Roulette History and the Game’s Origins

As is the case with most casino games that have been around hundreds of years, the exact origins of roulette are unknown. What we do know is that roulette is a French diminutive meaning small wheel, the game in its modern forms has a deep history in France, and that there were many precursors to the game dating all the way back to ancient Egypt. In this article we’ll cover roulette precursors, documented roulette history and cover folktale surrounding the game of roulette.

Original Versions of Roulette

The idea of spinning a wheel like structure for gambling dates back to the earliest forms of history. Murals found in ancient Egyptian tombs suggest early forms of roulette may have existed in 3150 B.C. Fast forwarding to the Greco-Roman period (approximately: 200-400 A.D.) history suggests Roman soldiers would place an arrow in the ground and then spin a chariot wheel as a form of gambling and the Greeks gambled using a ten spot marked shield revolving upon a metal point. These games of course were not called roulette but do have a place in roulette history as precursors to the game.

Modern Roulette History

The most common accepted story for the invention of the modern roulette wheel dates back to 1655 in France. The man credited for its invention is famed mathematician Blaise Pascal who is well revered in history for his scientific, mathematical and even literature contributions. Pascal had not set out to develop a gambling device, but rather in doing perpetual motion research discovered it. While he failed in his initial quest the byproduct of his efforts was the invention of the modern roulette wheel.

There are some gambling historians which dispute Blaise Pascal involvement in roulette history. Despite having invented the game in 1655, Roulette is not documented as a casino game in France until 1796 under any name; the concept is simply void from documented history. There is however an earlier reference in French occupied Canada (Québec which was then named New France) where government banned the game in 1758.

While roulette origins are up for debate, there is no debate that in the years to follow it first being played in Paris (1796), the popularity of roulette exploded and during the 1800’s became wide spread throughout Europe and the United States.

History of the Roulette Zero

In a French novel titled “La Roulette, ou le Jour” first published in 1801 the author Jaques Lable describes roulette wheels as having two house pockets. He says “There are exactly two slots reserved for the bank, whence it derives its sole mathematical advantage.” He goes on to describe the betting layout and mentions “…two betting spaces containing the bank’s two numbers, zero and double zero.” One would assume the earliest forms of roulette were played in the double zero format now known as American Roulette.

The single zero version of roulette is credited to Frenchmen François and Louis Blanc, who first introduced single Zero Roulette in the German spa casino town of Homburg in 1843. This invention was made in order to better compete against double zero roulette games offered nearby.

Today the single zero version of roulette is popular everywhere except the United States, South America, and the Caribbean where the double zero remains the most popular.

Roulette History Folktale

The earliest versions of roulette were played with 28 numbers and one or two zeros. Legend has it that François Blanc supposedly bargained with the devil to obtain the secrets of roulette. This is where the 36 number wheels with one zero first came about. Coincidentally (or not?) when you add all numbers of their roulette wheel together the total sum is 666 which is the number of the beast.

To read more about Roulette history we suggest Wikipedia’s Roulette page.