What is Roulette?

Roulette is a game based on chance, and players place chips on the table until the croupier (dealer) announces “no more bets.” Each player gets a different colored chip to indicate the denomination they wish to assign each bet.

A Roulette wheel was first developed in the 17th century by Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician and inventor. Its present layout and wheel structure came about a century later.

Origins

The origin of roulette is a bit hazy. One of the most accepted origin stories traces it back to 17th-century French mathematician and physicist Blaise Pascal, who invented the roulette wheel in his quest to create a perpetual motion machine. Others point to earlier games like portique, hoca, bassette, and roly poly as its ancestors. Whatever the true origin, it’s safe to say that the modern game of roulette started to take shape in the 18th century, when it was first mentioned under its current name. It didn’t achieve its final design and layout until the 19th century, when it became a staple at casinos and gambling houses. The word “roulette” means little wheel and may refer to any type of circular object that rotates.