Roulette Variants Explained: European, French, American and Multiplier Wheels

One green pocket separates European roulette from American roulette, and that pocket nearly doubles the house edge. European wheels hold 37 pockets with a single zero, while the American wheel adds a double zero for 38.

French tables use the same single-zero wheel as European ones, yet special rules on even-money bets cut the edge further. Multiplier wheels go another way, trimming base payouts to fund occasional boosts of hundreds of times the stake.

The wheel, the zero rules and the paytable decide what each spin costs, long before any choice of numbers.

Four Wheels Side by Side

Pocket count and zero rules set the core house edge. The table compares the main variants on the two bets players use most.

Figures reflect standard rules. Last verified: October 2026

Edges stay identical across almost every bet on a given wheel, with one notable exception on the American layout covered below.

French Rules Halve the Even-Money Edge

French roulette keeps the single-zero wheel and adds protection for red, black, odd, even, high and low bets when the ball stops on zero. Two versions of that rule exist.

La Partage

La Partage returns half of every even-money stake when zero hits. On a zero, €10 placed on red loses only €5, and that halving cuts the edge on those bets from 2.70% to 1.35%.

En Prison

En Prison holds the even-money stake for the next spin instead of settling it. If the bet wins on that spin, the player gets the original stake back, and the long-run effect matches La Partage at 1.35%.

French rules apply only to even-money bets. Straight-up numbers, splits and corners keep the standard 2.70% edge.

The American Wheel's Extra Pocket

Adding the double zero raises the edge to 5.26% on nearly every bet, since payouts stay the same while the chance of winning falls.

One bet stands out for the wrong reasons. The five-number bet covering 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3 pays 6:1 and holds an edge of about 7.89%, the worst standard bet on any common roulette table. Some wheels in the United States even use a triple zero, with 39 pockets and an edge of about 7.69% on most bets.

Multiplier Wheels Trade Base Payouts for Big Hits

Multiplier roulette keeps the single-zero wheel and adds random multipliers to selected numbers before each spin. Evolution's Lightning Roulette, the most familiar example, strikes between one and five numbers per round with multipliers from 50x to 500x.

To fund those boosts, a straight-up bet pays 29:1 instead of the usual 35:1. Outside bets such as red or black keep their normal payouts and the standard 2.70% edge.

Multiplier formats increase variance sharply. Straight-up bets usually pay less than on a classic wheel, while a rare multiplier hit pays far more. Pragmatic Play's Mega Roulette and similar titles follow the same principle with their own multiplier ranges, and each lists its exact return in the help panel.

Formats Built Around Pace

Several variants change speed and presentation without changing the core wheel:

• Speed and auto roulette: shorter betting windows or automated wheels, sometimes under 30 seconds per spin

• Double ball roulette: two balls on one wheel, with special bets on both landing in the same pocket

• Immersive and studio tables: extra camera angles and slow-motion replays of the ball

• First Person and RNG roulette: software versions of live tables, often with lower minimums

Quicker games deal more spins per hour, so the expected cost of a session rises even at the same edge. Stake ranges shift between formats too, and the minimums and maximums behind table limits vary from studio to studio.

Reading a Roulette Table Before the First Spin

Every live roulette table publishes its rules and payouts. Four checks help match a table to a session:

• Zero count: single zero for European and French, double zero for American

• Even-money rule: La Partage or En Prison where a table uses French rules

• Straight-up payout: 35:1 on classic wheels, lower on multiplier formats

• Return figure: the RTP listed in the help panel for each bet type

Studios differ in how they label these details, and our comparison of live studios shows how Evolution, Playtech and Ezugi present their tables.

Roulette Tables at Dexsport

Dexsport lists roughly 160 live roulette tables plus about 50 digital roulette titles, with a dedicated Roulette collection in its casino menu. Four studios, Ezugi, Playtech Live, Evolution and Pragmatic Play Live, supply those tables, so European, French, American and multiplier formats share one lobby.

Evolution First Person titles add software versions of popular live wheels for lower-stakes practice. Roulette spins count toward the double casino turnover Dexsport applies to each deposit before a withdrawal, and Dexapp LTD holds an Anjouan licence.

Provably fair games show a separate approach to the house edge, which our explainer on how the house edge survives verification covers.

Conclusion

Roulette variants differ mainly in pockets, zero rules and paytables. European wheels hold a 2.70% edge, French rules halve it on even-money bets, and American wheels raise it to 5.26%, with the five-number bet at about 7.89%.

Multiplier wheels keep the single-zero layout yet cut straight-up payouts to fund big boosts, which raises variance. Speed formats change the number of spins per hour, so the hourly cost grows even when the edge stays the same.

Rules on online casinos change from one country to the next, so read the local law before a first spin. Play only at legal age, remember that KYC or AML checks may apply, and fix a spin count for every session.

Disclaimer: The information here is provided for general purposes only and is not legal, tax, investment, or financial advice. House edges assume standard rules, and table rules, payouts and availability vary by studio and country, so check each table's help panel before you play. Casino games involve risk, and rules vary by country, so check the law where you live. Please play responsibly, within your means, and only if you are of legal age.