Roulette is played in casinos around the world, and no matter which version you play (either European roulette or American roulette – more on the differences later), free version or with real money, the rules aren’t going to change from place to place. Perhaps this is why this game of chance is still so popular it’s one of the few things that everyone can rely on to be exactly as it should be. Over the years, roulette has stayed the same, with the world changing around it. It wasn’t until the 18th century when Monaco began to open up casinos that roulette wheels became ubiquitous and everyone was able to play. Roulette remained an elitist game for about one hundred years. This was not something offered in a backstreet casino, full of dirt and grime and illegalities this was for the upper classes and could be why roulette wheels still have an air of class and sophistication about them today. Whatever the reason, whatever the true story, by the time it reached Paris in the 17th century, roulette had become a game for the elite. Once more, this does sound familiar, and could easily be where roulette first began. They would bet on where the markers placed on the wheels would end up when the wheels stopped turning.

Roman soldiers would bet on almost anything, and spinning chariot wheels were a firm favorite. Or so the story goes because, as with anything popular that’s been around for many hundreds of years (maybe thousands), it’s never easy to know for sure. Monks brought this game to Europe, and it would appear that Parisians evolved it into roulette. This particular game involved 37 animal figurines that had to be put together in a specific order to create a circle or, as you might have guessed, wheel. It is actually thought that the origins of roulette go back further and that those who created the ‘little wheel’ in Paris may have got the idea from a game that had been played for many centuries in ancient China. Yet just because this roulette game is pretty much exactly the same as we play today, that’s not the full story. At that time and in that place, the game was known as the ‘little wheel’.

However, despite all these pretenders to the throne, it would seem that the game of chance we all love so much today began its life in 17th century France.

You’ll find plenty of debate over the exact origins of roulette, with a variety of different countries trying to claim it as their own. European Roulette The History of Roulette

Free roulette practice online