When you play live roulette, you get all the best bits of standard online roulette and offline play. As the name suggests, a live dealer spinning a physical wheel is broadcast to players via webcam in real time.
A key difference is that the croupier, rather than any individual player, dictates the speed of the action. A timer will usually count down until the moment the croupier says no more bets can be placed.
Like with standard roulette online, there's a number of different live roulette variations available. There's something to suit every would-be roulette player out there, from exclusive high stakes action to variants full of side bets and bonus features.
Let's take a look at a few types of live dealer roulette, and what makes them so exciting:
The version of roulette most readily available in the USA, featuring a 0 and 00 alongside numbers 1-36.
Eliminating the 00, European roulette cuts the house edge of American roulette in half.
Further improves the odds of European roulette for players through the addition of La Partage/En Prison rules.
Players lose only half their even-odds bet if the ball lands on zero and receive the other half back.
If the ball lands on zero, even-odds bets are placed En Prison – or "in prison" – and are returned or forfeited depending on whether the player wins or loses the next spin.
This customized wheel aims to ramp up the pace of the action, with more than two spins per minute – double that of typical live roulette.
Designed to maximize performance, this variant combines ultra-high quality video feeds with slow-motion replays and intriguing side bets.
A fascinating, and category-defying, game that allows online and offline players to place bets on the same table.
As you might expect from the name, this variant involves two balls being shot at the wheel during a single round instead of the usual one.
A game show-esque variation of French roulette that adds random multipliers of up to 500x on certain numbers with each spin.
A stripped-back version of the game with a table that contains only one third of the numbers in standard roulette.
Live roulette is popular not just because it's genuinely exciting, but because of its wide range of bets. From even-odds bets through to riskier wagers on a single number, all appetites for risk are accounted for. Let's take a look at some of the roulette bets you can place and the roulette rules to follow as you chase a payout:
Although winning at live roulette requires a hefty dose of luck, some players prefer to adopt a roulette strategy because it gives their betting more structure. Virtually all strategies and betting systems that apply to online roulette - or at a physical table - can be used on live roulette too.
Here are a few live roulette betting systems you might want to consider:
This strategy sees players doubling their bet after a loss. With an unlimited bankroll, they'll eventually win back all of their losses. Perhaps the best-known live dealer roulette strategy around.
Here, players double bets after winning and decrease their wagers to the minimum when they lose. This one might be appealing to those who live in hope of cashing in on hot streaks.
Similar to the Martingale strategy, but less aggressive, players increase their bet by one when losing instead of doubling it. The best live roulette system for more cautious players.
In this more complicated strategy, players move up the Fibonacci sequence - 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144 - when they lose and drop back two positions in the sequence after a win.
Here, players split their bet between 13-18, 19-36 and 0 – as a type of insurance – so they lose only when the ball lands on 1-12. Typically used with multiples of $200, so can be quite costly.
If you're a fan of online roulette, but also want to enjoy the sights and sounds of playing offline, live dealer roulette is a fantastic middle ground. With almost no downside, it really does give you the best of both worlds. Let's compare how these two real money casino options stack up:
Pros
Chat with the dealer and other gamblers as you play
Lots of exciting variants exclusive to live play
Additional reassurance that the action isn't rigged
Usually available on sites you're already using
As many payment options as standard roulette – if not more
Cons
Less control over the pace of the action
Higher minimum bets
Unfortunately, there are no free versions of live dealer roulette online because casinos need to employ croupiers to run live roulette games. If you've been looking to try live roulette free, you have two alternative options.
First, you can try one of the many low-limit live roulette games out there. Check out some of our top-rated sites and search for games with small minimum bets.
Alternatively, if you're not comfortable spending any money yet, you can try more than 50 versions of free roulette games on our dedicated page. They're not live dealer, but they will help you brush up on your skills before you make a deposit.
Several casinos offer live roulette that looks great on smaller screens. As for the video aspect, this will feel pretty familiar if you've ever used anything like FaceTime or WhatsApp… except you don't need to broadcast yourself back to the croupier!
Watching a real-life croupier sets live roulette apart from the standard online format.
You never want to miss a second of the action due to a faulty live video feed.
Get that real-world casino feel by speaking to bettors from around the world.
Never miss out on a fantastic chance to boost your pot for wagering on live roulette.
If you've ever played roulette before then you'll have a pretty good idea of how to play live roulette. The only thing players who have previously played on the web need to watch out for is croupiers announcing how long they have left to place bets.
There are various strategies available that aim to help players win live dealer roulette but, ultimately, this is a game of chance. Although you may want to check out the tips listed above to find the best live roulette system for you, you're just as likely to win following your gut instincts.
Definitely not. In fact, live dealer roulette was created in part as an antidote to the misconception held by some that online gambling is fixed. Because you can actually see the wheel spin and where the ball lands, you know that everything is completely above board.
Although we've touched on a few strategies further up this page, none of them is a silver bullet for winning on every single spin. Roulette all comes down to luck, after all, so there's nothing you can do to guarantee victory.
There are so many casino software providers and sites that finding somewhere to play live roulette online might be a bit overwhelming. We've listed tons of excellent places to play on this page, with top bonuses and lots of live dealer roulette options, so any one of them is a great place to start.