Casino Gambling Guide

Finding the best Roulette online

Roulette is one of the oldest and most successful games in gaming history. At the beginning of the 18th century various Roulette-like games were introduced in Europe. At the end of the 18th century the game had evolved into a version that had all the characteristics of modern Roulette.

If you want to learn more about Roulette, please consult our Roulette rules and strategy sections. In this article we will assume you already have a basic understanding of the rules and strategies associated with Roulette. Building on that knowledge, we will offer you a detailed comparison of the most important Roulette games found online today. We will limit the discussion to the Roulette games developed by the five biggest casino software providers: Playtech, Boss Media, Cryptologic, Real Time Gaming and Microgaming.

Roulette variants

Standard American roulette

The standard version of American Roulette has a wheel with 38 pockets: the numbers 1 to 36, plus the single ("0") and the double zero ("00"). All inside and outside bets have an house edge of 5.26%, except for the five number line bet (a bet on 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3), which has an house edge of 7.29%. This game is offered by Real Time Gaming, Playtech, Microgaming and Boss Media.

Standard European roulette

The standard version of European Roulette has a wheel with 37 pockets: the numbers 1 to 36, plus the single zero (the double zero is omitted). All inside and outside bets have an house edge of 2.70%. The five number line bet can't be made because this bet requires a double zero. This game is offered by Real Time Gaming, Cryptologic, Playtech, Microgaming and Boss Media.

American roulette with the "la partage" rule

Some versions of American roulette offer the "la partage" rule. If you lose an even-money bet to a zero or a double zero, you will receive half of your bet back. This reduces the house edge on even-money bets from 5.26% to 2.63%. This game is only offered by Cryptologic.

European roulette with the "la partage" rule

A "true" version of European Roulette also offers the "la partage" rule. According to this rule, you'll receive half of your even-money bet back if the ball lands in the single zero pocket. This reduces the house edge on even-money bets from 2.70% to 1.35%. This game is offered by Cryptologic and Boss Media.

Comparison of online roulette games


Brand Variant House edge Spin speed Skip turn Spin history Jackpot
RTG American 5.26% 9s No 10 No
  European 2.70% 9s No 10 No
Cryptologic American 2.63% 15s Yes 15 No
  European 2.70% 15s Yes 15 No
  VIP (French) 1.35% 15s Yes 15 No
Playtech American 5.26% 5s Yes 13 No
  European 2.70% 5s Yes 13 No
Microgaming American 5.26% 8s No 13 No
  European 2.70% 8s No 13 No
  Roulette Royale 2.70% 8s No 13 Yes
Boss Media American 5.26% 10s No 17 No
  European 2.70% 10s No 17 No
  French 1.35% 10s No 17 No

Brand Variant Play for fun True felt Neighbors Announces Multi-player
RTG American Yes Yes No No No
  European Yes Yes No No No
Cryptologic American Yes Yes No No Yes
  European Yes No No No Yes
  VIP (French) Yes No No No No
Playtech American Yes Yes No No Yes
  European Yes No Yes (2) Yes Yes
Microgaming American Yes Yes Yes (8) No No
  European Yes No Yes (8) No No
  Roulette Royale No No Yes (8) No No
Boss Media American Yes Yes No No Yes
  European Yes No No No Yes
  French Yes Yes Yes (4) Yes Yes


In Conclusion: the best Roulette online is offered by ...

In general European Roulette is preferred over American Roulette, because it's roulette wheel has only 37 pockets (no double zero), reducing the odds from 5.26% to 2.70% on all bets. All software providers offer a variant of standard European roulette, so this criterion alone doesn't help us in choosing the best Roulette game online. However, some software brands also offer the "la partage" rule. According to this rule you'll receive half of your bet back on even-money bets if the ball lands in the single or double zero pocket.

If you generally only place even-money bets (Red/Black, Odd/Even or High/Low), the American Roulette variant offered by Cryptologic is preferred even over standard European Roulette, because it has an house of 2.63% on even money bets (because of the "la partage" rule).

It gets even better when you are able to play European Roulette with the "la partage" rule. For these kind of games the house edge on all bets is 2.70%, but for even-money bets the "la partage" rule further reduces the house edge to 1.35%. This game is offered both by Cryptologic (VIP European Roulette) and Boss Media (French Roulette).

If we would have to choose between these two we would recommend Boss Media's French Roulette, because it has faster game play, keeps more spin history, has a true "French" table layout, and also offers the full range of neighbor and announce bets. The only disadvantage of Boss Media's version is that you can't skip a bet.

If you are only interested in progressive jackpot games, then Microgaming's Roulette Royale would be your game of choice, because from all Roulette variants discussed in this article, it's the only one offering a progressive jackpot. Keep in mind though that this isn't the best game in terms of odds.


 

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