European Roulette

No great online casino UK service could deem itself to be complete if it did not supply you with a full array of traditional casino games. The most iconic of which is without a doubt European roulette. Used in the movies, and easily recognisable by its wheel feature, the roulette variant is gaming perfection. This is a game that is an absolute must-play for those that with good betting odds combined with high entertainment and great returns upon success.

Everything you need to know about the wonderful game of European roulette is assembled right here. We will be discussing how to play the game, its rules, and the variants that are available and we begin this guide with the history of the game.

History of European Roulette

We get that history lessons are a bore, so we will keep this brief, thus giving you more time to play. There are many variants of the roulette game, but the European version was the first. It came about in France during the 18th century. Though called European and devised by the French, it is still a different game from the French roulette variant.

The game is actually more of a hybrid, that combined French and Italian concepts, which included the Italian game called Biribi. Roulette was birthed in Paris casinos in 1796, its popularity spread to Germany, and then made its way out to the Americas. It is a game that has certainly seen centuries of interest, and it has been perfectly honed over this time to now appear as a digital game on the internet which is accessible to all here in the UK.

Rules of European Roulette

The rules of online roulette UK are universal, which is why the game is so popular. The principles of play are as basic as they come. The rules are that you must correctly guess where the ball will land on the roulette wheel and place your bets accordingly on the roulette table. Now, there are many ways in which you can make bets and hedge them. This is another fantastic feature of the game that truly makes it like no other.

European Roulette Wheel

There are two wheel variants within the field of roulette. The roulette wheel European version is the more commonly used across variants. There are some interesting details within the wheels that not too many players notice first-hand. We will share with you the insights that you could gain into these features of the game before we discuss all the different ways there are to bet.

Single-zero wheel

The European roulette wheel is known as the single-zero wheel for the obvious fact that only a single green zero appears on the wheel. The wheel is colour coded, alternating in black and red pockets. There is no planned order to the European wheel because the numbers are not in any sequence, which enhances the randomness of play and results. There are a total of 37 numbers on the wheel.

Double-zero wheel

While all European roulette wheels come with one zero, which is also used in variants of French roulette, there is one roulette variant that has its own wheel. With American roulette, you are introduced to a double-zero wheel. This gives the game a 38th number, as you now have 0 to 36 and 00. The American wheel alternates in colour also, using red and black, but this time, there is an order to the layout. While numbers do not form a standard sequence when going around the wheel, they do form a pattern of order as you make your way around the wheel going from opposite ends. This is because numbers alternate on opposite ends of the wheel; for example, opposite 0 is 00, opposite 33 is 34, and so on. This pattern continues with the colours also alternating.

European Roulette Bet Types

Now, the biggest draw to online European roulette or any other variant is all in how you play the game, as in, how you can bet. The brilliance of roulette as a game is that it gives you a huge amount of freedom in how you play. As you will soon see, there are many ways in which roulette can be approached. There are two main categories of betting: inside bets and outside bets.

Inside Bets

The inside bets are everything that is placed as a bet within the numerical area of the table. Every number from 0 to 36 can be bet as singles, groups, columns, and rows. Making bets in this area come with bigger odds for a higher return. For example, placing a bet on a single number returns a payout that is 35/1, which is the highest odds of any casino game.

Straight/Single

The single bet is the simplest way to bet. You will select a single number, which can be done once or multiple times over the table. You will put your chip or chips down over the single number or single numbers and your return is a payout of 35 to 1. This comes with a house edge of 2.70%.

Split

The split bet helps you to cover two numbers. Place your betting chip between any two adjacent numbers. For example, on the line between 23 and 24, or 29 and 32. The payout for a win with this bet is 17 to 1. The house edge on such a bet is 5.4%.

Street

Street betting is picking columns of numbers if you were to look at the table horizontally. An example of this would be to bet on numbers 16, 17, and 18. You would place your chip half on and off the bottom line of number 16. The payout for a Street bet is 11 to 1, with a house edge of 8.1%.

Corner/Square

The corner bet, also known as a square bet, helps you to cover four grouped numbers. Examples would include 1, 2, 4, and 5; or 29, 30, 32, and 33. Place your chip on the centre of the four numbers. A winning corner bet pays out 8 to 1 and carries a house edge of 10.8%.

Trio

The trio bet involves the zero number. This gives you the option of 0, 1, and 2, or 0, 2, and 3, or with an American table, 00, 2, and 3. The odds of the trio is 8 to 1, with a house edge of 10.8%

Four number

The four number bet is the same as the corner/square bet.

Six-line

The six line is also known as the double street. This is a 6-number bet that has you covering two columns. An example of this would be betting on numbers 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, and 36. You will place your chip on the bottom line half off, half on between 31 and 34. The odds of this bet are 5 to 1, with a house edge coming in at 16.2%.

Outside Bets

The outside bets are formed by selecting any of the table options outside of the numerical zone. These bets give players more even odds, so the returns are much lower. There are 5 optional areas to bet on with outside betting and it further shows the brilliance of what roulette provides as a game.

Column bet

The column bets are formed of the three long horizontal rows formed of 12 numbers each. You can take your pick of rows 1 to 34, 2 to 35, and rows 3 to 36. These come with 2 to 1 odds, and a house edge of 32.4%. The numbers of the columns are as follow:

Dozen bet

Below the numerical zone, there are three sectioned areas. You have 1st 12, 2nd 12, and 3rd 12. This sections the three zones into numbers 1 to 12, 13 to 24, and 25 to 36. A bet on one of these sections carries odds of 2 to 1, with a house edge of 32.4%.

Even or odd

A simple enough bet to understand: you will be betting on whether the number selected by the roulette ball will be even or odd. The odds for such a bet is 1 to 1 with a house edge of 48.6%

Red or black

Again, not too difficult to understand. Your bet will be predicting the colour of the number’s pocket on the roulette wheel. Will it be black, or will it be red?

1 to 18

This is a low-numbers bet that covers 1 to 18 and comes with odds of 1 to 1 and a house edge of 48.6%

19 to 36

This is a high-numbers bet that covers 19 to 36 and comes with odds of 1 to 1 and a house edge of 48.6%

Announced or Call Bets

Special bets can be found on variant tables that use the European wheel design. There are six unique options, four of which only appear if you play on a French roulette table or a variant of it.

Snake Bet

The Snake Bet forms the pattern of a snake on the table. This bet covers 12 numbers, and they are 1, 5, 9, 12, 14, 16, 19, 23, 27, 30, 32, and 34.

Neighbours of Zero Bet

This special bet covers the number of the wheel and not the table. For this bet, the numbers covered are 22, 18, 29, 7, 26, 12, 35, 3, 26, 0, 32, 15, 19, 4, 21, 2, and 25.

Zero Game Bet

The numbers covered under this bet are 12, 35, 3, 26, 0, 32, and 15.

Thirds of the Wheel Bet

The areas of the wheel that are covered by this bet are 33, 16, 24, 5, 10, 23, 8, 30, 11, 36, 13, and 27.

Orphan Bet

There are two areas that this bet covers, as this bet covers the leftover numbers not used by any of the previously mentioned special bets. Numbers are 1, 20, 14, 31, 9 and 17, 34, and 6.

Finals Bets

The final bets are as well-known as the other special bets. This is a multi-number bet that has a pattern. You will pick a number with the same final numerical digit. An example of this would be 1, 11, 21, and 31. Another is 5, 15, 25, and 35.

European Roulette Odds

Here is your complete rundown of betting odds and payouts that you can refer back to.

European Roulette’s House Edge

The house edge is what advantage the casino has over the game. When you look at the odds for guessing if the colour will be black or red, it comes in at 48.60%. It is almost 50/50 but the single zero changes this. As a bet goes, this is a great option when looking at gambling in the greater scheme of things and with other games. Knowing how good the advantage of play is will assist you in making smarter decisions when playing casino games online.

European Roulette Betting Systems & Tips

Are there any good European roulette betting tips or strategies that can help you to reduce the house edge and up your advantages? The simple answer is no. If there were tricks and ways to win, roulette would have been phased out long ago. Several strategies do the rounds online, but there is nothing out there that will give you 100% guaranteed success. Luck is the only factor playing a role in success made at the roulette table.

The only tip we would share is to bet sensibly, control finances, choose the smarter more logical bets, and pursue roulette as a game of fun and not focus on the profit so much.

Reverse Martingale System

A commonly used European roulette strategy is the Reverse Martingale system. It works by doubling the stakes when bets lose. And returning to the starting wager when a win lands. The theory is that by progressively adding the value, the winnings will outweigh the losses made. Now, there is zero evidence of this leaving players in profit, because winning is not a guarantee in any casino game. Our recommendation is to avoid such a strategy.

Fibonacci roulette System

This is one of the more complex roulette strategies which is also used in other casino games. With this system, you increase wagering like the famous Fibonacci pattern. You will bet in this pattern, £1, £1, £2, £3, £5, £8, £13, £21, £34… when wagering. Upon winning, you will revert to the unit of £1. Again, please avoid this strategy it’s a highly flawed method because you can still make significant losses, depending on the ratio of losses to wins.

Popular European Roulette Variations

When faced with roulette, both as a live game or as an RNG (Random Number Generator) digital game, there are going to be several variants that you can explore. This is the brilliance of roulette overall because the European version can be twisted, manipulated, changed in design, and be crazy, like playing Three Wheel Roulette. Yet, despite these upgrades and alterations to the original concept, the rules are all the same.

Pragmatic Play’s Auto Roulette

The Auto Roulette game is a variant from the software company Pragmatic Play. This game represents a French roulette game that carries a betting limit of $5,000. It is an RNG feature but also is a live multiplayer game, which makes it the only live game there is that doesn’t require a live host to play the game. During play, you will also witness the other users' success with the game, as usernames and their winnings are shared on the screen. 

Switch Studios Three Wheel Roulette

Why not triple the fun and play Three Wheel Roulette by Switch Studios? The gameplay is exactly as you might expect, with three wheels increasing your chances of winning on this RNG machine. The game comes with an optional side bet feature which is the racetrack that can be found on French roulette tables.

Microgaming’s Multifire Roulette

Microgaming have taken the European table to a whole new level of gameplay. This RNG game comes with multiplier additions that can help to boost wins from between 50 and 500 times. Once the wheel is spun, the feature is triggered and between 3 and 5 numbers are randomly selected to be multiplied. The game also comes with a button that randomly picks 3 bets for you.

Difference Between Live European Roulette and Online European Roulette

Is it better to play RNG roulette games, or is there some advantage to playing live roulette tables instead? Here we share with you the pros and cons of live and RNG roulette.

Why Play European Roulette at Britain Play?

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European Roulette FAQs

We have compiled a set of commonly asked questions regarding roulette in its European format. We hope the answers provide a solution to any thoughts you might be having about the game.