History of Roulette: A Brief Look Over the Century

The history of roulette will be tracing its roots back from France. The term came from a French word that means "small wheel". In the game, players are given the freedom to choose from a single number, range of numbers, colors, and the numbers being odd or even when placing bets. In determining the winners, the croupier ( the one who was tasked to be a dealer in the game) will spin the wheel in a direction, then a ball will be spun is the opposite side. The ball will lose its momentum and will fall into a segment of the wheel. This history of roulette will be brief since this is just an overview.

The history of roulette can be traced back in the 18th century of France. As a matter of fact, in the 17th century, Blaise Pascal, a mathematician and scientist, was able to create a primitive version of a roulette because he was studying about the machine that has continuous motion. The game devised in France was said to be a combination of English wheel games like Ace of Hearts, Roly-Poly, Reiner, E.O, and the Italian board games like Hoca and Biribi. There were records that the current rulings and form of the wheel is first used during 1796 in Paris. A French novel by Jaques Lablee called "La Roulette, ou le Jour" described how the spin looks like and played. The novel became a trace for the history of roulette.

During the start of the game, the wheels has single zero with red color while the double zero has black. Many gamers are confused with this, that is why in the 1800's, the color green were used for some selected zeroes in the wheel. In the year 1843, two French nationals introduced a single zero wheel in order to compete against established betting houses that offer the traditional wheels with double and single zero pockets.

In the 19th century, the craze of the game decided to reach America and the entire Europe. Despite the fact that the German government banned the gambling industry in the 1860's, the operators decided to move in Monte Carlo, the only place in Europe where gambling is legal, and established a place for the elite to gamble. In the United States, the French double zero wheel step foot on the regions of Mississippi and New Orleans.

The Americans made the traditional French game changed because of the rampant cheating of gamblers and operators. That is why the wheel is placed above the table to avoid cheating, and the table layout is simplified. As of now, the most popular version of roulette is the one done by the Americans because it has simple betting terms, neat table layout and fast action, making gambling easier and fast.