A number of games have long been a stalwart at casinos and are synonymous with casino floors around the world. One, in particular, will be the top answer from most when asked what games will you find at a casino: roulette. When you visit land-based casinos, you can bet that among the most populated tables are the roulette tables. They create a fantastic atmosphere as players hope to come away winners after the roulette wheel has stopped spinning and the ball has landed in its segment.
However, some people will not know that there are actually a few different versions of this casino classic. They have slightly different rules, betting options, and a different house edge. European roulette is one of the most popular variations for reasons that we will explain later in this guide.
While playing European roulette required a visit to a land-based casino in decades gone by, we now have the ability to enjoy it from the comfort of our own homes. The best online casinos will feature live European roulette tables that are streamed in real-time to your mobile or desktop device. These games feature fully-trained croupiers that operate the game via a custom-built studio or even from an actual land-based casino. As players, we just have to place our bets using our computers, mobile phones or tablets and watch the live stream in the hope that our bets come in.
As mentioned, there are different variations of roulette played at land-based casinos, but you will find even more variations when playing this casino classic in a live format at online casinos. You can play titles that have an extra ball, while some even offer random multipliers on straight-up bets. You also have plenty of choices in terms of the suppliers that offer live European roulette. The likes of Evolution, Pragmatic Play Live, Playtech, Ezugi, Vivo Gaming, Amusnet Interactive, Stakelogic Live, On Air Entertainment, and CreedRoomz all offer live variations of this authentic casino game.
In this guide, we will explain the rules of live European roulette, the differences between this variation and all the others, give you some tips and strategies that you can use, and some suggestions of roulette titles you should consider playing at the online casinos.
How to Play Live European Roulette Online via Webcam Streams
Playing live European roulette via your PC, laptop, smartphone, or tablet is simple. To enjoy the game streamed to your device via Ultra-HD webcam tech, you just need to create an account at a reputable online casino that offers live games including European roulette. If you are not sure which online casinos are reputable or even have live casino games, you can simply read our live casino reviews to find one. Then you just need to create an account at that online casino and make a deposit using fiat currencies, or cryptocurrencies (if the online casino accepts them). Once you have loaded your account with funds, you then just need to check the online casino’s live casino lobby, find a live European roulette game, and power it up.
Once the game has opened and the live stream has loaded up, you will have to wait until the current betting round ends before you can start placing your bets. When a new round has started, you can start placing your virtual betting chips on the tables inside and outside betting options. Once the betting timer counts down, the live croupier will spin the roulette wheel and release the ball. The action will unfold right in front of your own eyes and once the ball lands in a segment, you will discover if your bets have paid off!
Play Live European Roulette Streamed Live in Land-Based Casinos: If you want to experience live European roulette in the most realistic way possible, why not try playing titles that are streamed from an actual land-based casino? Evolution, Ezugi, and BetConstruct are just a few live casino suppliers that offer dual-play European roulette tables. You play the same coups as players inside the casino!
Live European Roulette Game Instructions:
- Find a reputable online casino via our casino reviews
- Create an account
- Make a deposit (consider claiming the welcome bonus if it applies to live casino games)
- Look through the games lobby at the online casino
- Find the live European roulette variant you want to play
- Open the game (wait for the stream to load)
- Place your desired bets
- Wait for the live croupier to spin the roulette wheel and throw in the ball
- Wait for the wheel to stop spinning and look at which segment the ball has landed
- Receive your winnings instantly if your bet came in!
What is Live European Roulette?
Live European roulette is a live casino game at online casinos that uses the European rules of roulette. The game is delivered to your device via a live stream and a betting overlay that lets you place your bets. Each table has a professional live croupier that operates the game, commentates on the action, and ensures that each betting round goes smoothly. Games are usually hosted by English-speaking live croupiers, but you will find that some providers offer tables with live croupiers that speak other languages, including French, Hindi, Turkish, and Italian. The betting interface is usually offered in English as well, but depending on the live casino supplier, you will find options to change the language to others that are supported.
There are three versions of Roulette, European, American, and French. European and French roulette is very similar apart from one rule (La Partage) and the betting overlays are usually presented in the French language. As for American Roulette, this differs quite a bit, so will require a topic of its own (a bit later in this guide). In short, however, European roulette and French roulette offer the best odds and a lower house edge, so you should play using those rules if possible.
The La Partage rule is the only significant difference between the European and French roulette variations. The French variation offers that rule, which means you will receive half of your stake back if you placed an even money bet (red/black, odd/even etc) and the ball lands on the Green Zero segment. Zero is green and not an odd or even number. In most versions of European Roulette, you lose your full stake if you bet on even money bets and the ball lands on the zero.
A Brief Explanation of the Rules of European Roulette
While European roulette is a casino game that is based purely on chance, you should still make sure that you learn the rules and mechanics of the game before you start playing it live online. It is not a difficult game to understand, and it is easy to play, but you need to understand the different types of bets you can place, their odds, and what you will receive in payouts. Once you have a complete understanding of the above, you are in a better position to make informed decisions when placing your bets or following a strategy. In this section, you will learn all about the betting layout, the house edge of European roulette, the betting options you have and the payouts you will receive when you win.
The European roulette wheel has 37 segments that are represented by numbers and colours. There are 18 red numbers and 18 black numbers and the colours will alternate on the wheel so that one number is red, and the next is black. The numbers also alternate between even and odd. The final segment on the wheel is the green zero. A live croupier will spin the wheel and then spin the ball around the top of the wheel. Eventually, the ball will come to a stop in one of the above segments.
While the numbers on the reel look like they have been randomly placed, they actually form a pattern. The right half of the numbers after the green zero contain 9 smaller numbers in black (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 17) and 9 larger numbers in red (19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 32, 34, 36). As for the 18 numbers to the left of the green zero, these are 9 larger numbers in black (20, 22, 26, 28, 29, 31, 33, 35) and 9 smaller numbers in red (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 16, 18). This ensures that there is a mix of lower and higher numbers sequenced throughout the circumference of the wheel.
With 37 numbers, it means there is a 1 in 37 chance for each number to land. If you place a straight-up bet on one number, you will receive a payout of 35-1 (35x the value of your stake plus your original stake is returned to you). The straight-up bet offers the highest return due to the long odds of the exact number you bet on coming in. However, there are many other betting options that you can choose that have lower odds and payouts (which we will explain later).
- European roulette has a 97.30% RTP (return to player) percentage
- That converts to a 2.70% house edge
- 37 segments on the roulette wheel (18 red, 18 black, and 1 green)
- European roulette offers a range of inside and outside betting options
- Players can also place exotic bets using the racetrack
- Payouts are shown in the paytable (the largest possible is 35:1)
- The house edge exists due to the green zero segment as it negates all bets, except those placed on this segment
House Edge: European roulette has a house edge of 2.70% which means the casino will keep 2.70% of all bets placed over an extended period of time. When flipped around, it means that European roulette has an RTP (return to player) percentage of 97.30%. This means that the game will payout 97.30% of all bets wagered over an extended period. The segment that gives the casino this house edge is the green zero. When the ball lands on the green zero, it negates all bets other than those who placed a bet on that number. The green zero is not odd or even, black or red, and is not a number between 1-18 or 19-36.
Let’s Take a Look at the European Roulette Betting Options
Now that we have explained the roulette wheel, it is time to look at the other main part of a roulette table, the betting layout. In land-based casinos, this is on a table covered in felt. You will see the main betting layout while in European roulette you will also have a racetrack that allows you to place exotic bets. When playing live European roulette online, as you cannot physically place your bets on the felt, you will; usually have betting overlays of both the main betting layout and the racetrack. Placing your bets usually involves clicking a chip value you want to place in a particular position and clicking or dragging your bets to that position. Below, we will take you through the two different types of bets that you can place on the main betting overlay, inside and outside bets.
Inside Bets
For the bigger odds or the riskier bets, it is inside bets that you will want to place. When you look at a roulette betting layout, this is the part that contains all the numbers. You can bet on single numbers, split your bets across two numbers, or cover multiple numbers via street bets, corner bets, fourfold bets, or six number line bets.
- Straight-Up Bets: Undoubtedly, one of the easiest bets to understand is the straight-up bet. This is where you place your chips on one number on the board. When you bet on any number between 0 and 36, you will receive a 35:1 payout if that number lands on the roulette wheel. That is the highest payout available on live European roulette.
- Split Bets: A split bet is when you place your chip on the line between two numbers on the board. This bet covers both numbers, so if one of them lands, you will receive a payout of 17:1.
- Street Bets: This is a bet that covers three numbers and is placed at the end of a series of the three numbers you want to cover. For instance, if you place your chip on the bottom line of the 7, it is a street bet that covers the 7, 8, and 9. Landing one of those numbers will give you an 11:1 payout.
- Six Line Bet: Similar to a street bet, this covers two streets at once. That means six numbers in total. Placing this bet involves putting your chip on the bottom line but in the middle so that it touches two streets. An example would be the 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. This pays 5:1.
- Corner Bets: When you place your chip in on the cross-section of four numbers, it covers those four numbers and is called a corner bet. An example of this bet would be to place the chip so that it touches the bottom corners of each of the 5, 6, 8, and 9. The payout if one of those numbers lands is 8:1.
- Trio Bets: This is similar to a street bet as it covers three numbers. However, it is placed differently and always involves the green 0. When you place a chip on the line of the 0 and have it touch two of the 1, 2, or 3, it is a trio bet. There are just two trio bets available: the 0, 1, and 2, and the 0, 2, and 3. This pays out 11:1 when it comes in.
- Basket Bets: When you place your chip on the corner shared by the 0 segment and the first line of numbers (1, 2, 3), this is a basket bet that covers all four numbers. The payout for this bet is 8:1.
Outside Bets
As for outside bets, these are bets placed in the betting segments on the outside of the numbers. Betting options include Odd/Even, Red/Black, High/Low Numbers, Dozen Bets, and Column Bets. As the odds of these bets landing are higher than when using inside bets, you will get lower payouts but more frequent wins.
- Red/Black: This is the bet you always see in the movies and is the most popular outside bet of them all. You place your chips on either the red box or the black box. If the ball is the colour you chose, you will win 1:1.
- Odd/Even: Also with a payout of 1:1 is the odd/even bet. You are betting on whether the next number is an odd number or even number.
- High/Low: This is placing a bet on whether you think the next number will be low (1 to 18) or high (19-36). Again, as this is a pretty much a 50/50 bet (except for the Green 0) you will receive 1:1 as a payout.
- Column Bets: Essentially, with this bet, you are wagering on the ball landing on one of one-third of the numbers available. This involves placing your bet at the end of one column of 12 numbers. This bet pays 2:1 if one of those numbers comes in.
- Dozen Bets: Similar to the column bets as you’re betting on one-third of the numbers and you receive 2:1 as a payout when you win, this bet is triggered when you place your chips in the 1 to 12, 13 to 24, or 25 to 36 outside betting segments.
Tip: If you are new to Live European Roulette and do not have much experience with strategies, we recommend you initially stick to outside bets. You will win your bets more frequently, as the odds are much lower. Red/Black, Odd/Even and High/Low, for example, give you close to a 50/50 chance of winning. Betting on single numbers carries long odds, so it makes little sense to bet on just one. Most experienced players will make straight-up bets but on a selection of numbers so that their odds improve.
Racetrack Betting Options
On many variations of live European roulette, you are given further betting options via a racetrack. Similar to the accompanying image, the racetrack allows you to place call bets. In a land-based casino, you would have to call these bets out and the live croupier will place them for you. At online casinos, you can just click these bets for yourself. The betting options are usually found in the middle of the racetrack and betting on them will usually involve clicking on your chosen bet type. The following is a brief description of these bets:
- Voisins de Zero: French for ‘Neighbours of Zero’ this bet allows you to cover the 16 numbers that sit closest to the zero on the roulette wheel. It also covers the zero segment too, so 17 numbers in total. Split bets cover the majority of the numbers, while a Trio bet is for the 0, 2, and 3, and a corner bet covers the 25, 26, 27, and 28.
- Tiers du Cylindre: This bet essentially covers the numbers on the opposite side of the wheel. However, the 5, 8, 10, 11, 13, 16, 23, 24, 27, 30, 33, and 36 are only covered by split bets and not any other type of bet. When translated, Tiers du Cylindre means a third of the wheel in English. However, mathematically, that is slightly incorrect, as there are 37 and not 36 segments on the wheel.
- Orphelins: This is a bet that covers all the numbers not involved in either of the bets above. That is why it is called the Orphans bet. Aside from the 1, which is covered by a straight-up bet, all other numbers are covered by split bets.
If you have played roulette before, you will know that it can take time to physically place all your chips before each spin of the wheel. Even online, this process can be time-consuming. The racetrack bets above allow you to cover multiple bets at a time and therefore represent a quicker way to cover various portions of the wheel.
What is the Difference Between European and American Roulette?
We mentioned earlier in this guide that while European and French roulette offer few differences, that this is not the case between European and American roulette. At first glance, you might not notice anything different with the roulette wheels or the betting tables. However, while the games have major similarities, a number of differences will make you want to play European roulette over its American cousin.
When you take a closer look at the roulette wheel, the first thing you will notice is that the roulette wheel and the betting overlay have an additional green segment. That is a Double Green 00 to go alongside the original Single Green 0. They both sit on either side of the roulette wheel. Another difference is the order of the numbers on the wheel, but it is the additional Double Zero that makes the key difference between the games. That additional segment means the wheel has 38 segments compared to the 37 on a European roulette wheel. Therefore, the odds of hitting a single number are increased by 1.
In the grand scheme of things, this may not sound too big a deal. However, those longer odds and the addition of another green segment that nullifies many of the bets means the house edge on American roulette is significantly greater than on European roulette. The house edge when playing American roulette is 5.26% (RTP of 94.74%) compared to the 2.7% (RTP of 97.3%). As you will see from the accompanying table, this does not affect the odds of winning most bets too much, but the casino will make more money long-term out of American roulette due to that additional green segment.
| Roulette Bet | US/American Roulette Odds | European/French Roulette Odds | Payout |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single Number | 2.60% | 2.70% | 35 to 1 |
| 2 Number Combination | 5.30% | 5.40% | 17 to 1 |
| 3 Number Combination | 7.90% | 8.10% | 11 to 1 |
| 4 Number Combination | 10.50% | 10.80% | 8 to 1 |
| 5 Number Combination | 13.20% | 13.50% | 6 to 1 |
| 6 Number Combination | 15.80% | 16.20% | 5 to 1 |
| Column | 31.60% | 32.40% | 2 to 1 |
| Dozen | 31.60% | 32.40% | 2 to 1 |
| Even/Odd | 47.40% | 48.60% | 1 to 1 |
| Red/Black | 47.40% | 48.60% | 1 to 1 |
| Low/High | 47.40% | 48.60% | 1 to 1 |
Popular Live European Roulette Titles You Can Play Online Today
When you go to the live casino lobby at your preferred online casino, you might find it overwhelming as you scroll through the roulette tables at your disposal. This is because roulette is the most popular casino table game and therefore, most live casino suppliers have created their own versions. Many will offer standard tables offering the standard rules of European roulette, while others might offer tables streamed from land-based casinos, titles that operate faster than others, and some with unique features, including multipliers.
- Standard Live European Roulette Tables: Most live casino suppliers will offer standard roulette tables that follow the same rules as you will know from land-based casinos across the world. They will feature fully-trained live croupiers and will let you place all the same bets that you are familiar with.
- Auto Roulette Titles: For players that prefer to play more hands per hour, the live suppliers may also offer auto roulette games. Although streamed live, these do not feature a live croupier. Instead, automatic roulette wheels are used, which means faster operation and the chance to place more bets during your session.
- Live Speed European Roulette Titles: Speed Roulette is another variation of European roulette that is designed to allow you to enjoy more coups per hour. You still have a live croupier, but they cut the time allowed to place bets right down so that the wheel is spinning more often.
- Land-Based Tables: A number of live casino suppliers such as Evolution and Ezugi have partnerships in place with land-based casinos, which allow them to stream the action from actual roulette tables within those casinos. Called Dual-Play tables, Evolution offers tables from casinos in London, the US, and Malta. Ezugi provides similar with European roulette tables streamed live from casinos in Malta.
Unique European Roulette Titles: One benefit of playing your European roulette online is that you have access to more variations than when you visit a land-based casino. You will find some interesting variations, such as some tables that offer multipliers (see next topic) and even a title from Evolution that has two balls instead of one. Called Double Roulette, the odds are half what you will find on European Roulette due to the second ball, but should both land on numbers you have wagered on, you will receive an incredible 1,300:1.
Online European Roulette Titles with Multipliers
Some of the best European roulette games you can play online are those that offer multipliers as part of the gameplay. In fact, these games are often classed as live gameshows rather than table games because of those multipliers that can really up the payouts players receive. More and more developers are releasing their own versions of these games, but we have listed four of the most popular titles currently available at the online casinos.
Full list of live roulette games with multipliers: If you would like to see 18 versions of live roulette with multipliers from a variety of live casino software providers, visit the live roulette multipliers guide here.
European Roulette Questions and Answers!
Where can I play live European Roulette?
Practically every online casino that offers live casino games will offer at least one European roulette table. Many will give you a far greater selection from leading iGaming brands such as Evolution, Pragmatic Play, Playtech, and Ezugi. If you are unsure of which casino to choose, simply click on our live casino reviews page where you will find full and in-depth reviews of the best live casinos.
Can you play free versions of live European roulette?
It is rare, but possible. We know that Amusnet Interactive and a few other live suppliers offer demo versions of their games. However, the majority do not have free to play versions. Many of the virtual (RNG) European Roulette games may offer demo versions, while you could just sit at the live tables with an active casino account and just watch the action.
What are the odds of winning at European roulette?
This depends on the number and type of bets that you place. If you place a single straight-up bet on one number, your odds are 36:1 as there are 37 numbers on the wheel. You can lower these odds by betting on multiple numbers, placing split bets, street bets, corner bets, or a number of other inside bets. For the best odds, use outside bets such as red/black and odd/even as these give you odds of 2:1.
What is the payout at roulette?
Again, this depends on the bets placed. However, standard European roulette rules state that straight-up bets pay 35:1. Less specific bets, such as those wagered on groups of numbers will have lower payouts. You will see the full rundown of payouts in the guide above.
How many different variations of live European Roulette are there?
Assuming you mean European roulette and not the American or French versions of roulette, you will find dozens of different live European roulette titles at the online casinos. This includes standard versions of the game, unique titles such as Double Ball Roulette, and titles that offer random multipliers. For the latter, we suggest playing titles including Lightning Roulette, XXXtreme Lightning Roulette, Mega Fire Blaze Roulette (Playtech), and 120x Dynamic Roulette. Plus, you will find roulette games streamed live from land-based casinos, titles that offer jackpots, and faster versions of the classic table game such as Auto and Speed roulette.
What are the differences between American and European roulette?
The main difference is that American roulette has a 00 green on top of the 0 green found in European Roulette. This gives American roulette a bigger house edge compared to European roulette. For that reason, we always recommend you play European roulette over American roulette.