Roulette is one of the most popular online casino games. The simplicity of the game in addition to the excitement of the spinning wheel is what makes online roulette special. There are now many variations of the classic roulette game but me must travel back to the 17th century to discover the birth of the game.
Blaise Pascal
There is a lot of information available that suggests many ancient civilizations played a form of basic roulette in China, Italy, and Greece. However, the roulette wheel you know and love today was invented by Blaise Pascal. The French physicist and mathematician was trying to invent a perpetual motion machine.
Pascal was attempting to create a machine that could operate without needing energy from an external source. In the process, Pascal created what would become one of the world’s greatest casino games. There are stories of Pascal being a gambling man, so he may have had gambling in his thoughts when building his perpetual motion machine but there is no tangible evidence to back up that claim.
Gambling was not very popular at the time because it was illegal in many European countries but the introduction of strict gambling laws soon saw betting games, including roulette, introduced to Europeans.
Online Roulette
The next big step in the development of roulette was taking it from the casino floor to the internet. Initially, it was only possible to play roulette as a video game, betting against the computer algorithm.
That changed with the addition of live casino games and if you visit top online roulette casinos, they will offer real dealer roulette. There are also various forms of roulette available that have been created for online play. Penny Roulette, Quantum Roulette, Spread-bet Roulette, Age of the Gods Roulette, Lightning Roulette, and 101 Roulette are all examples of roulette games created by online casinos.
The Zero
One of the major changes to the early roulette game was the addition of the zero. The zero did not appear on a roulette wheel until the mid-19th century and it long remained in the design of Pascal. In 1842, Francois and Lois Blanc designed a roulette wheel that included a single zero.
The new design was created for Prince Charles III of Monaco and for use in the casinos in Monaco. The addition of the zero was a substantial change in the game of roulette because it gave the house a bigger edge. In other words, the chances of winning became longer for players, which is obviously not what the public desired. The new roulette wheel became a symbol of Monte Carlo’s upscale gambling scene.
The zero had a further role to play in the development of roulette in the United States. American casinos clearly decided a single zero did not give the house enough of an edge and they decided to add a second zero. So, instead of 37 numbers, the American roulette wheel has 38 numbers, two of which are 0 and 00.
Conclusion
Despite the fact we now have several versions of online roulette, the equipment used to play the game remains like the original equipment designed by Blaise Pascal. The addition of the zero and the new ways to play the game online are the two major changes to roulette since the days of Pascal.
