American Roulette vs European Roulette – What to Choose?

Roulette is one of the most sought-after live casino games and it comes in a few different versions. The two major versions of roulette that you will encounter in most places like Wildtornado – live casino games are American roulette and European roulette. 

So, it is crucial that you know the differences and similarities between them. That will help you choose the one that is better suited to your needs. This article is your one-stop guide to making that decision. 

Are the Rules to Play these Live Casino Games Different?

The first thing that you need to know about both American roulette and European roulette is that the fundamental rules are the same. They are the same in both versions of live casino games online roulette. 

Both versions have a white ball, a wheel, and a betting board. They all combine to form what is known as the roulette table. 

A white ball is released into the roulette wheel and players place their desired bets on the roulette table. Bets can be placed till the ball is released. Once the ball starts rolling, no more bets. 

So, as you can see, the gameplay is pretty much identical. There are differences in the components of the roulette wheel and the roulette table. The differences are small but significant and we will discuss them more in the subsequent sections. So, stay tuned. 

What are the Differences? 

Since the rules and the gameplay are the same, there must be some other differences between the two versions, right? Of course, casinos would not offer two different versions of the same game as part of their live dealer casino games if there were no differences. 

Single Zero vs. Double Zero

The biggest difference is in the number of slots in the roulette wheels. In European roulette, there are 37 slots covering the numbers between 0 and 36. On the other hand, in American roulette, 38 slots are covering the same numbers plus an additional double zero. 

That is why you will often find that casinos refer to European roulette in their online casino live games section as single-zero roulette. If you see single-zero roulette anywhere, you can assume that they are talking about European roulette because there are two zeroes in the American version. 

The First Five Number Bet 

There is another difference when it comes to the two types of live dealer casino games that are called American and European roulette. In American roulette, you can place a type of bet that will be unavailable to you while playing European roulette. 

The additional bet that American roulette offers is called the first five number bet. It encompasses the numbers 00, 0, 1, 2, and 3. 

It is similar to the first four number bet that you will find in European roulette. This bet lets you wager on all the numbers between 0 and 3, except the 00 because that does not exist in this version. 

Why Do the Differences Among these Best Live Casino Games Matter? 

Now that you know the main differences between American roulette and European roulette, it is time for you to get introduced to the implications of those differences. 

If the differences did not result in certain advantages or disadvantages, there would be no use talking about them. But, in this case, there is. 

Learning about them will be crucial to choosing which live casino games version of roulette you should choose. 

House Edge & RTP (Return to Player)

You might wonder how much difference can the existence of one additional slot in a roulette wheel make? Well, it makes a huge difference in terms of the house edge and RTP of each of these live dealer casino games versions. 

The house edge in the European version is 2.7%. Whereas, the same figure reaches almost double at 5.26% in American roulette. In other words, while the RTP for European roulette is 97.3%, the same is 94.74% for American roulette. 

Yes, these figures are indeed theoretical calculations based on the average player’s performance over a very long period. They only indicate how much an average player can expect to earn back over the long run. 

They are not always reliable guides to assess your performance in a particular session of the game. For instance, you may win more in a game of American roulette than in European roulette, even though European roulette has a higher RTP. 

Bet Probability 

In addition to increasing the house edge and RTP, the additional ‘00’ slot decreases the bet probability. Take, for instance, the common red/black, odd/even, and high/low bets that both versions of roulette live casino games online have. 

In European roulette, the probability that you will win any of these bets is 48.64%. Whereas, in American roulette, the probability of these bets goes down more than 2 percentage points to 46.37%. 

House Edge for Five Number Bet

You might also wonder whether the availability of an additional bet type offers some sort of an advantage. As mentioned earlier, you can make the five-number bet that comprises the first numbers (00, 0, 1, 2, and 3) in the live casino games version of American roulette only. 

It does not really add much in terms of better probability to win. While the house edge for American roulette is already much higher compared to European roulette, the house edge for the five number bet is even higher. It is 7.89%. 

Out of all the bets in American roulette, this has the highest house edge. The bet probability of 13.16% is also on the lower end. 

Final Verdict 

The best way to choose which version of roulette live dealer casino games will be better for you is to try both. Most renowned online casinos offer both and you can even find free demo versions of both for practice. 

That said, the theoretical analysis suggests that European roulette is the more rewarding version for the long haul. So, if you do not really develop a strong liking for American roulette, it would be better for you to play the European version of online casino live games roulette instead.