The roulette wheel is the innovation that changed many things in the world of gambling. The black and red spinning hypnosis has survived the test of time, and to this day is one of the most thrilling casino games in the world. But its evolution is a long and fun ride throughout the centuries and cultures. 

The Birth of Roulette

It all began with Blaise Pascal trying to figure out how to create a perpetual motion machine back in 18th century France. Even though he didn't succeed in making a machine that won't use any additional energy to spin around. He was inspired by the Italian game Biribi, and decided to “reinvent the wheel” and voila - roulette came to existence.

The first written words for the game of roulette in its current form was in the in a French novel ‘Roulette, or the Day’ where its writer Jacques Lablee describes the fun and thrilling events around the table at the Palais Royal in Paris in 1796. 

Roulette on the Streets

In those early years, the roulette wheels in the casinos in Paris had the red colour for the single zero and the black colour for the double zero. But after a while casinos realized that sometimes this leads to confusion on the tables, especially on the long nights accompanied by some good drinks. That’s why they decided to bring the green colour to stand for the zeros at the beginning of the 19th century, and since then this is a universal standard. 

For the first time, the single zero style roulette wheel was introduced in 1843 in Bad Homburg, Germany, by Frenchmen partners in an attempt to compete on the gambling market with the other casinos that offered the traditional style of roulette with single and double zero wheels.

This is the reason why the French roulette style remains this way, where the players are getting the best chances and the best odds at beating the house.

Across the Pond

The arrival in America also made a mark on the style of the game of roulette. In the late 18th century the gambling was booming in Louisiana. The arrival of the roulette wheel gained huge popularity for the masses. But the funny thing is that in those days in America the roulette was different from the standard we know today. Instead of 36 numbers plus zero and double zero, the roulette wheel used to have 28 numbers, two zeros, and the symbol of an American Eagle. 

This was made to make the casinos have an extra edge. But this wasn’t very pleasing for the casino players, so the popularity started to drop until the American Eagle symbol was removed from the tables once and for all. After this change in the American style roulette, the houses started to use the old European style with 36 numbers, one zero and one double zero wheels, still keeping the bigger house edge compared to the new, one zero Europe style. This is why many players still prefer the European styled roulette tables.

Twentieth Century Evolution

With casinos becoming an everyday place for people to entertain themselves and get their adrenaline rush, games started becoming flashier, and more glamorous. This, of course, has led to the creation of some of the biggest gambling hubs in the world like Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Paris, London, and many others.

Roulette turned classy, and has stayed that way ever since. It wasn’t just a game of chance, it was an experience to be savoured.

In Modern Times

The next big step for the game of roulette was its arrival in the internet world. In 1996 the first online casino was launched, and roulette wheel games appeared available for online gamblers a few years later. Since then the journey of this incredibly thrilling game has made its way to the households of its fellow gamblers, who now are absolutely available to enjoy the magic of the red and black spinning wheel in the comfort of their home.

All in all, roulette has been, is, and will be the darling in the world of casinos. People simply have no way of resisting the spinning ball and the chance to win big!