History of Roulette: Where It Came From and How It Developed
Now, there may be doubts on when and where roulette was invented and it may not be the game with the longest history when it comes to casino games, but the developments that led to the invention of what we know as roulette today are certainly very amusing. It should certainly be mentioned that roulette is one of the most commonly played casino games these days and that it has two main varieties – European, also called French, and American. “Roulette” is derived from the diminutive form of “wheel” in French, so it translates as a “small wheel”.
Possible Origins of the Roulette Game
.The Chinese Connection
There is more than one theory concerning the possible origins of roulette. It is claimed by some that the game has Chinese origins. Of course, this is one of many things which are popular in the West and that claim Chinese origin. It is said that a Dominican monk who visited China, or Tibet – to be more precise, developed the game of roulette on the basis of an old Chinese game. However, this can hardly be confirmed since no mention of the game in question can be found in old Chinese scriptures. Its aim allegedly was to align 37 small statues of animals into a square. The above mentioned monk simply altered the numbers using the sequence between 0 and 36, instead of 1 through 37 and arranged them on a spinning small wheel. As interesting as it may sound, this theory can’t be confirmed, and we can discard it as a myth.
.The Roman Connection
Another theory which traces the roots of roulette back to ancient times is the so-called Roman theory, according to which the game was invented in Ancient Rome. Some even say that it was actually developed by the Ancient Greeks and then adapted by the Romans. Although this wouldn’t be unusual or surprising, there isn’t enough evidence to claim that roulette was invented by the Romans. They did have a game where a player would shoot arrows into a wheel and the other players would bet on which field the arrow would land in. But, one can’t say that this game is very similar to roulette. You can easily brush up on the roulette rules here. If anything, it resembles darts. So, although Romans played a lot of games of chance and used to bet on games quite a lot, there simply isn’t any conclusive evidence that roulette is a Roman game.
.The French Connection – the Generally Accepted Theory
If there are two roulette origin theories which are highly unlikely to be true, there’s one that’s almost certain. Namely, as the term itself suggest, the game roulette has French origin. Now, there are other games that are similar to roulette as we know it. For example, the English game of “Roly Poly” is often referred to as roulette’s predecessor. The Italian game of “Biribi” is also listed as a game that was much like roulette. However, the person held responsible for the invention of roulette is the famous French mathematician and philosopher, Blaise Pascal. Among the other things he is famous for are the invention of a specific calculator called Pascal’s calculator, or Pascaline, as well as his famous works: “Provincial Letters” and “Thoughts” which was published posthumously.
Many claim that what Pascal invented at some point in the 17th century was a much more primitive version of roulette and that the one that we know today, or a very similar one, was actually invented later, during the 18th century, probably in its second half. The earliest written mention of roulette was registered in Quebec, Canada in what was then known as New France. The document reports that this game, along with other games of chance was forbidden by the authorities. It is certain that it was played throughout France, especially in the Parisian casinos in the second half of the 18th and most of the 19th century. There was even a novel from that time called “La Roulette” in which the course of the game and the roulette table used in a famous Parisian hotel were described.
The two main variants of roulette today are European and American. The European roulette is often called French, for obvious reasons. The main difference between these variants is the number of zeros featured on the wheel and on the table. Namely, American roulette has a double-zero pocket (“00”) in addition to the single-zero one (“0”). You can read more about the two types in this informative article. People often neglect the fact that the original French roulette also had a double zero and the Americans simply started using that version. It was in 1842 when the Blanc twin-brothers, François and Louis, introduced the single-zero roulette, in order to lower the house edge and thus attract more players. This wheel became the norm and has been used throughout European casinos ever since.
.Banning of Roulette
Despite the huge popularity of roulette throughout Europe, the last few decades of the 19th century were a dark period for roulette players. Namely, the German authorities prohibited gambling during the 1860s and they were followed by the French who banned gambling in the first years of the 1870s. These decisions created a sort of vacuum that was used by the Principality of Monaco. Casino gaming was legalised in Monaco in 1856, shortly before it was banned in the two largest European countries. Quite naturally, Monaco, i.e. its Monte Carlo region, became the Mecca of casino games in Europe. The Blanc brothers soon moved to Monte Carlo and led casinos to their heyday. This gave a huge boost to the Monte Carlo tourism industry and the place has been known for its classy and lavish casinos ever since. Even today, Monte Carlo is the most famous European casino centre.
Infographics: Famous films featuring roulette games
| Other Films Featuring Popular Roulette Scenes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title: | Year: | Director: | Starring: | Genre: |
| Gangs of New York | 1938 | James Cruze | Charles Bickford, Ann Dvorak, Slapsie Maxie | Crime, Drama |
| Damn Citizen | 1958 | Robert Gordon | Keith Andes, Margaret Hayes | Drama |
| Three Bites of the Apple | 1967 | Alvin Ganzer | David McCallum, Sylva Koscina, Tammy Grimes | Comedy |
| The Games | 1970 | Michael Winner | Michael Crawford, Ryan O´Neal, Charles Aznavour | Drama |
| The Only Game in Town | 1970 | George Stevens | Elizabeth Taylor, Warren Beatty, Charles Braswell | Comedy, Drama, Romance |
| Indecent Proposal | 1993 | Adrian Lyne | Robert Redford, Demi Moore, Woody Harrelson | Drama, Romance |
| Croupier | 1998 | Mike Hodges | Clive Owen, Nick Reding, Nicholas Ball | Crime, Drama |
The Era of the Internet Roulette Casinos
With the economic growth of the United States and the establishment of famous gaming venues such as Las Vegas and Atlantic City, roulette gained a lot of fans on the other side of the pond. Furthermore, it kept attracting new players in Europe, Australia and Oceania and other parts of the world. By the end of WWII roulette had become the favourite game of numerous of players throughout the world. In the years after the war the US casino industry kept growing at a tremendous speed. Just when everyone thought that roulette can’t grow any further, the boom of the electronic industry and the popularisation of computers gave birth to a new phenomenon – online roulette. Not only did many traditional roulette players switch to online casinos, but that development also attracted plenty of people who hadn’t played the game before.
During the 1990s the first internet roulette casinos were established. These versions of online roulette had a software program generically called “random number generator”. This software was certified by independent organisations and it guaranteed the fairness of the game. With the beginning of the third millennium, the RNG software kept getting better and better. If you would like to see the offering at one of the top online operators, see what 888 casino has in store for you.
At that stage, everyone thought that the limit was reached and roulette can’t get any more popular. Then, the first live online roulette casinos appeared. These casinos feature croupiers and actual tables and wheels. The players can bet live from their computers. This makes roulette much more accessible and the game is certainly more realistic compared to RNG online roulette. It is actually as real as the real thing and you can participate without even leaving your bedroom, let alone your home. The popularisation of online roulette inspired many roulette enthusiasts to develop new variants and sub-variants of the game. One of the beloved variants is Mini-roulette – a version that has only twelve numbers, instead of the regular 36. It runs much faster and offers better chances to win in comparison to the standard one.