European Roulette – Strategy, Guide & More

What Is European Roulette?

As mentioned, European Roulette is a casino game that is available at traditional brick-and-mortar casino venues as well as at online casinos too. The game is played at a large table with a Roulette wheel which dealers spin with a Roulette ball to determine the outcome of each round by betting against the bank or casino. Players are required to bet on the outcome of each spin by placing casino chips on various parts of the table, such as on fields of evens or odds, reds or blacks, and so on.

Compared to American Roulette, European Roulette has one less pocket on its wheel. This variation of the game offers a higher return to player rate (Meaning the amount of wagered money returned to players) and a lower house edge (The casino’s advantage over the player), making it much better for players to enjoy. We’ll discuss European Roulette’s table and wheel later on this page.

The History Of European Roulette

European Roulette’s history is somewhat murky, but there have been suggestions that ancient civilisations played some form of the game, though this hasn’t been proven. The earliest documented version of the game, according to Tradgames.org, dates back to the 17th century when Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer, and more, was attempting to create a perpetual motion machine.

The game became popular in Paris around the late 1700s, where the Roulette wheel had a red pocket for the single zero and a black pocket for the double zero, although they were eventually changed to green as seen in the modern-day versions of Roulette games.

In the early 1840s, French twin brothers Francois and Louis Blanc moved to Hamburg in Germany and introduced a new type of Roulette wheel with a single zero digit since gambling was illegal in France at that time. The game proved to be a major hit, but when the German government banned gambling in the 1860s, the Blanc family moved to Monaco after the founding of the Monte Carlo casino and made their version of Roulette, now known as European Roulette, available.

Since then, European Roulette has become hugely popular across Europe, the United Kingdom, and numerous other countries. In America, South America, Canada, and in the Caribbean, however, American Roulette remains the popular choice for players. Both can be accessed and played at online casinos and at some UK brick-and-mortar venues.

How To Play European Roulette Online

As we mentioned, European Roulette can be played online. Most online casinos offer online Roulette games, including both American and European Roulette. To play online casino European Roulette, all you need to do is register with an online casino website (You can check some of our European Roulette online casino suggestions below), verify your account, and then make a deposit. Once you’ve done that, you simply have to find a European Roulette online game and boot it up!

Now, before you start playing, it’s important to understand that online casinos in the UK usually offer a wide range of European Roulette games along with dozens of variations of the title. These variations include the same gameplay mechanics, but there will be some slight differences, such as new betting options, a different design or a faster game time.

When playing online casino European Roulette, most games will require you to pick up casino chips in-game and then drop them onto the table to designate your bet. Online European Roulette also has several buttons through which you can control your bet. They include:

• Spin Button: Confirm your bet and spin the Roulette wheel
• Double: Double your bet
• Clear: Clear all bets
• Undo: Remove the last bet you made
• Rebet: Change the bet

Whenever you hit the ‘Spin’ button, the European Roulette wheel will be spun and the outcome announced with all winnings or losses automatically paid. That’s it!

You’ll find that there isn’t much of a difference between playing traditional European Roulette online and at a brick-and-mortar casino venue. However, if you choose to play any of the other variations, which can include amended gameplay mechanics, the experience will be different and it’s important to read up on the rules of different or new variations, so you know how things play.

Live Casino European Roulette

It’s worth noting that there is an alternative variation of online casino European Roulette; live casino. In live casino games, a real-life dealer hosts a casino game and is streamed directly to you over the internet. These dealers can be interacted with via a messaging feature along with other real-life players that are participating in the game too. Live casino is a great mixture of brick-and-mortar and online gambling.

It’s worth noting that there are live versions of European Roulette available to play, all of which follow the same traditional Roulette rules and work in the same way as all other European Roulette online games. Like with online casino European Roulette, however, there may be some differences if you are playing an alternative variation of European Roulette.

Online Casinos With European Roulette

Most online casinos in the United Kingdom offer European Roulette online games, but the variations available will differ between websites. While a majority of casinos offer these games, it’s important that you play at a legitimate online casino, one that is completely safe and secure for you to game at. You can identify legitimate casino sites in the UK by checking if they hold a valid license from the UK Gambling Commission, the United Kingdom’s gambling regulator.

All operators looking to offer their services in the UK must hold a license from the Gambling Commission. To obtain a license, operators must follow a series of strict rules and policies imposed by the Gambling Commission, most of which have been designed to keep you and your personal information safe. If operators break any of these policies or rules, they risk losing their operating license.

You can check whether an online casino holds a valid operating license by scrolling to its website footer and looking for the Gambling Commission logo. If you don’t feel like doing this for all casinos that you’re interested in, we’ve put together a list of online casinos which are safe for you to play at. Just take a look below to find out which sites are the best for European Roulette.

Genesis Casino

Genesis Casino is a popular online casino for European Roulette. The website, which is operated by Genesis Global Limited, offers a choice between a casino welcome bonus and a live casino welcome bonus, and registered users can also enjoy a 10% cashback bonus on all live casino games. If you’d like to discover more about the website, make sure to read our Genesis Casino review here.

Casino Gods

Casino Gods is a popular online casino in the UK. The site, which is based on Greek gods, offers a wide selection of games, including online casino European Roulette. In addition, the website is home to various promotions, including a generous live casino bonus that can be used on live Roulette games! If you’re interested in learning more, take a look at our Casino Gods review.

Kassu

Kassu is a colourful and bright online casino available in the United Kingdom. The website offers a generous casino welcome package plus numerous other promotions to keep you busy once registered. Alongside all of that, the site is home to a wide games catalogue, and it accepts most major payment methods to give you complete freedom over your deposits and withdrawals. More details on the site can be found in our Kassu review.

Casoola

Casoola is another online casino operated by Genesis Global Limited. The website uses a unique sci-fi theme, with the website being named after the fictional robotic Casoola planet, which is being ravaged by the giant monster Caszilla. The website features gorgeous artwork throughout and offers a large catalogue of games for you to enjoy, including dozens of variations of Roulette. Read more about the site in our Casoola review.

Casino Planet

Our final suggestion today is Casino Planet, a gorgeous online casino that is giving all newly registered users a very generous welcome package. In addition, the site has plenty of other welcome bonuses plus numerous promotions for long-term users too. If that isn’t enough, you can play hundreds of different casino games and utilise the site’s great customer support. More information can be found in our Casino Planet review.

Please note, all of the online casinos we’ve suggested here are fully licensed by the UK Gambling Commission. This means that they’re all completely safe for you to play at, and there’s nothing for you to worry about.

Free European Roulette

Unfortunately, there are no free European Roulette games. The only way to play online casino European Roulette and have a chance of winning real money is for you to play with your own money, meaning you’ll need to bet with your real money. There is no way of playing free European Roulette and winning real money as this is actually forbidden under the UK Gambling Commission’s guidelines and policies.

If you want to play free European Roulette and are not bothered with winning real money, it’s worth taking a look at social casinos. These are apps or websites which host casino-like game such as European Roulette, but they are played for free without real money. Just be aware that you do not win real money when playing these games.

European Roulette Wheel Layout

As we’ve already mentioned, the European Roulette wheel layout has one less pocket than its American counterpart. The European Roulette wheel layout is made of 37 pockets, including a green single zero digit and numbers 1-36, which are coloured red and black.

The red and black colours on the European Roulette wheel layout alternate so that two adjacent pockets always have different colours. What’s more, all Roulette wheels, including those in European Roulette, should have no pattern in their layout, with low and high numbers alternating as much as possible while even and odd numbers are dispersed evenly across the wheel.

In comparison, American Roulette has an additional pocket, a green double zero digit. This raises the House Edge in American Roulette (The advantage the casino has over you), while the House Edge remains lower in European Roulette due to the lack of the double zero digit pocket. This is better for you.

European Roulette Table

The European Roulette table is important as you’ll use it to denote what you will be betting on for the current round. When playing both online and at brick-and-mortar venues, you’ll need to place casino chips on different fields of the European Roulette table to make your bet.

The different fields represent the pockets of the European Roulette wheel, and the fields include red pockets, black pockets, even numbers, and odd numbers. There are also special fields for numbers 1-18 and numbers 19-36 (Known as halves), a single zero digit pocket, as well as three groups of 12 numbers and three rows of another twelve numbers.

When making a bet, you’ll need to place chips on these fields. For example, if you’re looking to bet that the Roulette ball will land on an even or red number, you’ll need to put your chip on the evens or red field.

For anyone new to Roulette, the European Roulette table can look incredibly confusing and complicated, but once you learn the different bets and how to use the table, you’ll find that it’s actually very easy to understand.

Are There Differences Between American And European Roulette Tables?

No, Roulette tables generally remain the same and showcase the same fields. The main difference between American and European Roulette tables is that American Roulette tables, like their wheels, have an additional field for their double zero digit pocket. That’s it. Everything else remains the same!

Types Of European Roulette Bets

As we’ve already touched on, the betting options available in online casino European Roulette are based on the Roulette wheel and the Roulette table and when playing, you’ll denote your bet by placing chips on select fields of the Roulette table. There are numerous bets available in European Roulette, and they are generally classed under two different terms; inside bets and outside bets. Find out what they are below.

Outside Bets

Outside bets are bets made in European Roulette using the outside fields on the Roulette table. These betting options involve betting on groups of numbers or colours, and common bets include:

• Red/Black: Betting that the Roulette ball lands on a red or black pocket
• Odd/Even: Betting that the Roulette ball lands on an odd or even number
• High/Low: Betting that the Roulette ball lands on a low (1-18) or high (19-36) number

In addition to the above, there are column bets where you bet that the Roulette ball will land on a number within one of three columns on the Roulette table. The columns include:

• Column One: Numbers 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31, and 34
• Column Two: Numbers 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 23, 26, 29, 32, and 35
• Column Three: Numbers 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, and 36

Finally, there are several bets where you bet that the Roulette ball lands on a number within a clustered group of 12 numbers, known as the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd 12. They include:

• 1st 12: Numbers 1-12
• 2nd 12: Numbers 13-24
• 3rd 12: Numbers 25-36

Now, the red/black, odd/even, and high/low bets are even money bets, but column and dozens bet pay 2:1 or double your bet if you’re lucky enough to win.

Inside Bets

Inside bets mean to bet on the field located within the Roulette table’s rectangle. These bets are usually harder to land because they’re more specific than outside bets, but there are far more betting options available. Some of the most common include:

• Straight Up: Betting that the Roulette ball will land on a specific number
• Split: Betting that the Roulette ball will land on one of two numbers adjacent to each other on the Roulette table
• Street: Betting that the Roulette ball will land on any three numbers within a row on the Roulette table
• Corner: Betting that the Roulette ball will land on any four numbers that create a square on the Roulette table
• Line: Betting that the Roulette ball will land on any six numbers within two rows of three numbers on the Roulette table, similarly to street bets

In addition to the above bets, there are more complicated Roulette bets that do not depend on the layout of the Roulette table. These bets should only be made by those of you with more experience playing European Roulette. They include:

• Basket/First Four: Betting on the first four numbers of the European Roulette table: 0, 1, 2, and 3
• Snake Bet: Betting on numbers 1, 5, 9, 12, 14, 16, 19, 23, 27, 30, 32, and 34, which makes a snake pattern on the European Roulette table
• Final Bet: Betting on the last or “final” digit of the number the Roulette ball lands on. For example, placing a Final 1 bet covers numbers 1, 11, 21, and 31 and placing a Final 2 bet covers all digits ending in the number 2

Other Special Bets

Alongside the main inside and outside bets, some European Roulette games, usually those at brick-and-mortar venues, also offer calls bets which are wagers that are announced or called out rather than requiring you to place chips on the Roulette table. However, these types of bets may be illegal in some places, so it’s important to find out whether you can place these bets beforehand.

Finally, there are also neighbour or section bets which are generally played at brick-and-mortar venues. These bets cover one main number on the European Roulette wheel and the two numbers on either side of it. However, these bets are usually only played by professional players since they’re known to increase the casino’s House Edge when playing.

Best European Roulette Strategy

Surprisingly, there are several strategies that can be used on European Roulette. While the best European Roulette strategies can increase your chance at making wins, they’re not always 100% effective, particularly when it comes to playing online. The most common and the best European Roulette strategies include:

Martingale

The Martingale strategy is arguably the most well-known and best European Roulette strategy. When using this strategy, you generally increase your bet with each loss so that when you win, you’ve won all of the money you initially lost. Although easy to understand, this European Roulette strategy is somewhat risky since there’s a chance you may not win at all and increasing your bet continually may cause you to lose all funds.

Most European Roulette users who utilise this strategy only bet on even outside bet numbers as they offer better odds of winning. This makes the strategy somewhat safer to use, but it’s still relatively risky.

Fibonacci

The Fibonacci European Roulette strategy is incredibly similar to the Martingale, requiring you to increase your bet with every loss made. Rather than betting on even numbers, this strategy requires you to bet on the Fibonacci sequence of numbers; 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, and so on. The Fibonacci sequence is endless and involves you adding the two previous numbers together to create the next number in the sequence.

Like with the Martingale strategy, when using this European Roulette strategy, you should focus on even outside bets as they provide you with better odds. When placing wagers, you should make your way through the Fibonacci sequence of numbers, moving up the sequence on every loss and then restarting from the beginning or going back two numbers with each win.

Reverse Martingale Or Paroli

The Reverse Martingale or Paroli is another European Roulette strategy and allegedly one of the oldest strategies around. The strategy works similarly to the Martingale in that you wager on even outside bets, but rather than requiring you to double your bet on each loss, you double your bet on every win. On every loss, you then restart the strategy with the smallest possible bet.

The Reverse Martingale or Paroli strategy is regarded as one of the safest European Roulette strategies available, but like all others, it isn’t 100% effective.

Labouchere

The Labouchere European Roulette strategy is named after British journalist, politician and gambler Henry Labouchere. When compared to the other strategies listed here, the Labouchere is a little more complicated. When using this strategy, you’ll need to decide how much you want to win and then split the figure into a series of smaller numbers that all add up to your final total.

When placing bets with the strategy, you’ll add the rightmost and leftmost numbers to create each bet. If you win with that bet, you cross off those two numbers and combine the next two leftmost and rightmost numbers. You continue this until all of the numbers in your sequence have been crossed out. If you lose a bet, you’ll need to add the combined number to your number sequence in order to gain your wins back. Once all numbers have been crossed off, you should have won your desired amount.

James Bond

The James Bond European Roulette strategy is a method used by James Bond within the Casino Royale book by Ian Fleming. The strategy has become popular with Roulette players and sees players make a bet of a certain amount per spin and split the amount across three bets. For example, splitting a £40 bet for each spin with £24 on numbers 19-36, £15 on a line bet of 13-18, and £1 on the number 0. The amount you bet in total can be increased, along with all individual bets.

This means that if the European Roulette ball lands on numbers 0, 13-36, you will make a profit of some sort. If the European Roulette balls lands on numbers 1-12, however, you make a loss. However, since you’ve covering more than half of the Roulette table, you’re more likely to make a win with this strategy, and some people enjoy increasing their total bet for each spin.

Will All Of These European Roulette Strategies Work Online?

As we’ve already mentioned, although these European Roulette strategies can improve your chances at making wins, they are not always successful in doing so. This applies to both online and brick-and-mortar games, so it’s important to temper your expectations if you decide to use these strategies on online casino European Roulette.

Best European Roulette Tricks

Many people who enjoy playing European Roulette often search for the best European Roulette tricks to help boost their chances at making a win. Unfortunately, aside from the European Roulette strategies we highlighted above, there aren’t really any European Roulette tricks to help guarantee you a win. This is particularly important when it comes to online European Roulette since its outcome is designated by a random number generator (RNG), and no tricks can influence that.

While this may be incredibly disappointing, we’re happy to share five tips for European Roulette to ensure you get the most enjoyment out of the online game as possible. Take a look at them below:

#1 – Start Slowly

When you decide to start playing European Roulette, make sure you start slowly. This is true even if you make one or a series of wins when you start playing or if you’re following any of the European Roulette strategies we listed above. Starting slow and keeping your bets low will help you stay in control of your spending, which is incredibly important when gambling.

#2 – Think Carefully About Your Bets

When playing European Roulette, you should always think carefully about your bets. It may be a good idea to use a system similar to the James Bond European Roulette strategy in which you cover a large portion of the Roulette table to increase your odds at making a win, just be careful with how much you bet. Just avoid rushing into a bet, and don’t be afraid of skipping rounds if possible.

#3 – Register With A Casino Offering Variations

Playing European Roulette can be incredibly fun, but it’s a good idea to try and register with an online casino that offers several other variations, including American Roulette. Registering at a website like this will help keep you entertained for a longer period of time, since there will be different types of games for you to try out if you ever get bored of traditional European Roulette.

#4 – Try Live Casino Roulette

Following on from the above, it may be a good idea to try out live casino Roulette at some point. As mentioned, live games feature real dealers that are streamed to you over the internet, and they provide you with a more authentic casino experience, akin to what you’d get at a brick-and-mortar venue. You can interact with the dealers and other real players while enjoying the fun and exciting gameplay of Roulette.

#5 – Play At A License Casino

Finally, one of the best tips we can provide you with is to ensure you play at a UK-licensed casino website. This will ensure that the casino is offering fair European Roulette games that provide you with a fair chance at making a win and that you’re completely protected. We suggest you avoid registering at an overseas casino, even if the promotions or bonus seems better.

If you follow the tips we’ve shared here regarding European Roulette, we’re confident that you’ll get a lot of entertainment out of the popular casino game. In the meantime, you’ll also be able to ensure your safety!

Difference Between European and American Roulette

European Roulette and American Roulette are incredibly similar, but there are some slight differences between the two games. As we’ve already mentioned, American Roulette has a higher House Edge than European Roulette, meaning the casino has a better advantage over you when you play this game.

The reason American Roulette has a higher House Edge is because it has an additional pocket, the double zero digit. Like with European Roulette, this additional pocket is represented on the American Roulette wheel, changing the way the Roulette table is presented.

Other than the above, there are no other differences between American and European Roulette. Both games play in the same way, requiring you to wager on which number or numbers the Roulette ball lands on. If you’d like to learn more about American Roulette and how betting works for that game, we suggest you check out our full American Roulette guide here.