Well, for starters, “roulette” is a French word, so it’s pretty easy to conclude where roulette was invented. This word translates to “small wheel”, which is easy to understand if you are familiar with the game. If you are not, the game is based on a small wheel. Simple!
So we know that roulette was invented in France, but when was it invented? Well, the game that you can play in casinos around the world started in the 18th century as an amalgamation of various games, stealing ideas from various parts and fusing them together to create roulette.
However, that is not where the roulette wheel came from. No, the roulette wheel was invented way back by the French mathematician Blaise Pascal (a name a high school student probably doesn’t want to hear) in the middle of the 17th century. Therefore, this roulette wheel was used for very different purposes than that Pascal envisioned (the idea was conceived for a perpetual motion machine, the Holy Grail for scientists even today).
We already have American roulette, but what about European roulette? European roulette was not invented until 40-50 years after American roulette started to gain a foothold in the gaming world. In short, two men (Francois Blanc and Louis Blanc) wanted to hit the market hard and decided that players would play their own version of roulette, removing the double zero from the wheel, giving players a small advantage. This happened in Germany, as gambling was illegal in France at the time. Therefore, although the history of roulette is tied to France, a lot happens abroad. Irony is a funny thing.
I personally don’t understand why some players insist on playing American roulette in casinos that also offer European roulette. A change in favor of the odds? I take it, thanks! Casinos offer both and a wide variety of roulette games.
After this, roulette began to spread globally at the end of the 19th century, and betting sites around the world offered some form of roulette to play. In fact, Monte Carlo is said to have been built around roulette, as it was one of the few places where people living in nearby countries like Germany (which banned the game) and France could play. Therefore, the Monte Carlo gaming mecca had roulette, and owes its success in part to it.
American roulette is not played much in the world these days — European roulette is becoming the mainstream game and you will only find American roulette in American and nearby places while everyone else adopts European roulette.
Therefore, roulette has not changed much in the last 200 years or so. The wheel has become a complete table, with greater security to avoid cheating, although, for the most part, it is still the game that a couple of French once dreamed of. Nowadays you will not be able to find a casino that does not have at least one roulette wheel, and in fact, electronic roulette wheels that generate random numbers can be found in many casinos, as well as touch screens and “fast roulette” that do not allow “outside bets”; however, the heart of the game is still betting on where the ball will land. Roulette will always be a staple of both land-based and online casinos, and it’s worth checking out a few online casinos to see which software you like best.