Modern-day roulette has easily become one of the most popular casino games at online casinos. Online players would describe roulette as more than just a game that one simply bets on — there’s a lot more to it, especially given its history. To say that roulette changed over the years would be quite an understatement.
With this article, we’re going to dive headlong into history of roulette and explore where roulette originated, how the game evolved, and even how it travelled across gambling houses from all over the world.
Origins of Roulette
To truly understand the game of roulette, we must first start from the beginning. Roulette history spans centuries and continents, so buckle in.
Predecessors: Roly-Poly and the Birth of Roulette Game
Long-time roulette fans know that the original roulette game was invented in the late 1700s in France by a French mathematician. Blaise Pascal was said to have been attempting to build a perpetual motion machine. While this invention inherently failed, this led to the creation of the first roulette wheel.
The rules of the first roulette game were put together not long after. Historians claim that roulette was influenced by other gambling games that were popular at the time, including Roly-Poly, Even-Odd, and even an old Chinese board game. Each of these gambling games featured a spinning wheel, so many of them still hold some influence over roulette today — even the ancient Chinese game!
Roulette’s European Roots: From France to the World
While roulette quickly grew its fan base, gamblers could only play roulette games in underground gambling dens as gambling had not yet been legalised. So, as love for the game surged, in 1843, Francois and Luis Blanc took the game to Hamburg, Germany and then Monte Carlo. It was here that these two brothers opened the first land-based casino, allowing gamblers to play singe-zero roulette, or as it more widely known, European roulette. This Monte Carlo casino became the gambling centre of Europe.
How French Roulette Shaped the Game
As more and more punters tried their hand at spinning the European roulette wheel, this casino game saw a few changes in its rules. Nowadays, players would find three main versions of roulette: European roulette, American roulette (which we’ll get to later), and French roulette.
French roulette essentially offers the same rules as its European counterpart. But this version offers a lower house advantage and additional rules that favour the player. Some players argue that they’re given too much of an edge, leading to a debate that will never truly end.
The Role of Monte Carlo: Elevating European Roulette’s Prestige
What really set the game of roulette up for success was the creation of the Monte Carlo casino. While gambling was prohibited across Europe, Prince Charles of Monaco was said to be experiencing financial difficulties, so he used gambling, and roulette in particular, to help solve them, reintroducing the game to France. The casino attracted the wealthiest and most distinguished guests, and because of this, roulette and other traditional games spread across Europe like wildfire.
Crossing the Atlantic: Roulette’s Arrival in America
It wasn’t long before the single-zero roulette wheel reached American soil, and to no surprise, the roulette game was one many punters opted to play. But, casino owners wanted to find a way to make even more money, so they altered the game to include a higher house edge with a double zero slot. Naturally, this version was dubbed American roulette.
The inclusion of the double zero pocket completely changed the game for most casinos in America. Not only was the house edge greater, but this gave rise to additional rules, and even the betting options saw some adjustments.
Roulette’s American Adventure: From New Orleans to the United States
When American roulette first came to be, it was a major hit in New Orleans. Throughout the 19th century, it quickly worked its way up to Mississippi and to the Midwest from there. By the time the 1930s hit, the game of roulette was headlining multiple casinos across Las Vegas.
As we mentioned earlier, the style of play differed quite a bit from single-zero roulette games. Aside from the alteration in game rules, casino houses placed the American roulette wheel on a makeshift table, preventing gamblers from using certain devices that could manipulate the outcome of the wheel. The betting options were also made simpler to facilitate game rounds and make them move faster.
Despite giving casinos a greater edge, the double zero is predominant in the US, South America, Canada, and the Caribbean and remains that way until this day. In fact, it is the main distinguishing factor between modern European and American roulette games.
The Role of Monte Carlo: Elevating European Roulette ‘s Prestige
Early Roulette Rules: Past Versus Present
Because roulette was practically the first game played in upscale gambling houses, there have been minor adjustments to the rules over time. The game experienced some serious changes, however, when it branched out into American and French roulette.
While the premise is the same no matter what variant you play (betting on a winning number), you may find additional rules that allow you to save your bet or extra numbered pockets that give casinos the upper hand.
On top of that, the creative possibilities for the rules of roulette really boomed when online casinos entered the picture. Developers were able to use certain technologies to include bonuses like multipliers and minigames and even immerse players into the game with slow-motion replay and multiple camera angles. Some providers even went as far as to merge roulette mechanics with lotto-style elements.
Roulette Transformation: Single Zero to Double Zero
We’ve touched on the double-zero variation marking a significant stepping stone in the history of roulette, but how has the double-zero pocket really affected roulette gameplay?
While double and single-zero roulette are two very similar games, that one double-zero pocket actually had a great impact.
As many know, the zero pocket is what gives casinos an edge. With only one zero slot, players would be able to bet on a total of 37 numbers, including numbers ranging from one to 36, as well as the single green zero. As such, the odds of winning are 1:37. With the additional zero, those odds decrease to 1:38.
This pushes the regular 2.70% edge in European and French roulette games to a near-whopping double percentage of 5.26%.
Evolution of the Roulette Wheel
The roulette mechanism was not one that was invented from scratch. The game was heavily influenced by games that were played in ancient China and ancient Rome, and so the first gaming wheel included only 36 pockets, excluding a zero entirely. That was until it was introduced to roulette wheels in the early 1800s — and the rest is history.
Evolution of the Roulette Table
Like the wheel, the roulette layout also went through a bit of an evolution. Roulette tables were adjusted to include both zero pockets and essentially make room for different/more wagering options.
Modern Roulette: Variations and Innovations
Technology plays a major role in the evolution of casino games, and with new casino platforms on the rise, it comes as no surprise that the game of roulette was also caught up in this revolution.
Thanks to modern casino operators, gamblers are able to access all forms of roulette on internet casinos and play European, French and American roulette right from the comfort of their own homes. The modernisation of roulette didn’t stop there, however.
Online players constantly sought immersive experiences, so providers took things further to create all new versions of roulette. Now, online casinos are bursting with new titles as players can stream games like Multiball Roulette, Lightning Roulette, and Lotto Roulette, among others. Each table includes more avant-garde mechanics like an electronic Random Number Generator, an automatic wheel, interactive chat features, etc. And that only scratches the surface of what to expect when playing online casino games.
Streaming live games has become almost as immersive as playing at a real casino. And with virtual reality casinos on the rise, playing a roulette game online will, too, become a thing of the past. Until then, do not hesitate to try online roulette tables out for yourself. HotSlots is one of the best online casinos in the iGaming scene, so if a hot online roulette experience is what you’re after, HotSlots is where it’s at!
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