Roulette Through the Ages—History and Evolution of the Classic Casino Game

Roulette is one of the most popular casino games. Head to any land-based casino and you’ll see gaggles of people huddled around a wheel, screaming for their number (or color) to come up. Head online, and there’ll be so many different variants of roulette to look at. The live dealer rooms will be packed too. Part of the reason for all this is the simplicity of the game, but also the fact that roulette has grown up with the idea of modern gambling.

Through this article, we want to take you on a brief journey through the history of roulette. Don’t worry if you don’t love history—the game has barely changed that much since it was created (outside of a few minor areas, of course). Let’s turn back time to see how this game evolved!

Biribi

Roulette started its life as an Italian game called Biribi (sort of). There was no roulette wheel in Biribi. Instead, there was a bag with loads of numbers in it.

Players would bet on numbers on a board (labeled 1-40), and the dealer would draw a number from a bag. The game was ripe for cheating—with many players having “deals” with the dealer to ensure that their numbers were drawn. It was also banned in Italy, like all gambling.

French Roulette

The ‘actual’ history of roulette starts in France. If you know French, you might have guessed from the name. Roulette means ‘Little Wheel’.

There is a bit of a debate about when roulette started, though. We know that it was in either the 17th or 18th century. In the 17th century, Blaise Pascal likely created a basic form of roulette that would have been very similar to Biribi. However, a wheel would have dealt with the selection of numbers rather than a dealer (potentially cutting down on cheating).         

What we do know is that the ‘modern’ form of roulette was being played in 1796 in France. A descriptor from the time even told us that the roulette wheels back then had the house advantage of the 0 and 00. So, by this point, roulette was starting to get popular.

Bad Homburg

In 1843, we’ll need to hop over to Germany for the next evolution in roulette. Now, the ‘Blancs’—French living in Germany—decided they needed a new roulette variant to compete.

They were living in Bad Homburg, a major gambling hub. Everybody else was using the 0 and 00 variants of roulette, so the pair came up with a single 0 roulette wheel. This meant that the house had a lower edge, encouraging more people to gamble on their game.

Around the same time, a short-lived American game version was developed. There were three house edge slots (0, 00, and an American Eagle) alongside 29 numbers. Players weren’t a massive fan of this, so it disappeared rather quickly.

The Spread of Roulette

Throughout the 19th Century, Roulette gained a foothold in the world. It could be found all over Europe—but a massive change was about to happen.

At this time, the 00 and 0 roulette wheel were the most popular. However, the Blancs (remember them?) decided to move to Monte Carlo. Gambling was legal here, but there was only one casino. They bought it. Here, they introduced their 0 wheel. Through a lot of promotion, Monte Carlo became the ‘go-to’ place for gambling in Europe. The 0 wheel became the default version of roulette in Europe.

Around the same time, the French version of the game landed in the US. Thanks to this, the 00 version of the game remains the most popular in the country. The American casinos did come up with a popular change for the game, though. The roulette wheel would now be placed on a table.

The Modern Era

The modern era hasn’t seen that many changes to the game of roulette. Well, at least from a gameplay perspective. How most people play the game has certainly changed, though. This is thanks to online roulette. People can now play roulette at all times of the day online with far lower stakes than at a physical casino—you can play online for just a few cents!

Those still craving the traditional casino experience can even play ‘live dealer’ roulette, where an actual person is spinning the roulette wheel for you on a webcam. They’ll often be seated in something very similar to an actual casino (sometimes even from an actual casino to make it feel just like the classic experience). The game remains the same—it’s the same wheel that’s been around since the 17th or 18th century.

The Future

Honestly, the future of roulette is tough to predict. In a couple of major areas, roulette hasn’t evolved that much since it was invented by the French. The only significant difference is that the game has become a bit more refined and ended up online.

We doubt the game will change that much over the coming years. Just expect the online variants to improve in the graphics department and maybe a few subtle variations of the game. It’ll still be the roulette you’ve all come to know and love, nonetheless.