Evolution of Roulette: How the Game Has Changed Over Time

The game of roulette has been around for hundreds of years. While the central core of the game has remained essentially unchanged since its inception, the technology surrounding it has continued to evolve drastically. The wheel has changed in other ways over the years as well. Nowadays, you can play roulette virtually, through online mediums, and for real money. You can even play roulette on your phone. From mobile apps to 3D holograms, roulette continues to be one of the most popular games in online casinos.
This blog will look at the evolution of the roulette wheel and how technology has made the game of roulette a lot more interesting.
The Origin
The history of the roulette wheel is a highly debated topic. It is believed that the French originally created it in the 1600s. It is commonly believed that Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician, came up with the original roulette wheel design.
Legend has it that he first invented the roulette wheel in an attempt to create a perpetual motion device. The Roulette wheel made by him was widely popular for the next two hundred years in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. However, many changes have been made to the Roulette wheel over the years.
For instance, King Charles III added a zero to the wheel. This addition was widely accepted, and modern Roulette games have a zero. The history of roulette suggests that the game has been popular for hundreds of years, and it is intact till the day. The game only saw two significant changes since its inception by Pascal. One was when King Charles added the zero, and one was when American roulette came out.
The Roulette Boom in Europe
Roulette has not always been around and became popular at a time when a lot of economies in Europe were going through tough times. King Charles III built a casino and included roulette, among other games, in the hopes of drawing profit.
The integration of a roulette wheel into casinos helped improve the financial situation in France while also bringing the game to a wider audience. This resulted in Monaco’s popularity as one of the top cities for high gambling rollers, which remains the same to this day. The success of this game at Monaco casinos led to popularity in Europe, which soon required the casinos to offer this game.
The game had been around for decades, but when new technologies were invented, new variations of the wheel were introduced. These made the competitions faster-paced, which gave players a competitive edge and increased the fame of roulette in many more European nations.
The Advent of Roulette in America
In the 19th century, the game traveled to the new American climate, and there was an increased demand for a competitive edge. This led to an addition of double zero to the wheel. This addition made the new version of the game that is known as American Roulette. It was the largest wheel with 38 numbers, while there were 37 numbers in traditional European roulette.
This was the place and time when people’s love/hate relationship with roulette solidified as those looking for big wins found themselves involved in more contests. But what about those that can’t go to a casino?
Digital Era
The modern era with modern technologies eradicated this issue. The incorporation of the internet into gambling opened doors for all players to play casino games right from home. Along with many other games, roulette made the transition from brick-and-mortar casinos to online too.
The first internet casino was introduced in the mid-90s, and soon, developers realized that games like roulette could also be introduced to online gambling platforms. In the next decade, the investment in online casinos and the internet started to take off as people realized how big it would become.
The popularity of home computers increased as online casinos started offering several gambling games, and roulette became one of the favorites. Initially, players hesitated to trust this form of gaming, but the use of RNG (random number generator) infuses a sense of relief in them. Now players were able to play the game without visiting a casino. Nonetheless, the evolution of this game didn’t stop here.
Mobile Roulette and Live Roulette
As the tech innovations continued to develop in the second decade of the 21st century, the online gambling experience was enriched. Online casinos started offering mobile games and live games rather than using only computer or software-based roulette games. The fast internet connection, enhanced security system, and smartphone technology played a greater role here. Now, playing online roulette games on a mobile phone is not uncommon for casino players.
Live roulette is an updated version of traditional online roulette. Online roulette is backed by RNG technology to maintain the fairness of gameplay, but in live roulette, you play with a live dealer and fellow players using live stream technology and high-end web cameras. It imitates the gameplay of a real casino, but dealers and players play remotely.
Future of Roulette
With the increasing popularity of online casinos, operators are embracing the latest technologies to render an enhanced gambling experience. Technologies such as VR and AR that are still in their infancy would change how we play roulette online.
With augmented reality and virtual reality technology, we will have a more immersive experience of playing this casino game on our phones or computer. We also expect the digital casino industry to take advantage of wearable technology to offer even easier access to roulette and several other games.
Nevertheless, the question remains: will online roulette completely replace its brick-and-mortar counterparts? Only time will tell.