTS 1.

The stream and the round record — two systems on one screen

A live table is two systems that share one screen. The stream is the video: a studio camera, an encoder, the network and your device. The round record is the game server's account of the round: the bet it accepted, the result and the money that moved.

The stream reaches you after the event, because encoding and the network add delay. The round record does not wait for the picture. When the picture freezes, the table does not freeze with it.

That is why a frozen frame is weak evidence. A video interruption does not, by itself, show whether a selection was accepted or how a round was settled. It shows the last thing your device drew, not the last thing the server recorded.

So the useful things to look at are the wording of any error message and the route to your transaction history. Record what you can recover from those. Do not try to work out the outcome from the last visible frame.

Why the picture stops — what the standard says about your connection

The Gambling Commission sets remote technical standards for online gambling, and each one is called an RTS. RTS 4 covers time-critical events. These are games where the speed of your response has a significant effect on your chance of winning.

RTS 4 says you should be told you might be at a disadvantage "because of technical issues such as slower network speeds, or slower end user device performance". Its guidance puts that warning in game descriptions, rules, help or how-to-play pages.

Those are the two causes to rule out first: the connection and the device. A weak mobile signal, a busy home network or an older phone can stall a stream while the table carries on. The help page for the game you were in is where the operator's own warning should sit.

Status: Not tested. We have not measured stream delay, dropouts or reconnection times at any table for this page.

Sources: Gambling Commission: RTS 4.

What happens to your bet — the four cases in RTS 10

RTS 10 is the standard on interrupted gambling. Its aim is that customers are treated fairly when play is interrupted, and that they know in advance how they will be treated. It does not say that every dropped round is cancelled.

Its guidance for gaming sets out four cases, plus a line on progressive jackpots. The one that applies depends on how far the round had got when the interruption happened. The table below gives each in the standard's own terms.

Take a roulette or baccarat table where betting has closed. The operator has your bet, and nothing you do can change the result. On the standard's wording, that is the case where the result should stand, whether you saw it or not.

A game with decisions is different. For a stateful game, one with several stages or decision points, the operator should take all reasonable steps to restore it to its last known state so you can finish it.

Sources: Gambling Commission: RTS 10.

The published policy — where your operator says what it does

RTS 10 also requires operators to make information available about their policies on service interruptions in different circumstances. The guidance says this should cover common scenarios. It does not have to cover every possible one.

So your operator has a written answer somewhere, usually in its terms or its help centre. Reading it before a round goes wrong is quicker than hunting for it during one.

A good policy separates games with decisions from games without them. It also tells you where to find your game history and how to reach support.

Sources: Gambling Commission: RTS 10.

One operator's wording — bet365's disconnection page

bet365's casino licensee, Hillside (UK Gaming) ENC, account 55149, held an active remote casino licence on the Gambling Commission's public register when we checked it on 23 September 2026. Its help page on disconnections, read the same day, splits live games into two kinds.

For live blackjack or Casino Hold'em, it says your hand "will either be checked or folded depending on the actions taken by the other players". For a live game with no further decision, such as baccarat or roulette, it says your bets "will settle automatically according to the results of the game".

It also says you are reconnected automatically once your connection is back. And it says all results can be viewed through your game history.

This is one operator's wording. Another operator may word its policy differently, and a help page can change without any change to the standard behind it.

Sources: bet365: disconnections; Register: account 55149.

Getting back in — the reconnection steps, in order

If you are not reconnected automatically, bet365's page lists the steps below. They fix your end of the stream. They do not change what the server recorded for the round.

Before you start, note the time on your phone. Restarting an app can clear an error message, and the time is the one detail you cannot get back later.

Sources: bet365: disconnections.

Reading the round record — what RTS 1 says you can see

RTS 1 covers customer account information. It says you must have easy access to at least three months of account and gambling history, without having to contact the operator. At least 12 months must be available on request.

For gaming, that history can be full or summarised. As a minimum, you must have easy access to details of the last game played and summarised information for earlier activity.

That last-game entry is the line to open first after a freeze. It should show whether the stake was taken and what the round returned. If the round reference is shown there, copy it.

Sources: Gambling Commission: RTS 1.

Writing it down — the five-line note

If the history and the screen seem to disagree, write down what you can see before you ask anyone. A note made at the time is easier to check than a memory.

The note needs the time, the round reference if one is shown, the status message and the matching account entry. Add the balance before and after. Mark anything that does not add up as unresolved until the operator explains it.

The note is a record of what you saw. It is not a claim that a platform lost, accepted or duplicated a bet, and it should not be written as one.

Disconnection and complaints — when the record does not match

The Gambling Commission's guidance says to complain to the gambling business first. Tell it the dates, times and amounts of money, share any evidence you have, and keep a copy of everything you send.

The business has 8 weeks from receiving your complaint to resolve it. If you are not satisfied with the result after 8 weeks, you may be able to take it to an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provider. An ADR provider is a free, independent service, and you can only go to one after the business's own complaints process.

Your five-line note is the evidence the guidance asks for. It turns "the stream froze" into a time, a round and an amount.

A dropped hand is settled by the rules, not by the stream, and re-betting to "make it back" is a separate decision. If it is becoming the usual one, GamCare's helpline is 0808 8020 133.

Sources: Gambling Commission: how to complain; Gambling Commission: ADR guide; GamCare: helpline.

What we could not measure

Status: Not tested. We did not time any stream, force a disconnection or test a reconnection for this page. We did not open an account, deposit or play a round.

The bet365 terms page served to us on 23 September 2026 was the edition for customers outside Great Britain. The help page may be the same edition. We could not confirm that the British edition uses the same words.

RTS 10 says what should happen. It does not show what one operator did on one evening. For that, the round record and the operator's written answer are the evidence.

Sources: bet365: disconnections; Gambling Commission: RTS 10.

Help pages read

Eight pages were read on 23 September 2026. The Gambling Commission's RTS 1, RTS 4 and RTS 10 supplied the rules on history, connection warnings and interruptions. Its complaints and ADR guides supplied the 8-week window and the ADR step.

bet365's help page supplied the operator wording and the reconnection steps. The public register supplied its licence status, and GamCare's own page supplied the helpline number.

The five-line note and the order of the checks are our method. They are not an operator's or the regulator's wording.

Sources: Gambling Commission: RTS 10; Gambling Commission: RTS 4; Gambling Commission: RTS 1; Gambling Commission: how to complain; Gambling Commission: ADR guide; bet365: disconnections; Register: account 55149; GamCare: helpline.