It is very doubtful to say anything definite about the origin of roulette or its history. Historians have an assumption that this game of chance developed around the same time as the invention of the wheel itself.
The theory points out that roulette originally originated in China and then came to Europe through the traditional spice trade connections. Regardless of what the past has contributed, the majority of historians today agree that the modern version of roulette we have today is about 300 years old. It is also most likely that France is the first country to be introduced to this modern gambling tool, as roulette in French means “little wheel”.
The first editions of a roulette wheel were numbered from 1-36 as well as a field with “0” and another field with “00”. The Frenchman, Louis Blanc, is credited with inventing the roulette wheel with only one zero in the mid-1800s.
Louis Blanc offered roulette to his customers in his gambling hall in Germany. Since there was only a “0” on his roulette, the popularity of the game grew quite quickly. Casino players throughout Germany quickly found that their chances of winning on the new “one-zero” roulette were significantly increased. The roulette wheel, as we know it, with a “0”, was first seen in a German casino in 1843.
However, Germany banned games and gambling and following an invitation from Prince Charles of Monaco, Louis Blanc opened a casino in Monaco. Blanc then used his good political connections to get the French government to expand the railway network and other vital transport options to Monaco.
Monaco developed into the first class of the Las Vegas of the time, where all rich Europeans and the upper class could enjoy themselves and go to roulette and other popular casino games. Louis Blanc’s Monaco Casino was the only one in Europe with roulette until the 1930s.
It was in Monte Carlo that a “0” roulette wheel became the most widespread roulette game and in the coming decades this roulette form spread to the rest of the world. This roulette is considered today as “the European roulette” It is only in the USA and South America that the “00” roulette wheel is the most popular roulette game to this day. Everywhere else in the world, it is a “0” roulette wheel, which is number 1.
In the USA today you can be lucky to find roulette with a single “0”. However, it is quite likely that the majority of the casinos that you visit in the USA, e.g. Las Vegas, has 2 fields with “0” and “00”. This is the so-called American Roulette. “00” roulette has a greater advantage for the casino and therefore this version has always been the most preferred among American casinos.
Roulette is not very popular in the US compared to Europe. There are two explanations for that and probably more. One is because roulette has two zeroes against one in Europe and the other is that a roulette game is quite slow compared to most other casino games. Americans like fast casino games.
Today, roulette is one of the most popular casino games in the world. In both Danish physical casinos and Danish online casinos, you can more or less always find a roulette. If you would like to play online roulette yourself, we recommend you take a look at Spilnu.dk, which has a really good online roulette. At this casino you can also currently receive a welcome bonus that you can play for on the roulette.
If you don’t fully understand the rules of roulette yet, you can learn them in our roulette rules guide.
