Casino & Poker

The History of Roulette

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Roulette Origins

Roulette is one of the biggest casino games in history. The game of chance is played on a wheel with 36 numbers alternating between red and black. While some games have a clear origin, this one’s a bit of a mystery. Most historians agree that it’s based on the Italian game of Biribi which was popular in medieval times. However, the more accurate version is that French mathematician Blaise Pascal invented its early form in the XVII century while searching for a perpetual motion machine.

Either way, Biribi certainly had an influence on the game of chance. The roulette mechanism is a hybrid of the gaming wheel invented in the early XVIII century and the Italian game. Original documents show that it has been played in France as early as 1796. An early description of the roulette wheel can be found in the novel La Roulette by Jaques Lablee. He described how the wheel looked like in the Palais Royal, describing the house pockets too. At that time, the wheel had a red pocket for the single zero and black for the double zero. But, in order to avoid any confusion, the zero pockets were coloured green in the early 1800s.

In the mid-1800s, the first single zero roulette wheel was introduced in Germany’s Bad Homburg. It was imagined as an alternative to the wheels in land-based casinos with both the single and double zero pockets.

Further Evolution

Different variations of the roulette wheel were introduced in America. Some had numbers from 1 to 28 with a single and double zero pocket and an American Eagle. The Eagle was a symbol of American liberty and brought the casino an extra edge. But, the tradition vanished not long after, and it was erased from the wheel.

The real evolution occurred in the present. Live casino developers have brought new life to the wheel with the introduction of new bets and multipliers that greatly improve the already high payouts. The roulette wheel still plays the same, but it has been pushed to its limits online. Live roulette games bring back that special flair of Monte Carlo and Las Vegas, where the premier roulette wheels shine their light in the casino.

What can we expect in the future? VR wheel spins are certainly a possibility. Playing the game of roulette has never been more exciting, and we’re sure it’ll evolve further.

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