Roulette that we now play it is a newcomer to the world of casino games.  While games using wheels have been in use since shortly after the wheel was developed the game we call Roulette was first presented to casinos in the 17th century.  Louis and Francois Blanc invented the European Roulette wheel (the one zero wheel) in 1842.

In France gambling was illegal so the developers of Roulette, Francois and Louis Blanc moved to Germany where the game grew to become well-liked.  When Germany also banned gambling Louis Blanc moved to Monaco accepting a request to move there and develop and run a casino.  The ensuing casino proved so successful that it allowed Monaco to lay down the standards for Roulette for all of Europe.

Roulette wheels haven’t changed much since then.  One change to the roulette wheel was the introduction of the green color to the zero and double zero.  Prior to the addition of the color green the double zero spot was red and the zero spot was black, however the led to some confusion with those at the table so the color green was introduced to get rid of the confusion.

In Europe one more change was made with the introduction of the “En Prison” choice.  If using the European wheel when a zero is the winning digit any player who has bet even-money can take one of two choices; the player can take back one half of their bet, or the player can decide to exercise the “En Prison” choice.  When En Prison alternative is chosen the bet is set aside awaiting the following spin of the roulette wheel.  If the wager wins the participants have their cash returned (minus the normal payoff) if not the cash is lost.  When zero again wins the cash is once more placed aside awaiting the next spin of the roulette wheel.

Roulette became glamorous when Europe’s wealthy and well-known began to go to Monte Carlo to play.  The participants were dressed to the nines in formal outfits, the casino was strikingly picturesque and huge sums of cash were bet.  These items all joined together to establish Roulette as the worlds most familiar casino game.

The double zero Roulette wheel evolved into the normal Roulette wheel in the United States.  The double zero roulette wheel is frequently called the “American wheel”.  This wheel was very well-liked in the California gold rush in the American west.

Roulette gambling in Europe is a great deal more popular than in the United States.  Casinos in Europe obtain 50% of their earnings from Roulette in comparison to U.S. casinos that derive just 5% of their revenues from Roulette.  The disparity between the popularity of roulette in the U.S. and European casinos is that in Europe they use a single zero wheel and have the En Prison option while in the U.S. they use a double zero wheel and do not offer the En Prison option (the house edge is 1.35% in Europe compared to  5.26% in America).