History of Casino Roulette

History of Casino Roulette

We can argue about the early origins of the game of Roulette, but the concept of the Wheel of Fortune is one that goes back to ancient times. One thing’s for sure however, which is that the modern day game of Roulette definitely has it’s origins in France, some 300 years ago. The game certainly still has a certain connection with sophistication and it is still seen by many as the most erudite of all gambling games. It’s interesting to note that the earliest records of Roulette wheels in literature describe two slots in the reel for the House edge, noting that this is where the casino wins all their money.

It wasn’t actually until some 50 years later that the German’s took one of the zeroes off the Roulette wheel in order to compete with the French tables, creating the first ever European Roulette wheels. However, the first American Roulette wheels actually had three spaces for the house; the two conventional zeroes and an American eagle, which would all pay 27-1 on a 30 spaced wheel.

How the game of Roulette has developed

Some 10-20 years after the new wheel concept had been introduced, Germany decided to make gambling illegal driving German casino owners into the one place where gambling was still legal in Europe, Monte Carlo. It was during this time that Roulette picked up its veneer of mystique and charm, with regular gamers declaring it “The King of Games”. The single zero wheel soon became dominant with the Americans cutting their edge down to two spaces. This is no doubt why we get call title the modern American and European versions of the game as we do.

All gambling took a knock for some time during the last century. It wasn’t until the 1970s when casinos in Las Vegas and Monte Carlo began to see a swing in business, following the legalisation of gaming in swinging London, revitalising nightlife in the old capital. Roulette quickly won back its many fans and is again dominant all over the gaming world. We’ve now even reached the point where you can play Roulette online, or on specialist gaming machines in sports clubs and book-makers. Even though you could call Roulette the world’s best one reel slot game, it still rules the whole world over.