Casino

How has Roulette evolved?

Walk into any casino anywhere in the world and you are guaranteed to find roulette. The game has timeless popularity and an iconic reputation. How did this ever come about, and how has this game evolved over the decades? Read about the surprising history of roulette in a nutshell here.

How did roulette originate?

The origins of roulette go back so far that several theories circulate about it. Some tongues claim that an ancient precursor to the game was brought to the Western world from China by French Dominican monks. In this historical ‘roulette’ variant, 37 animal figurines had to be arranged in a magical shape. Another theory holds that the game is a derivative of 18th-century French gambling games, where a ball determined the outcome.

What we do know for sure is where the wheel came from. It was invented in the 17th century by French mathematician, physicist and religious philosopher Blaise Pascal, in an attempt to create a wheel that would never stop spinning. Although he did not succeed in this goal, the wheel did spin faster and longer than had previously been possible.

It is unknown exactly how this wheel then found its way into casinos, but several decades after Pascal’s death, the wheel was added to an already existing gambling game, the Italian Biribi. In this game, like roulette, you could bet on different numbers, after which a banker would randomly draw a number.

Evolution to modern roulette

This early version of roulette was already very successful, but was not yet exactly the game we know today. The green zero, where you lose your bet if the ball lands on it, was not yet to be found on the seventeenth and eighteenth century roulette wheels.

This changed in the mid-nineteenth century. French casino entrepreneurs and brothers Francois and Lois Blanc then devised the modern layout of the wheel, with 36 regular slots and one green zero slot. The addition of the green zero was done at the request of King Charles III of Monaco, who hoped in this way to increase the revenues of his just-opened casino. When the game blew over to the United States, the Americans compounded this by adding yet another zero.

Today, we still have these two main varieties of roulette: the classic European version with a single zero, and the American version with two zeros. In online casinos, countless variations can be found in terms of theme and extra features, but the basics have always remained the same. In this sense, Blaise Pascal’s wish has come true to some extent, even if not literally: the wheel has always kept spinning.

Playing online roulette on mobile devices

As we mentioned, there are a huge variety of roulette games online. Take a look at our selection, for example, and find a roulette game that suits you. The good news is that you can play all these games on your smartphone, tablet as well as PC.

Play online roulette for free

If you want to explore the game at your leisure first, you can find many free versions of roulette games. In these, you don’t stand a chance of winning real prizes, but you can learn how the game works.

Whether you play at Casino777.be or any other online sportsbook, always remember to bet responsibly. Here at Casino777.be, player welfare is our top priority. For more information on responsible gambling, visit our tips and resources page.