The History of Roulette

Players make bets by placing chips on the roulette table and then a croupier spins a wheel. If the ball lands on your number or type of bet, you win.

Inside bets have a higher house edge than outside bets, but they offer higher payouts. Choosing the right bet for you is crucial to winning big at roullete.

Origins

Despite the fact that many people think of Las Vegas when they hear the word “roulette,” the game actually has a long history. Its origin is a bit of a mystery, though. Some historians think that it was created by the French mathematician Blaise Pascal in the 17th century while he was trying to create a perpetual motion machine. Others believe that it came from an Italian board game called biribi, which was similar in structure to roulette and was popular in France before the French Revolution.

Other anecdotal evidence suggests that the game may have originated in China and was brought to Europe by Dominican monks who learned it from Chinese travelers. Regardless of its exact origin, the first time that roulette was played as we know it today took place in Paris in 1796.