Play Free Online Roulette Games

Pascal’s invention may look like an accident, but as they say, everything happens for a reason. In 1654, Pascal began corresponding with fellow French thinker Pierre de Fermat (1607-1665), laying the groundwork for the development of probability theory. Combining these ideas with his work on perpetual motion, Pascal’s early roulette machine, with its nearly frictionless wheel, was presumably created to investigate and demonstrate the “nature” of chance.

In theory, Pascal’s wheel was eventually adopted for gambling purposes – but this is where the history gets a bit fuzzy. In 1720, a game called roly-poly (aka roulet) was introduced in London, using a horizontal wheel divided into 40 spaces, alternating between black and white. This game eventually appeared in Paris, and by 1791, it was known as “red and black” roulette, with red replacing white in the color scheme. Did Pascal’s wheel make it to London, or was that a separate invention? We may never know.

We do know that Roulette didn’t become the game we recognize today until it landed in France. They already had lottery games that they imported from Italy, including a game they called biribi, which involved a layout with the numbers 1 through 70 arranged in nine separate columns. You could bet on one of these numbers being drawn, or you could place an even-money bet on whether the number would be odd or even, high or low – or black and red, the colors used on their layout. Roulette as we know it is essentially a combination of roly-poly and biribi.

There’s one other twist the French added to roulette. By 1796, the wheel included two spaces that were “reserved” for the casino: zero (0), also known as single-zero, and double-zero (00). If the ball landed in either of these two pockets, all the even-money bets would be scooped up by the casino, as well as any other non-zero wager, thus giving the casino their house edge. These two pockets were later colored green to better distinguish them from the other numbers. With only a few minor changes in design and layout, this is the same roulette game that’s played across America and much of the world today.

It was a stroke of genius. People flocked to Bad Homburg to play roulette with a lower house edge than other locations offered. Alas, Germany enforced their own gambling ban in the 1860s, leaving the Blanc Brothers with only one legal option in Europe: Monaco, where Francois Blanc took over the newly independent country’s casino operations in 1863. He oversaw the launch of the famed Monte Carlo Casino, based in part on his previous location at Bad Homburg. Well-heeled gamblers from all over the continent came to Monte Carlo and played single-zero Roulette. When other European countries finally lifted their gambling bans, this was the Roulette game they brought in.

Well before this time, the roulette wheel with the double-zero was already a fixture in North America. Roulette was played in New France by the mid-1700s and was a big hit on the Mississippi riverboats – where the betting layout was simplified, leaving us with the American Roulette we recognize today. This is the other key difference between the two versions: European Roulette has many more betting options than its American cousin. We’ll look at those options more closely in our next chapter.

You can bet on more than one number at a time when you play American Roulette. You can place your chips on as many different squares as you like; you can also bet on adjacent numbers by placing your chips on the edge or corner those numbers share on the layout. Here’s a list of different American Roulette bets you can make in addition to the single (aka straight) bet:

Split: Bet on two adjacent numbers, horizontally or vertically.
Street: Bet on three consecutive numbers, horizontally.
Corner (aka square): Bet on four numbers that share the same corner.
Six Line (aka double street): Bet on six consecutive numbers from two horizontal lines.
Trio: Bet on three numbers with a shared corner, with at least one zero included.
Row: Bet on 0-00.
Top Line (aka basket): Bet on 0-00-1-2-3.

All these roulette bets are known as inside bets, since they’re found “inside” the layout. Other betting areas are marked on the “outside” of the layout; these are conveniently known as outside bets, and they include the following:

1-18 (aka Low), or 19-36 (aka High)
Red or Black
Even or Odd
Dozen (1-12, 13-24, or 25-36)
Column (either of the three columns on the layout, each containing 12 numbers)

To place an outside bet, simply put your chips inside the designated betting area, and mash the Spin button. Odds and payouts are based on how many numbers are covered by your bet; for example, a street bet pays out at 17:1, while a bet on Red pays out at even money. The house edge is the same for all these bets at 5.26%, except for the Top Line bet, which pays out at 6:1 and has a house edge of 7.89%.

As we’ve mentioned, the single-zero wheel used in European Roulette carries a lower house edge, which works out to 2.70%. There is no Top Line bet in European Roulette, but there is a basket (aka first four) wager, where you bet on 0-1-2-3. This has the same 2.70% edge as the other bets – including all those extra bets on the European layout. To view this expanded layout at Slots.lv, you’ll have to play Classic European Roulette. Open the game in Practice mode, and take a look at the layout: You’ll see an added section with the numbers 0-36 arranged in an oval, with three areas marked on the inside. This is where you place your call bets, also known as French bets. Here’s what those three designated areas say and what they mean:

Voisins du Zéro (“Neighbors of Zero”): Bet on the 17 numbers between 22 and 25 on the wheel. This is a nine-chip wager (higher multiples are allowed) where you bet two chips on 0-2-3, one chip on 4-7, one on 12-15, one on 18-21, one on 19-22, two on 25-26-28-29, and one on 32-35.

Tiers du Cylindre (“Third of the Wheel”): Bet on the 12 numbers between 27 and 33 on the wheel. This is a six-chip wager where you bet one chip on each of 5-8, 10-11, 13-16, 23-24, 27-30 and 33-36.

Orphans (aka Orphelins): Bet on the remaining eight numbers on the wheel. This is a five-chip wager where you bet one chip each on 1, 6-9, 14-17, 17-20 and 31-34.

In addition to these bets, you can place a Neighbors bet on any of the numbered spaces on the oval. This is a five-chip bet, with one chip each on the number in question, plus the two nearest numbers to the left and right on the wheel. For example, a bet on “20 and the neighbors” is a bet on 1-14-20-31-33, with one chip on each number. There’s one exception to this pattern: Jeu Zéro (“Zero Game”) is a four-chip bet, with one chip each on 0-3, 12-15, 32-35 and 26.

Finding the Best Roulette Game for You

The great thing about playing Roulette for free at Slots.lv is how you get to try both American and European Roulette, and get familiar with all the different bets you can make, including those exotic “French” bets. Which game turns out to be right for you is partly a matter of taste, and partly a question of bankroll. If the lower house edge is your primary concern, play European Roulette. If you prefer the simpler layout, or you think the double-zero is more fun, play American Roulette.

Roulette FAQ

Q: What are the minimum and maximum Roulette bets at Slots.lv?
A: The minimum bet for the Roulette games at Slots.lv is $1. The maximum bet you can make is $500.

Q: How old do I have to be to play Roulette at Slots.lv?
A: There is no age limit for the free online games at Slots.lv, although you have to be at least 18 to play real money games.

Q: What is French Roulette?
A: This is a common variation of European Roulette that uses the en prison (“in prison”) rule, where you get half your original wager back on even-money bets if the ball lands on the single-zero. This rule reduces the house edge in French Roulette to 1.35%.

Q: What is California Roulette?
A: First offered in 2004, California Roulette replaces the wheel with 38 numbered cards, allowing the game to be spread in California’s cardrooms.

Q: Where can I play European Roulette in Las Vegas?
A: At press time, the Bellagio, the MGM Grand, the Rio, and the Wynn offer European Roulette as well as American Roulette.

There’s lots more to learn about roulette if you want to play real money games, including bankroll management, the history (and folly) of roulette betting systems, and even some of the mechanical devices people have used to “beat” the game in the past. But for now, you have all the information you need to fully enjoy free online Roulette at Slots.lv, from the history of the game to all the different bets you can make. Try all four of our Roulette games at your leisure, and we’ll see you at the tables.