The popular casino table game of roulette dates back to 17th century France, when an inventor called Blaise Pascal built a rotating numbered wheel. This novel wheel, combined with other gambling games of the era, evolved into the roulette of today.
Visit any top land, mobile or online casino and you'll find at least one roulette table. With their shiny spinning wheels and enticing number boards that accept a variety of bet types, it's no wonder roulette continues to be such a major drawcard in casinos.
A great feature of roulette is how smoothly it has transitioned to online and mobile casinos where 24/7 you can access and play a variety of fun and real money versions of roulette, including European Roulette, American Roulette and French Roulette.
On this page you'll find the rules of roulette as well as everything else you need to know to play this exciting and worthwhile table casino game like a seasoned pro. We'll also share with you our featured UK mobile and online roulette casinos.
Basics and the Aim of the Game
The aim of roulette is to rack up chips with one or more bets that corresponds to a number, range of numbers or colour determined by the little white ball released into a turning roulette wheel by the croupier (dealer) once all bets have been placed.
One of the biggest attractions of roulette is how easy it is to play. To play online, for instance, all you have to do is fund your account, choose a roulette variant (with a table limit to suit your budget), place your bets and watch to see if you're a winner.
Every roulette wheel is randomly numbered 1 to 36 with numbers either red or black plus a single green zero (0) in European Roulette and French Roulette (37 numbers), or with the addition of double green zero (00) in the case of American Roulette (38).
In roulette you only ever play against the house (casino) which means your fellow players have no impact on your bets, wins or losses. However, to differentiate your bets from those of other players, each player is assigned different coloured chips.
At the start of each roulette round (new spin of the wheel) the dealer typically says “place your bets,” which is your cue to place your bets wherever you want, but within the table limits. When all betting is completed, the dealer spins the wheel.
They will also release a little white ball in the opposite direction of the spinning wheel, and say “no more bets” to prevent late bets. The ball skips and jumps over the numbered slots until eventually landing in one, denoting the winning number.
The dealer places a dolly (a marker) on the corresponding number on the table to show players what it is. Once the dealer has cleared the non-winning bets from the table leaving only the winning bets (if any), they pay out the winning players.
Winnings paid out obviously fluctuates from player to player based on the types and number of bets they placed, how much they bet as well as the variant of roulette they are playing. Once all winning bets have been paid out, a new round begins.
And that's all there is to it. To improve your chances of winning, however, be sure to learn the various roulette bets you can make and, importantly, which ones have the lowest house edge so you can improve your chances of being paid consistently.
Variants
The three main variants of roulette you'll come across in online, mobile and land casinos are European Roulette, American Roulette and French Roulette, each with varying table limits. Below you'll find the differences of each highlighted:
European Roulette
Arguable the most widely played form of roulette in casinos in Europe and beyond, European Roulette is considered to be the standard or regular roulette variant, with 37 numbers (36 + 0). It is easily recognisable by its use of a single zero (0) only and how the names of all the various bet types are written on the table in English.
American Roulette
American Roulette differs to European Roulette in that it has a double zero (00) as well as the standard single zero (0). As such, it has playable 38 numbers (36 + 0 + 00) instead of 37, which changes the odds in favour of the house. For instance, the house advantage in European Roulette is 2.7% vs. 5.26% in American Roulette.
French Roulette
French Roulette is very similar to European Roulette in terms of its numbers (36 + 0) odds, bets and payout, but differs slightly in the way its table is laid out and the fact all the bet names are written in French. Another key difference is the ‘La Partage' rule, where if 0 comes up, players will only lose 50% of their even-money bets.
Bet names in French Roulette:
- Straight Up Bet - En plein
- Split Bet - Cheval
- Street Bet - Transversale
- Corner Bet - Carre
- Six-Line Bet - Sixainne
- Column - Colonne
- Dozen - Douzaine
- Red / Black - Rouge / Noir
- Odd / Even - Impair / Pair
- High / Low - Passe / Manque
Bets and Payouts
There are many bets you can make in roulette, each with their own pay outs and odds. You'll notice that the higher the payout of a bet, the lower its odds. In other words, the bigger the payout, the less likely it is to pay you out.
Here are the roulette bets listed from highest to lowest payouts:
Straight-Up Bet (1 number)
When you place your chips on any single number, including 0 or 00. This is the highest-paying bet in roulette with the lowest odds of hitting.
| Payout | Odds (European) | Odds (American) |
|---|---|---|
| 35:1 | 2.70% | 2.63% |
Split Bet (2 numbers)
When you place your chips across two consecutive numbers.
| Payout | Odds (European) | Odds (American) |
|---|---|---|
| 17:1 | 5.41% | 5.26% |
Street Bet (3 numbers)
When you place your chips across three numbers like 0, 1 and 2.
| Payout | Odds (European) | Odds (American) |
|---|---|---|
| 11:1 | 8.11% | 7.89% |
Line Bet (3 numbers)
When you place your chips on one line of horizontal numbers.
| Payout | Odds (European) | Odds (American) |
|---|---|---|
| 11:1 | 8.11% | 7.89% |
Corner / Square Bet (4 numbers)
When you place your chips on the corner of four numbers.
| Payout | Odds (European) | Odds (American) |
|---|---|---|
| 8:1 | 10.81% | 10.53% |
Top line / Basket / First Five Bet (5 numbers)
This bet is only offered in American Roulette where you can place your chips across 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3.
| Payout | Odds (European) | Odds (American) |
|---|---|---|
| 6:1 | - | 13.16% |
Six-Line / Double Street (6 numbers)
When you place your chips on two lines of horizontal numbers.
| Payout | Odds (European) | Odds (American) |
|---|---|---|
| 5:1 | 16.22% | 15.79% |
Column Bet (12 numbers each)
When you place your chips on any of the three columns of 12 numbers each: 1st Column (1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31 and 34); 2nd Column (2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 23, 26, 29, 32 and 35) or 3rd Column (3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33 or 36).
| Payout | Odds (European) | Odds (American) |
|---|---|---|
| 2:1 | 32.43% | 31.58% |
Dozen Bet (12 numbers each)
When you place your chips on any of the three Dozen Bets of 12 consecutive numbers each: 1 to 12, 13 to 24 or 25 to 36.
| Payout | Odds (European) | Odds (American) |
|---|---|---|
| 2:1 | 32.43% | 31.58% |
Red / Black
When you bet the next number will be either red or black. (You lose if 0 or 00 comes up).
| Payout | Odds (European) | Odds (American) |
|---|---|---|
| 1:1 | 48.65% | 47.37% |
Odd / Even
When you bet the next number will be either odd or even.
| Payout | Odds (European) | Odds (American) |
|---|---|---|
| 1:1 | 48.65% | 47.37% |
High / Low
When you bet the next number will be either high (19 to 26) or low (1 to 18).
| Payout | Odds (European) | Odds (American) |
|---|---|---|
| 1:1 | 48.65% | 47.37% |
Table Limits
Depending on the casino, you'll come across roulette games with a wide variety of table limits. Like any other casino gambling game, it's always advisable to choose a roulette game with table limits that won't stretch or break your budget.
In other words, choose a limit that will allow you to play for some time while at the same time giving you the opportunity to grow your chip stack. There's little point in playing at a table where the minimum bet will eat your chip stack in just a few spins of the wheel. That is, unless you happen to have an inside line to Lady Luck.