The surge in popularity of online gambling has dictated the emergence of new forms and genres, which inevitably led to the appearance of live games and online live roulette. Players who got used to spending hours at online roulette tables can now enjoy an impeccable gambling experience with live casino roulette, where every smallest step is captured on cameras and transmitted in real time to remote players.
Roulette live online is a perfect game that bridges the gap between land-based and online casino experience. Allowing direct communication between players and dealers, live roulette creates an immersive and interactive environment that every roulette fan will love. The long-established rules and table layouts typical to roulette (inside/outside bets, true odds, etc.) are all implemented in live roulette, making it a real source of entertainment in online gambling.
In this comprehensive live roulette guide, you will know everything you want to know about how live roulette works, its rules, payouts, variations, and the best providers. The review explains the true odds for each type of bet in live online roulette as well as the most exciting live roulette games.
The history of roulette is a captivating journey that spans several centuries, tracing its origins to 17th-century France. The word "roulette" means "little wheel" in French, aptly describing the game's iconic spinning wheel. Roulette's origins can be traced back to French mathematician and physicist Pascal. In the 17th century, he tried to create a perpetual motion machine but incidentally developed the precursor to the roulette wheel.
The modern roulette wheel was born in Paris in the late 18th century. The Blanc brothers, François and Louis, are often credited with introducing the single-zero roulette wheel, reducing the house edge and making the game more popular. As the game spread across Europe, variations emerged. The single-zero wheel, known as European roulette, became standard in most casinos. However, in the USA, a double-zero wheel was introduced, creating American roulette with a higher house edge.
With the advent of the internet in the late 20th century, roulette made its way into the digital realm. Online casinos offered various roulette variations, making the game accessible to a global audience. In recent years, the introduction of live dealer casinos has added a new dimension to the game. Players can now experience the thrill of a roulette live casino from the comfort of their homes, with live dealers spinning the wheel via high-quality video streams.
Live roulette is a game of chance where players in any part of the world join it from any device (desktop, laptop, smartphone) and participate in a real game. A live roulette is authentic and genuine. It is set at a studio which contains a big table and wheel. Game providers, especially Evolution, Playtech, and Pragmatic Play, use modern special effects like action films to add fun. Moreover, some companies blend extra bonus features into the basic gameplay, which gives players a chance for a higher payout, e.g. Lightning Roulette by Evolution of PowerUp Roulette by Pragmatic have special multiplier mechanics.
Live roulette studios are of different kinds. Some companies, like Evolution, follow a “one game—one table—one dealer” approach. So, a video feed shows only one roulette wheel, table, and nothing more. Other igaming vendors (Playtech) have another take on the game presentation where a roulette table is placed at a spacious studio where players can also see other live tables (blackjack, dice games, etc.). Some players like this design as it enhances the feeling of being at a real brick-and-mortar casino.
Some studios, e.g. Playtech, widely use the Chroma Key technology to imitate a cityscape or other picture in the background. So when playing any live game of this kind, you will see skyscrapers, a futuristic place or other things created digitally. Moreover, this green screen tech allows live roulette casinos to place their brand in the background.
Top game makers (Vivo, Pragmatic) cooperate with land-based casinos in Malta, Macau, and other locations. These studios directly integrate their live roulette games into a brick-and-mortar casino's existing roulette table. So you will see a portion of a real casino with a roulette table and visitors who have come up to that roulette table. By applying the virtual table grid, studios enable connected players to put their virtual chips on the physical table and have fun in tandem with real players.
A live roulette game features a real, physical wheel divided into 37 or 38 numbers, depending on the variation. American roulette has two house sectors (0, 00), while European and French roulette features one green pocket labelled “0”. In most live roulette games, the wheel revolves automatically and never stops. The dealer usually launches the ball, though some variations have an automatic ball-triggering system that uses compressed air to throw the ball onto the rotating wheel.
Each live table is served by a few cameras that get activated automatically at different stages of the game. The angles and zooms-in change regularly to focus on what’s really important for the players. At the beginning of a round (during the betting time), a general-view top-down camera normally makes a master shot that covers all the action in the scene. Once the betting time is over, another camera zooms in on the wheel, and when the ball finally stops, the third camera gives a close-up view of the winning sector on the wheel.
The player cannot change the order of camera views; however, switching between video quality modes is possible in case of low internet speeds. When you pick the low-quality mode, you will see a reduced (sometimes a bit pixelated) game screen from one angle.
This is a variable parameter that differs widely per live game. No matter the provider and game, limits are clearly visible somewhere on the screen (or on the table, sometimes). Minimum bets in live roulette are way higher than in video slots—maybe this is to cover the associated expenses (staff salaries, equipment maintenance, and so on). Anyway, you will rarely find a live roulette online casino with a minimum bet of less than 50 cents.
Maximum stakes are pre-determined by a game and its targeted audience. High rollers can find tables where the total ante is $10,000. Interestingly, there are VIP tables, e.g. in Evolution’s catalogue, with a high barrier of entry. A regular player cannot enter Salon Prive Roulette unless there is at least $10,000 on the casino balance; this is done to prevent low rollers from easily entering the game. You will see the related message if you try to open any Salon Prive game.
Besides the total limit, each table has the maximum threshold for each kind of bet. For example, in Immersive Roulette (Evolution), the highest table wager is $2000 in total, with the bet breakdown looking like that: Even-money bets—$2000 max, Dozen/Column—$1200, and Straight Up is $100. Other bet types accept $200 to $600.
Players should check out the corresponding limits beforehand. Many providers arrange their games in branded lobbies. So, when you want to play live roulette online, enter the lobby of your preferred live roulette provider and see the options. The vast majority of the time, studios accompany each table thumbnail in the lobby with limits so that players can see the bet sizes without entering the games.
Connecting with live dealers is one of the reasons for live roulette’s popularity with players. Dealers greet new users, announce results, trigger the ball onto the wheel, and communicate with players. This interaction is performed through a live chat that is usually present in every live roulette online. A small chatbox is visible on the active game screen, though in most cases, it can be hidden by the player. So, when a message is sent through a live chat, the dealer sees and responds to it, if desired.
The role of live dealers is not limited to entertaining. Chat messages can relate to game rules if the player wants to clarify something. However, if the dealer believes the answer is going to take much time, they normally advise the player to read the rules.
For the live roulette experience to be memorable and fun, the player needs to find the proper casino that will never disappoint them in any respect. Making the right choice is important because some online casinos can deteriorate the overall experience even if you play top roulette live games. Anyway, below are the major recommendations on how to pick an excellent live casino and get unmatched entertainment while playing live roulette:
All bet options in live roulette are identical to online roulette, and this also refers to payouts. Depending on your chosen bet, you are going to win the following cash prizes:
Bet type | Payout |
---|---|
Straight Up | 35:1 |
Split | 17:1 |
Street | 11:1 |
Corner | 8:1 |
Five-number bet (exclusive to AR) | 6:1 |
Line | 5:1 |
Column | 2:1 |
Dozen | 2:1 |
Even/Odd | 1:1 |
Low/High | 1:1 |
Red/Black | 1:1 |
The listed payouts are identical in most types of casino live roulette, except for some bonus variations. To illustrate how the payouts work, let’s look at the example: assume the player bets $1 on Red and $1 on number 21. After that, the ball lands on 21, which is red. If this occurs, the player wins 1:1 ($1) for the Red bet and 35:1 ($35) for the Straight-Up bet, totalling $36. Also worth noting is that the initial bet (ante) is returned on any winning bet, so in fact, the player will receive $2 on Red, based on our example ($1 in winnings + $1 as the ante).
Roulette online live offers a plethora of betting options, providing players with diverse ways to engage with the game and potentially win. These bets are categorised into "inside bets" and "outside bets," each presenting unique characteristics and odds. Let's delve into these betting options to better understand their dynamics and strategic implications.
Inside bets are wagers placed on specific numbers or small groups of numbers on the roulette table. These bets are placed inside the main grid of numbers and offer higher payouts but come with lower odds of winning due to their precision-based nature:
Outside bets in live roulette encompass larger groups of numbers, providing better odds of winning but with lower payouts compared to inside bets.
The inside bets in roulette offer high-risk, high-reward scenarios with the potential for big payouts but a lower probability of success. On the other hand, outside bets provide better odds of winning, making them ideal for more risk-averse players seeking consistent, albeit smaller, wins. To maximise the roulette experience, players often use a combination of inside and outside bets to balance risk and reward, making the game both thrilling and strategic.
Special bets in live casino online roulette are a specific category of bets that allow players to wager on groups of numbers that are adjacent to each other on the roulette wheel. These bets provide a way to cover multiple numbers with a single bet, increasing the chances of winning but with slightly lower payouts than individual number bets. Neighbour bets are popular in both European and American roulette variations, although the specific layout and options may vary slightly. Neighbour bets are made on a special field commonly known as a “racetrack”. It can be always visible somewhere on the active screen, or the player might have an option to hide it.
There are several types of neighbour bets in roulette, each covering a different set of numbers:
Players can choose to place neighbour bets on a single number (e.g., placing a neighbour bet on 10 will cover 10 and its adjacent numbers), or they can combine various neighbour bets to cover larger sections of the roulette wheel.
It's important to note that neighbour bets are usually found in European roulette, which has a single zero, as opposed to American roulette, which has both a single zero and a double zero. The presence of the double zero affects the distribution of numbers and alters the neighbour bets accordingly.
This special option is not available in every live roulette game. A complete bet places all inside bets on a specific number. For example, let’s take number 30. A Complete Bet on this number will put 30 chips to cover it completely as follows: one chip on Straight Up 30, two chips on each of Split bets (30/33, 30/29, 27/30), three chips on Street bet (30, 29, 28), four chips on each of Corner bets (30, 29, 32, 33 and 27, 26, 29, 30), and six chips on each of Line bets (27, 26, 25, 30, 29, 28 and 30, 29, 28, 33, 32, 31). So in total, the player places 30 chips on this all-in-one wager. Complete bets are implemented in most online roulette live games by Evolution, including mobile casino roulette versions.
There are three main live roulette variations, with European being the predominant one. The differences between them are not significant; however, most players appear to prefer a single-zero European roulette due to the favourable player edge. What’s more, some live roulette games come with unusual twists and game show elements, like Lightning Roulette (Evolution) with bonus multipliers or Age of the Gods Roulette (Playtech) with a networked progressive jackpot.
This is a single-zero roulette with numbers 1 to 36, coloured alternatingly in red and black. The numbers are situated at the circumference of the wheel in a sequence that basically alternates even, odd, high, and low numbers (with some exceptions, though). Since there are 37 sectors on the wheel, with only one of them resulting in the player’s loss, the house edge is 1/37 x 100% = 2.70%. Notably, the house edge is applicable to all types of bets, regardless of what bet combinations you choose. Most live online roulette games belong under this type.
This type of casino roulette live is also known as “double zero roulette” since it has two house slots: 0 and 00, both benefiting the casino. The zero marks are positioned opposite each other on the wheel. The sequence of numbers is different from ER and FR, but the logic underpinning the sequence is the same:
At first glance, every smallest element of the American roulette table looks identical to European roulette, but there’s one aspect that makes the difference: the second zero, due to which the house edge of the game is increased to 5.26%. All bets have an RTP of 94.74% except for the Five bet (0, 00, 1, 2, 3), which is 92.11%.
French roulette (both live and online versions) looks similar to European roulette in many respects. It has only one green zero and red/black numbers from 1 to 36. Its differences from the EuR are superficial. One of them relates to the table layout: All bet names are written in French, e.g. Pair/Impair and Manque/Passe, which translates into Even/Odd and Low/High. The live French roulette table also looks a bit different from EuR.
What is decisive is that French roulette can feature two rules known as La Partage and En Prison. Some games have one of them (e.g. French Roulette Gold by Evolution features La Partage), while others work without either. Thanks to these traditional rules, live French Roulette boasts of a reduced RTP of 1.35% on even-money bets, while the optimal RTP for other bet types is still 2.7%.
A live roulette has one or two zero sectors, which means the house will have a slight advantage over the players. Whichever strategy you apply, the live casino will ultimately have a profit in the long run. True odds reflect the probability of landing a specific bet, a number or a group of numbers. Here is what you can expect in a classic live roulette of any type:
Bet type | European roulette: True odds | American roulette: True odds |
---|---|---|
Straight Up | 2.7% | 2.6% |
Split | 5.4% | 5.3% |
Street | 8.1% | 7.9% |
Corner | 10.8% | 10.5% |
Five numbers | n/a | 13.2% |
Line | 16.2% | 15.8% |
Column | 32.4% | 31.6% |
Dozen | 32.4% | 31.6% |
Even/Odd | 48.65% | 47.37% |
Low/High | 48.65% | 47.37% |
Red/Black | 48.65% | 47.37% |
Note that some titles have bonus multipliers or other additions to the classic rules. This affects the odds and payouts considerably.
As is clear from the table above, the last three bet options have a high chance of being hit, almost 1 to 1; however, the player will not earn much on even-money bets because the payout for any of them is 1:1.
After joining any live roulette table, the player will see its essential elements: a wheel, a table, and a dealer. At the bottom of the screen, there’s usually a virtual table grid on which players place casino chips. Sure, each game vendor has a unique UI style, but it tends to be intuitive regardless of the studio.
If you open the game while the ball is rolling inside the wheel, you will have to wait for the current round to end. After that, the game gives you around 20-30 seconds to place a bet, which must be within the set limits. Players can easily keep track of the betting time, during which the live game accepts bets, on a timer that counts down to zero.
The ball keeps spinning for about ten seconds, after which it falls into one of the 37 (38) numbers. If the winning number has been covered by your bet, you will receive the associated payout per the paytable. The recent winners are usually displayed on the screen as a quickly sliding list that shows players’ names (aliases) and the amounts won.
Casino players know that bonuses are not always wagered in live roulette games. Casinos specify game contribution rates in the bonus terms, and it often turns out that live games give only 10 to 25 per cent to bonus wagering. That is why it is always important to check live game eligibility in advance instead of rushing to claim an attractive bonus. Below, you can find brief reviews of the main types of bonuses that one can wager in live roulette casinos.
As soon as you make a qualifying deposit to your live casino account, the casino often comes up with a deposit bonus expressed as a percentage of the deposited amount. If the playthrough is available in live roulette, it is usually way lower than in video slots. Deposit bonuses can be part of a welcome package or as standalone promotions launched regularly or occasionally. Experience shows that about half of online casinos operating on any market offer live casino bonuses.
Some live roulette casinos online can offer cashback in their bonus programs, which is calculated as a share of losses from real-money betting. Online roulette live is often excluded from the list of games linked to cashback benefits, so reading bonus t&c is a must before claiming cashback. Some gambling and betting sites offer rakeback, though this occurs rarely. Rakeback is a small percentage of all real money bets (0.2% to 0.5%) awarded with or without any WR whatever.
Most tournaments are organised for video and classic slot players, which is easily accounted for by the fact that slots are more popular than games with a live dealer. Tournaments are mainly created by casinos, though some live game companies are known to have rolled out successful competitive events, like Drops & Wins by Pragmatic Play, with weekly and monthly cash prizes. Similarly, some casinos run their own live game events, awarding players for some game outcomes, e.g. a player gets $10 when having three 7s.
There are more than 50 live game providers in the online gambling niche, but perhaps only about ten of them make a considerable contribution to the gambling industry and introduce new solutions. As a rule, live roulette providers use one land-based facility from which they stream games in real time, yet top companies operate over ten live studios in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Below are reviewed the most well-heeled live dealer game suppliers that are on hand in many live casinos out there. Their live roulettes are really solid and enjoyable to play.
Evolution is undoubtedly the highest-profile provider of live dealer products that push limits with every new release. Their 100th table opened back in 2013, and now they have many hundred tables and more than 80 unique games in the portfolio, with 20+ being live roulette. Some of their live roulette creations step over the bounds of classic ball-and-wheel games with 37 (38) numbers.
In 2022, Evolution launched XXXtreme Lightning Roulette that delivers even more action with its unique Chain Lightning and Double Strike features, potentially enhancing multipliers to 2000x. Other exciting titles are Football Studio Roulette, Instant Roulette, and Double Ball Roulette. All their live roulette titles have extensive statistics, live chat, and the opportunity to save up to 15 favorite bets.
The company is not rich in live roulette online, offering six titles as of today, apart from a few variations with native dealers (Roulette Italy, Roulette Germany, etc.). The most trendy titles are PowerUp Roulette and Mega Roulette, both based on the multiplier engine with the max x500 bonus. Pragmatic Play offers UI in 20+ languages and a pretty short betting time of 20 seconds. The immersive gameplay, which is so loved by players, is achieved due to multiple 4K cameras.
Players seeking faster action are going to appreciate Speed Roulette, which accepts bets even after the spin was done. Similarly, those who prefer a simple roulette table with zero human interaction and low limits should join Auto Roulette featuring an intimate atmosphere.
Focusing on live game shows, Playtech has many live roulette variants which amalgamate the classic experience with an entertaining element and increased payouts. All roulette types in Playtech’s collection come with a single zero. Players who want games with a twist should try out Mega Fire Blaze Roulette featuring bonus fire numbers as well as the Fire Blast event and an enticing bonus game where you can win one of the four jackpots: Mini (x20), Minor (x100), Major (x500), and Grand (x2000). Playtech also developed American Roulette suitable for low rollers (min bet is 20 cents only).
Interestingly, all live roulette games by the provider have a unique Lucky Dip bet generator, enabling one to make random Straight Up bets. Other noteworthy live roulette games are Quantum Roulette, Spread Bet Roulette, and French Roulette.
Initially, Atmosfera specialised in live roulette but later created Music Wheel, keno, and blackjack. Featuring high-quality broadcast and all types of bets, incl. Neighbours and Special bets, casino live roulette by this company has a drilldown of the statistics and flexible bet sizes (usually $1 to $1000). In May 2022, they changed the studio’s design, adding a modern touch with live plants, elements of decor, and the design concept of the hosts’ dresses.
The mobile roulette version looks excellent in portrait mode, with the active window occupying about one-third of the screen. The no-dealer Auto Roulette edition uses the same interface and is set at a slots hall studio. The round duration is only 40 seconds, with a camera following the ball rotation from above the roulette.
At first glance, it would seem that this company's online casino live roulette lacks diversity. They do have only three basic versions: European, American, and French. However, Vivo Gaming has many localised versions with dealers speaking Spanish, French, and other languages. Besides, a couple of live roulette games are arranged at land-based casinos, e.g. Portomaso and Oracle, so you will have a genuine live roulette experience as close to reality as possible.
Vivo has produced Auto Roulette with a single zero. Still, it looks somewhat boring because the camera is motionless, and players have only a single angle with a close-up view of the spinning wheel. All tables have a great Hot&Cold stats module.
The three LuckyStreak roulette games available as of writing provide a cinematic experience with automatic live replay and multiple camera angles, allowing one to see the wheel in a small viewing area inside the main screen. Players who want a more immersive ambience should try Dual Play Roulette, which relays the excitement of a brick-and-mortar casino. Players can view the stats of the last 100 rounds, hot/cold numbers, and percentages of ball hits on every bet spot. With the intuitive UI and user-friendly design, the LuckyStreak live roulette software is easy to use, even for beginners. What’s more, some roulette live casinos are linked to the company’s branded Lucky jackpot, which is hit on a random basis.
After inking a deal with Evolution, Ezugi—which was once an off-radar company with little patronage—got a second wind and is now extending its presence to many top-tier gambling markets. Today, they offer two roulettes live and one version with a Thai dealer. Ultimate Roulette is perhaps the most standout live roulette in their portfolio. Alongside 5 bonus multipliers (a common feature in Lightning Roulette, PowerUp Roulette and a few others), Ezugi’s game has a Multiplier Buy feature. Lucky players can get their bought multipliers randomly increased to x2000.
The two live roulette games mentioned above are available in numerous variations, such as Speed Roulette, a few no-dealer roulette with automatic gameplay, and even OTT (Over The Table) roulette streamed from land-based casinos.
Since the invention of roulette (its exact origins and the when are still unknown), smart roulette enthusiasts tried to come up with effective winning strategies that would benefit the player in the long run. We are not going to explore all the existing approaches because none of them is flawless and absolutely reliable. If they were so, casinos would never have roulette in the parlours, and Vegas would have gone all to smashes.
So-called winning strategies look promising. For example, many players’ favourite Martingale, which involves doubling a bet after every loss, seems impeccable; however, hitting zero may result in a considerable loss. Another system, known as a D’Alembert strategy, looks similar in that a player must increase a bet after a loss and do the opposite after a win. Still, the outcome is predictable: once a zero slot occurs, you will lose your bet entirely.
Experts believe these and other strategies can be helpful over a very short game session. If you want to play live roulette and win as often as possible, no system will be of practical value to you. A low-risk approach is when the player bets on the three kinds of bets that yield a 1:1 payout with about a 51.5% chance of losing.
In this section, you can find a glossary of common roulette and live casino terms for reference.
Live casino roulette is an online gambling platform that replicates the excitement of traditional casinos through a real-time video stream. Players interact with live dealers, providing an authentic gaming experience. Special features include interactive chat functions, multiple camera angles, and customisable settings.
Payouts and odds vary based on bet types. A straight bet on a single number offers the highest payout at 35:1 but has a 2.70% chance of winning in European roulette. Outside bets like red/black or even/odd have almost a 50% chance of winning, yielding a 1:1 payout. La Partage and En Prison rules in French roulette improve odds for even-money bets, reducing the house edge to 1.35%. Neighbour bets allow players to cover clusters of numbers, increasing the winning percentage. In summary, live casino roulette provides a dynamic gaming environment with diverse betting options and associated odds, catering to both risk-averse and thrill-seeking players.