Roulette is one of the easiest casino games to learn: the ball circles the wheel, drops into a numbered pocket, and bets are paid according to where you placed your chips. This guide covers the rules of roulette, every bet type with its payout, and why the type of wheel matters more than any betting system – whether you play online against a random number generator or at a live table with a real dealer.
The basic rules are the same in every version. The differences come from the number of zero pockets and a couple of special rules, and those decide how much of the money staked stays with the casino in the long run.
A roulette wheel carries the numbers 1–36, half red and half black, plus a green zero. Each round starts with betting: you place chips on the numbers or on the outside areas around the number grid. When betting closes, the wheel spins and the ball is sent round in the opposite direction. The pocket where the ball settles decides the round.
Winning bets are paid at fixed odds and losing bets are collected. A payout written as 35:1 means a one-unit bet wins 35 units and the original stake is returned as well. You can place several bets on the same spin, and each is settled separately.
In short: European roulette has 37 pockets and American roulette has 38, and that one extra pocket doubles the house edge.
European roulette has 37 pockets: 1–36 and a single zero. Payouts are set as if the zero did not exist, which gives the house an edge of 1/37, or 2.70%. The return to player is therefore 97.30%.
American roulette adds a double zero (00), making 38 pockets. The payouts stay the same, so the house edge rises to 2/38, or 5.26%. The American five-number bet (0, 00, 1, 2 and 3) pays 6:1 and carries an even higher edge of 7.89%.
French roulette uses the same single-zero wheel as the European game, often with la partage or en prison. Both apply only to even-money bets. Under la partage you get half of an even-money stake back when the ball lands on zero. Under en prison the stake is held for the next spin, and if it wins then, you get the stake back without a win. Either rule halves the edge on even-money bets to about 1.35%, while all other bets stay at 2.70%.
A European wheel has 37 numbers, 0–36. Zero is green, and the numbers 1–36 split evenly: 18 are red and 18 are black. The red numbers are 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 30, 32, 34 and 36; all the others are black. On the wheel the numbers are not in numerical order: red and black alternate, and odd and even are spread as evenly as possible. On the betting layout the numbers sit in three columns and twelve rows instead.
The green zero is where the house edge comes from. You can bet on zero directly like any single number, and it pays 35:1. Even-money and other outside bets do not cover zero, so they lose when it comes up unless French la partage or en prison applies. An American wheel has two green pockets, 0 and 00.
Outside bets cover larger groups of numbers. The zero belongs to none of them, so they lose when it comes up, except under the French even-money rules described above.
On a European wheel every bet has the same expected value: minus 2.70% of the stake. A single number hits on average once in 37 spins and wins 35 units, while the other 36 spins lose one unit each, a net loss of one unit per 37 staked. The bet type only changes how often you win and how big the wins are. Choosing a single-zero wheel is the one decision that genuinely improves your odds.
The return to player of roulette is the house edge turned around: in European roulette 100% − 2.70% = 97.30%, in American roulette 94.74%. It is a long-run average over all bets, not a promise about a single session. On French even-money bets la partage lifts it to 98.65%. Because every bet type has the same expected value, the return is the same whether you bet on one number or on red.
In RNG roulette a random number generator picks the result and the game moves at your pace. In live roulette a dealer spins a real wheel in a studio and the game is streamed to you, with a fixed betting window and fewer spins per hour. With the same wheel, the edge is the same. Some live versions add their own special rules and payouts, so read the game help first. The live roulette games below are listed in our catalogue with an RTP of 97.30%.
2.70% in European and French roulette and 5.26% in American roulette. The French la partage and en prison rules cut the edge on even-money bets to about 1.35%.
35:1. A one-unit bet wins 35 units and the stake is returned on top.
European. It has a single zero and a 2.70% edge, while the extra double zero in American roulette raises the edge to 5.26%.
No. Every spin is independent, and previous numbers tell you nothing about the next one.
Zero is the green pocket, not a multiplier. A straight-up bet on zero pays 35:1 like any single number, and outside bets such as red or black lose when it comes up.
European roulette returns 97.30% and American roulette 94.74%. On French even-money bets with la partage the figure is 98.65%.
A European wheel has 37 numbers (0–36): 18 red, 18 black and one green zero. An American wheel adds a double zero, making 38.
Online roulette is roulette played over the internet. In RNG roulette a random number generator picks the result and you set the pace; in live roulette a real wheel is spun by a dealer in a studio and streamed to you. The rules and the house edge are the same for the same type of wheel.