Roulette is by far the most exciting game at casinos. People have been betting on the roulette wheel for decades, but the game is now more accessible than ever. Playing online roulette may look intimidating at first, but this guide will get you in the right place to start winning. Or at least lose responsibly.
Let us be upfront – roulette is a game of chance and players can easily lose track of how much they are betting due to the hefty payouts and fast-paced nature of the game. For this reason, I have set out to explain the game of roulette, showcase the best roulette casinos, and also help you play the game without going overboard.
Top Online Casinos to Play
Our list is the best spot for those ready to play online roulette for real money. I’ve listed the best online casinos in terms of roulette variations, bonuses, and flexible stakes. Of course, each of these sites has also been benchmarked against a set of criteria to ensure that players are safe while gambling there, get paid any winnings fast, and find help if they need to.
Making a real money deposit at the listed roulette gambling sites will get you hefty welcome bonuses, some even tripling your initial deposit. However, you can begin by trying out the free demo roulette versions provided at each site to avoid any financial risk. A few operators also welcome new users with a no deposit bonus, ideal for those who want to play free online roulette for a chance to win real money.
How to Play Roulette Online
Roulette tables at physical venues are pretty much identical, in most cases varying in terms of betting limits and the inclusion of one or single zeroes. Online, you can play roulette in various ways:
- Real Money Roulette: To play roulette for real money you will need to register at an online casino legal in your location. Our list automatically adjusts to provide you with legal operators featuring the best roulette games. The next step is to sign up, make a deposit, claim your bonus, and visit the roulette lobby. Your balance can be used to purchase chips of varying values and bet on the virtual table hoping for your numbers to show up. Stakes can range from $0.1 to $10 minimums, up to $500 per chip.
- Free Online Roulette: Any online casino we’ve listed also offers free online roulette games. You simply opt-in for the demo or practice mode and use free virtual chips to check out a variant you are unfamiliar with, test strategies, or practice the rules.
- Mobile Roulette: Pretty much all roulette online casinos are accessible through mobile browsers, native apps, or desktop clients. If you’d rather experience the game without using your laptop or desktop, playing mobile roulette games might be for you. The gameplay and experience are identical since the online casino adjusts to fit your screen and software features.
- Live Dealer Roulette: The standard online roulette games involve a virtual table where you compete against a bot. The outcomes are determined by a random number generator software and you play at your own pace. With live dealer roulette, the action is streamed through video live from real casino studios. The experience is identical to brick-and-mortar casinos, and you place your bets alongside other players with the option to communicate with each other. Although the odds and game rules are the same, many prefer live dealer roulette today.
Thankfully, the roulette casinos we’ve listed and recommended provide all the types of roulette covered. You can opt-in for the desired option based on your mood or situation at any moment without having to visit different platforms and complete multiple registration forms.
Finding the Best Roulette Casinos
The roulette gaming experience doesn’t differ much. You enter the virtual table, select the chips you are comfortable betting with, place them on the table, and wait for the wheel to finish spinning and for the ball to fix on a pocket. However, your overall experience can differ significantly from one operator to the next. For this reason, our experts employ a set of criteria to determine the best gambling sites you can play roulette online. These are briefly mentioned below, and you can learn more about our process here.
Roulette Games: I would never send you off to an online casino with a single roulette variant. The best roulette sites should feature at least 5 roulette games, ideally different types. French, European, and American roulette games are a must. From there, mini roulette, 1c roulette, and live dealer roulette are other types I searched for.
License and Software: Winning at roulette is a close bet, often 50/50. Yet, winning at an online casino that doesn’t pay out your winnings and finds excuses to refuse withdrawals is no good. To avoid problems, I only recommend operators that hold an iGaming license and have a solid track record. The companies making the roulette games for the online casino should also have a license and a good reputation.
Roulette Types: Mobile, free, real money and live dealer roulette options are accessible at all operators I’ve listed on this page. This ensures the casino will cater to all player types. Although you might not initially want to play on mobile or a live dealer roulette version, having the option is important in the long run.
Roulette Bonuses: Pretty much all online casinos offer a welcome bonus. However, for the purpose of this guide, I have optimized the list to include online casinos with welcome bonuses you can wager on roulette, without having to play for ages until the bonus funds become real money. Some of the brands even offer live dealer roulette jackpots and special cashback offers.
Banking: Since roulette is mostly played for the astronomical payouts, I assess each brand’s banking department too. They should provide a range of deposit and withdrawal options with flexible limits, no fees, and quick processing times. If not, they won’t make it here.
House Edge: The house edge is inherent to all online casino games and indicates how much money the casino holds on the culminative bets placed by players. Although you cannot cheat roulette, finding a casino with an average roulette payout exceeding 97.5% is a good starting point.
Support: All online casinos offer a contact method to get help if you need to. The best roulette casinos offer at least three – live chat, phone, and email support. That’s exactly what you get with the provided operators.
Online Roulette Basic Rules
The rules of roulette are simple. You only need to play a few rounds to get how it works, although the following overview should do the trick:
- Log in to one of the roulette casinos we’ve listed and click to play for free or real money.
- Select the chips with the value you are willing to wager per bet.
- Place the chips on the table within the designated time limit.
- Sit back and watch the roulette spin until the ball stops on a number.
- Collect your payout and play again, or take another shot at it.
The biggest payout in standard roulette is 35x your wager, won if you correctly place the chip on a single number (straight) and the ball lands there. Other types of bets include:
- Two numbers (split)
- Three numbers (street)
- Four numbers (corner)
- Five numbers (basket)
- Six numbers (double street bet)
- Even bets (red/black, low/high)
- Dozen (snake)
- Column
- Groups of bets – Orphelins (17, 34, 6 and 1, 20, 14, 31, 9), Jeu Zero (0, 3, 12, 26, 32, and 35), Voisins du Zero (17 numbers between 22 and 25 neighboring zero), and Tiers du Cylindre (27, 13, 36, 11, 30, 8, 23, 10, 5, 24, 16, and 33)
Bets placed inside the roulette table are harder to win, while the bets placed outside are easier to win but pay less. Calculating the odds of the roulette bet payouts is simple – you get 1 – 35x your stake based on the numbers you were betting on. The house edge apparent in roulette comes from the extra number available on the table and the zero, set at 2.7% in European Roulette.
Odds and Payouts
Understanding the roulette odds can take you a long way. I used to bet straight for years, and in most cases my balance fluctuated at an extremely fast-pace, making it hard to actually appreciate the game.
Although outside or group bets pay less for a winning combo, they let you experience the game in full. And placing a couple of straight numbers here and there can add a spark to the gameplay.
The following table indicates the odds for the different roulette bets and the payouts corresponding to each.
| Bets | Bet Types | Payouts | Single Zero Odds (European) | Double Zero Odds (American) |
| Evens (High or low, odd or even, red or black) | Outside Bets | 1x | 48.65% | 47.37% |
| Column/Dozen | Outside Bets | 2x | 32.4% | 31.6% |
| Six Numbers | Inside Bets | 5x | 16.2% | 15.8% |
| Five Numbers | Inside Bets | 6x | – | 13.2% |
| Four Numbers | Inside Bets | 8x | 10.8% | 10.5% |
| Three Numbers | Inside Bets | 11x | 8.1% | 7.9% |
| Two Numbers | Inside Bets | 17x | 5.4% | 5.3% |
| Single Number | Inside Bets | 35x | 2.7% | 2.6% |
As you can see, the odds do not only depend on the bets you are placing but also on the roulette game you are playing.
Online Roulette Types
Although the odds of online, land-based, mobile, and free roulette remain identical, the variant of roulette you are playing affects the house edge. Here are the main options:
- European Roulette: The game is played with 36 numbers and a zero, offering a 2.7% house edge.
- American Roulette: This game is identical in terms of rules and gameplay to the above bar the inclusion of an extra zero. This variation doubles the house edge to 5.26%.
- French Roulette: This variant is less common than the above two and the wheel is similar to the European. However, a couple of extra rules lower the house edge to 1.35%.
Today, online roulette developers have come a long way and have added various twists to keep the game relevant. For instance, a live version of European Roulette powered by Evolution is called Lightning Roulette. It involves random straight number multipliers up to 500x while decreasing the non-multiplier straight bet payouts to 30x from 35x. The bells and whistles are welcome, however, the house edge drops to 2.9% here.
It is important to read the rules and consider your odds before selecting an online roulette variant, instead of instantly falling for anything new that pops up in the lobby. Other roulette variants you will encounter include:
- Double Ball Roulette
- Mini Roulette
- Jackpot Roulette
- Themed Roulette Games
- Astro Roulette
- Age of the Gods Roulette
- Pinball Roulette
- Triple Bonus Spin Roulette
- 3D Roulette
- 1c Roulette
- Multi-Wheel and Multi-Ball Roulette
Tips and Strategies for Online Roulette
You can find several roulette strategies on the web, including:
- Martingale
- Reverse Martingale
- D’Alembert
- Fibonacci
- James Bond
- Labouchere
- Fisher
The above roulette strategies originate from mathematical formulas and could work if you had an unlimited budget and the roulette tables had no maximum limits. For most, that’s not the case.
Some actual strategies you could utilize for online roulette include:
- Avoid American Roulette
- Grasp the rules of each variant by playing for free first
- Set a budget and stick to it
- Utilize bonuses that can be wagered on roulette
- Mostly place outside bets
Ultimately, you need luck, and in the long run, you will 100% end up a loser based on math. However, if you stick to the online roulette strategies discussed above you will at least have fun along the way.
Should You Play Free or Real Money?
I generally play casino games for real money since I am familiar with the rules and play for the win, not the experience.
Beginners or those trying a new roulette game should always start with the free version of the game and only after feeling 100% confident go for real money bets. A few mistakes can quickly drain your bankroll, so practice is key, and free online roulette is often the way to go.
Social and sweepstakes casinos offer the best of both worlds to US players, enabling no purchase gameplay with virtual currency you can eventually redeem for real money. If you aren’t going for the big money, sweepstakes roulette games could be the best route for you.
FAQs
Which is the best roulette game?
The best roulette game is European Roulette or any roulette variant with a single zero. That’s because it comes with the best roulette odds at 2.7%.
Is European or American roulette better?
European Roulette is better than American Roulette when comparing their odds – 2.7% vs 5.26%.
What are the odds of winning roulette?
The odds of winning at roulette depend on the variant and bet you are playing. Your chances of winning a straight bet is 1/37 in each round, and you get a 35:1 payout. Outside bets come with better winning chances than inside bets, but they also pay out less.
How does online roulette work?
Online roulette works just like the roulette tables at physical casinos. You simply deposit online to convert your money to virtual chips and place your bets. The payouts and odds are identical to the same roulette games found at physical venues. Online roulette bet outcomes are determined by a random number generator, ensuring a fair shot at winning.
Can I play free online roulette?
All online casinos we’ve listed offer real money and free online roulette games. You can try out the demo mode before even registering an account.
Is online roulette fair or rigged?
Online roulette is a fair game if you are playing it at an online casino that has partnered with regulated and tested gaming companies. There is an edge in all roulette games, similar to other casino games.
