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Roulette History
Written by: Stefano Rossi | The review was last updated: 03 July 2024 | Fact-check by: Kim Birch
When you think of classic table games, roulette's bound to be on your list. It's easily one of the most iconic games in gambling history. The roulette we play today hasn't changed much in over 200 years, making it a go-to for punters of all skill levels. While the classic version remains a favourite, variations like American and European roulette have also gained traction in casinos across New Zealand.
As online casinos took off, roulette fans were keen to see their favourite game make the digital leap. Roulette was one of the first table games to go online, and it's now a top pick for Kiwi gamblers looking for a virtual spin. Game developers have created heaps of souped-up versions of the classic, catering to all sorts of players.
Roulette's iconic wheel and table have inspired countless films, books, and stories, cementing its place in pop culture.
If you're curious about the backstory of this gambling legend, check out our article on roulette's history. It's a ripper of a read for anyone keen on the game.
Single zero roulette wheel still spins in Kiwi online and brick-and-mortar casinos.
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The origins of roulette are a bit of a mystery, with different theories floating around. Some reckon it goes back to ancient times when people thought the gods were spinning a wheel to decide our fate. Others reckon it came from English or Italian games.
But here's the kicker - roulette wasn't actually meant to be a game at all. It was a happy accident when Blaise Pascal, a brainy mathematician and physicist, was trying to create a perpetual motion machine back in the 1600s. He didn't set out to make roulette as we know it, but his invention laid the groundwork for the wheel we use today.
Interestingly, a version of roulette was already being played in France as a board game when Pascal came up with his wheel. He combined his invention with this existing game and a couple of British games like Roly-Poly and E.O. to create modern roulette. So while Pascal didn't invent the concept of roulette from scratch, he did give us the wheel that made it famous.
Pascal might not have cracked perpetual motion, but he stumbled onto something just as good. Roulette quickly became a hit with punters, spreading like wildfire through royal courts and gambling halls across Europe.
Roulette's origins: Blaise Pascal's physics experiment
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Some reckon the history of the roulette table is linked to an old Chinese board game that Dominican monks stumbled upon. These monks, who were well into Chinese culture, brought the game back to Europe with a few tweaks. They changed the squares to circles and chucked in some new numbers, including zero.
Mind you, there's no solid proof of how the Chinese actually played this game back then. It's worth noting that even the earliest French and American roulette games had zeros on the wheel.
Turns out, roulette's roots might go back to ancient Rome. Roman soldiers apparently used it as a way to unwind during wartime. Makes sense - when you're surrounded by mates dying, you need something to take the edge off.
Roulette helped the soldiers chill out and keep their spirits up. The Roman bigwigs cottoned on to this and let the troops have a bit of fun in their downtime. Back then, they'd spin a chariot wheel or a shield instead of the fancy roulette wheels we have now.
Greek soldiers were into similar games during their off-hours. They had this game that was a dead ringer for modern roulette, using a shield and an arrow. They'd draw symbols inside the shield, pop an arrow on the side, give it a spin, and wherever the arrow landed was the winner.
Roulette: A Timeless Favourite in Kiwi Casinos
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Roulette's been a crowd-pleaser in casinos for yonks, kicking off in France back in the 1700s. The game we know today's a bit different from its French granddaddy. The original French version had a red zero and a black double-zero - both house pockets. If the ball landed on either, punters lost their dosh. To sort out the confusion, they painted the zeros green in the 1800s.
Interestingly, roulette got so popular in France that King Louis XV tried to give it the boot. Napoleon Bonaparte later said it was sweet only in the royal palace casinos. Then in 1837, King Louis Phillipe went the whole hog and shut down all of France's casinos, banning the game outright.
Roulette's roots trace back to a couple of 17th-century games - Even-Odd and Roly-Poly. Both had a spinning wheel where punters placed bets on the outcome.
Blaise Pascal, the bloke who invented modern roulette, knew his onions about these earlier games. He was quite the gambler himself, which probably helped when he was designing the new version.
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Two French blokes, François and Louis Blanc, deserve a pat on the back for making gambling games so popular in Europe. These fellas got rid of the double zero pockets in roulette and came up with the game design we know today. Their creation is now widely known as European roulette.
Back in 1842, gambling was totally off-limits in France, so these guys had to find somewhere else to show off their new single-zero game. They ended up in Hamburg, Germany, where they introduced their game to the local punters.
As you'd expect, the gambling crowd loved it, and the game took off. This kicked off a new era of gambling in Germany, with places like Bad Homburg, Baden-Baden, and Wiesbaden becoming hotspots. A Russian writer, Dostoyevsky, was living there at the time and wrote about his experiences at the Bad Homburg casino in his famous book, The Gambler.
Germany banned casinos in the 1860s, but the Nazis reopened them in 1933. With gambling off the cards in Germany and France, Monte Carlo became Europe's gambling hub. The Blanc brothers moved there and set up a fancy gambling scene. The single-zero roulette became so popular in Monte Carlo that it spread to countries all over the world.
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Roulette's popularity skyrocketed, and it soon hit American shores. By the late 1700s, New Orleans had become the gambling capital of the United States. French immigrants brought roulette to Louisiana, where it quickly became a casino favourite.
By the 1800s, roulette had made its way to the casinos of newly established American cities. The tables back then were a bit different from what we see today. This era saw the addition of a double zero on the wheel, which is now the hallmark of American roulette.
That's why classic roulette has 37 numbers, while American roulette has an extra space, totalling 38 - numbers 1 to 36, a single zero, and a double zero. Despite the lower odds, American punters took to it like ducks to water.
For a while, some American wheels even sported an eagle symbol. This gave casinos a massive 12.9% edge, but it wasn't a hit with the punters. Needless to say, these modified wheels didn't stick around for long.
Kiwi punters quickly took to American roulette
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The rise of online casinos has been a wild ride. When the first virtual casino hit the web in 1996, it completely changed how Kiwis thought about having a punt online. Back then, these sites were pretty basic, offering just a handful of pokies and a few decent blackjack games.
As the internet became more widespread across New Zealand, online gambling took off. Roulette, already a favourite at the TAB, found new life online. Punters loved the idea of having a spin from their living room, without having to trek to the local casino.
The next big shake-up came with live roulette. Suddenly, online casinos were streaming real games to players' screens. This was huge - it brought in a whole new crowd who'd been wary of computer-generated games. Now, you could watch a real wheel spin and see the chips move, all from your couch.
This live format was a winner for those who missed the buzz of a real casino floor but liked the convenience of online play. It bridged the gap between traditional betting shops and the digital world, making online gambling feel more authentic to Kiwi punters.
Kiwi Live Gambling: Play Roulette from Your Own Lounge
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The rise of the internet has clearly changed how we approach pokies and other casino games, including roulette. These days, heaps of online gaming providers are creating unique roulette variants, adding fresh twists to the classic game. Some top-notch roulette games you'll find at online casinos include Multi-Ball Roulette and Mini Roulette.
Roulette's also interesting because it can get punters thinking about the maths behind the game. Some try to calculate the ball and wheel speeds to guess where the ball might land.
While the numbers side might pique your interest, the reality is that roulette's all about chance, and there's no foolproof way to predict where that ball will end up.
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Roulette's had quite the ride over the last couple of centuries. It's gone through heaps of changes since it first popped up. Funnily enough, it came about when some bloke tried to invent a perpetual motion machine and failed. Now it's one of the most popular table games you'll find in any casino or pokie site.
The game's seen its fair share of upgrades over the years, but with online gambling taking off, we're in for a whole new chapter. Developers are churning out new spins on the classic game left and right, and punters are loving it. At this rate, we're bound to see even more creative versions of this ripper of a game in the future.
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Curious about roulette's backstory? Here are the top questions and answers about this classic pokie's history and origins.
The origins of roulette are a bit murky, with heaps of theories floating around. But one thing's for sure - the game really took off when François and Louis Blanc set up shop in Monte Carlo. Their version is what we now call European roulette. Later on, French immigrants brought the game to the States, where the Yanks added their own twist - an extra space with double zeros. That's how we ended up with American roulette, which you'll find in many Kiwi casinos and online pokies these days.
Roulette, the classic casino game, has its roots in the work of French physicist and mathematician Blaise Pascal. While tinkering with the idea of a perpetual motion machine, Pascal inadvertently created the roulette wheel. Interestingly, his research also led to discoveries about cycloids - the curves produced by a point on a rolling wheel. Who knew a failed experiment would lead to one of the most popular pokies in Kiwi casinos today?
Roulette's massive appeal isn't hard to figure out. For starters, it's dead simple to play - no need for fancy maths or strategy. It's all about luck, which is part of the fun. Plus, with online casinos booming these days, more Kiwi punters are getting into digital and live roulette. It's become one of the go-to pokies for players looking for a bit of action from the comfort of their couch.
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