The term “Roulette” is French and in essence it means “small wheel”. While it may seem that because “Roulette” is a French word that the game itself comes from France, but this is not necessarily true. There are a number of differing theories ranging from the game originating in China, as well as ancient Rome. Many who believe the game originated in China, think that Dominican Monks that were trading with the Chinese brought the game back to mainland Europe. The Roman theory is based on accounts that Romans would tip their chariot wheels and spin them as a form of entertainment.

A slightly more popular theory is that the French scientist Blaise Pascal, credited with the probability theory, invented the roulette wheel. Apparently, it was the by-product of one of his many experiments.

Eventually, in 1842, the French brothers Louis and Francois Blanc invented the roulette game we know today. They invented the “0” version used by most countries in the world. A legend about Francois Blanc, is that he apparently sold his soul to the devil in order to obtain the secret of roulette. Conspiracy-theorists validate this story by the fact that all the numbers on a roulette wheel added up to “666”.

Even though the Blanc brothers’ game was a resounding success, gambling was still illegal in France so it was introduced in Hamburg instead. Gambling was eventually banned in Germany too, however, but then The Prince of Monaco invited Louis to operate his Monte Carlo casino and reacquaint the people with the game of roulette.

When brought over to America, the “0” version of roulette was abandoned in favour of the “00” version of roulette. Today, in order to distinguish between these two variations, the “00” version is called the American Wheel whilst the “0” version the European Wheel. The “00” version has 38 numbers whilst the “0” version only has 37 but, despite their differences, both are extremely popular the world over...Read More:Online Roulette – A Brief History