Roulette is the quintessential casino game, synonymous with elegance and risk. Its inexorable mathematical odds encapsulate the inevitability of house edge, but its regal aesthetic has inspired literature, art, and cinema. Roulette has also served as a social catalyst, prompting gamblers to reflect on their own compulsions and anxieties. Its essential format remains unchanged for centuries, even as it has evolved into a worldwide gambling phenomenon.
The game emerged in the 18th century, influenced by earlier wheel games like Roly-Poly, Even-Odd, Biribi, and Hoca. The first clear description of the modern roulette layout appears in Jacques Lablee’s novella La Roulette, ou Histoire d’un joueur, published in 1801/02. Lablee describes a spinning disk with alternating red and black compartments and two additional slots—now known as 0 and 00—explicitly reserved for the bank. The game quickly spread, and by the 1740s a vogue for wheel games had developed in Britain, leading to the Gaming Act of 1745.
While the game’s essential structure remained constant, its rules and betting options fluctuated over time. The emergence of a double-zero pocket in American roulette altered the probability distribution and increased the payouts, making it a more lucrative proposition. In the rough atmosphere of American gambling halls, practical innovations arose to combat cheating and theft. Wheels were mounted on tables in plain view to prevent hidden devices, and betting layouts simplified. These adjustments created the American version of the game that is still played today.
Roulette continues to be a cultural touchstone, inspiring artists and authors from Fyodor Dostoevsky to Humphrey Bogart. In the film Casablanca (1942), Bogart’s character helps a young couple by secretly rigging the wheel in their favor, immortalizing roulette as a moral stage where fate can be bent for compassion. In the James Bond franchise, roulette tables appear repeatedly, cementing its association with glamour, espionage, and risk. The game’s enduring popularity reflects the fact that it is as psychologically complex as it is mathematically predictable. Its enduring presence illustrates the inexorable link between chance and human frailty, as it challenges us to reconcile our appetite for risk with our need for certainty.