Origins of Roulette

Origins of Roulette
Origins of Roulette. Image source: Pixabay

This is one history lesson you won’t have learned at school, and it’s probably a more interesting one if you love roulette and casinos! The game of roulette is a high-class and glamorous game that almost everyone who has set foot in a casino has seen in action, but the stakes of this game are high. Despite the high stakes, the game has been popular throughout history even with the aristocracy. It might surprise you that the much-loved game of roulette is steeped in a rich history and has played its part in many eras of history across the globe. The game truly has stood the test of time, so let’s delve in a little deeper, visit this website and find out the origins of this exciting game of chance.

No casino would be complete without the roulette wheel and the roulette table quite often takes centre stage in casinos as it is an integral part of the casino experience even to this day. The game of roulette has been played for well over 300 years, some believing it has been around even longer in some form or other. The game as you might have guessed originated in France and was first played in the 18th century where it was dubbed “the small wheel” by the French who invented it. But the French can’t take all the credit as the game was believed to be inspired by the British wheel game Roly-Roly and Hoca Biribi which was an Italian board game. Similarly, there was a game named even-odd which was popular in Britain in the 1700s which used a ball akin to the ball in roulette on a wheel but instead of using numbers the game only used E for even and O for odd, 20 of each letter on the wheel. This game was banned in Britain in 1782 shortly after it became popular.

The game began to take off in Paris and was commonly played in casinos like the Moulin Rouge by gentlemen, although some artworks do depict wealthy women playing the game too, this could be artistic license instead of being based on factual history. The first mention of the game roulette as we know it today was back in 1796 in a French novel where the wheel is described by the author who explains how the game is played as well as the layout of the wheel itself.

The game soon took off and made its way across the pond to America where it was welcomed with open arms and has been a treasured casino classic ever since. At one point in its early years in America, the wheel was even changed to include the symbol of the American eagle, a sign of American liberty, on the double zero; however, this didn’t stick and the wheel soon returned it to the original layout as we know and love today. When the 19th century hit, roulette grew throughout Europe and America and players haven’t looked back, with roulette being played both in land-based casinos and online casinos throughout the world, with the world’s first triple-zero wheel being introduced in 2016.