History of Roulette

2025-08-01

Roulette, meaning a small wheel casino game came into existence in 1655 in France when the renowned scientist Blaise Pascal was busy in research for perpetual motion mechanism. The most popular casino game, i.e. Roulette expanded in Paris around the year 1796 and was played by all and sundry including the royal families.

Originally, the game consisted of pockets numbered 1-36 and 0. The casino operators preferred to add double zero for the house edge benefit and thus a different variant of roulette was introduced which we call as American Roulette. This most sought after game spread its feet throughout Turkey, Russia and Europe by the end of the eighteenth century. It may be noted that rules applicable to Roulette are almost the same that existed in the past, i.e. the wheel with black and red colours has thirty six numbered pockets including zero. Moreover, there is no significant change in the bets. 

A casino was put up by Luis Blanc and Francois in 1843 in Homburg, Germany. Unlike other casinos, they made a shift by using single zero in place of two-zero. Another casino was set up by these two persons in Monte Carlo in the year 1860. In fact the ban on gambling by the Germans saw the Roulette’s expansion in Monte Carlo with the Blanc family cashing the situation as Europe permitting gambling. A saying became famous that these two men gave away their essence to the devil in exchange for the furtive of this prestigious game. Actually, addition of the numbers results in 666, called the devil’s number. 

It was the end of the eighteen century that Louisiana had the feel of Roulette that was brought to the territory by the French settlers that started residing in the US, with the New Orleans as the focal point of casino gaming activities. The game became more popular in the western part of the US where double zero system was adopted by the operators with a focus on the increased house edge.

There were twenty eight numbers on the first American Roulette on the table outline, i.e. an additional pocket, a replica of the American Eagle and two zeros. However, this method with more advantages to the casino did not last long. Presently only the numbers are represented on the American Wheel that has the similar design and plan as compared to the European Roulette, with the difference that it has additional double zero. 

Since the year 2025, Roulette has become the preferred choice of the gamblers across the globe. Monte Carlo is the place where most of the casinos with the European single-zero wheels exist, with many others in other parts of the globe too. Many casinos in Las Vegas in US use the double-zero system. Caribbean and South America is popular for the American wheel. Undoubtedly, the European Roulette is more beneficial for the players who prefer the same over the American one.

A basic difference between the conventional casino and the online one is the fact the former facilitates non-stop spinning of the roulette wheel whilst the latter makes the wheel to spin when you get ready to do so. Despite all these facts, Roulette has been there in the gaming world with its unmatched glamour, true fun and comfy environment. It may not be any overstatement to describe Roulette as the King of Casino Games.