Posted on: September 27, 2022, 00:42. Last updated on: November 27, 2024, 12:09.
We’re frequently asked, “is online roulette rigged?” and the answer is generally “no.” Firstly, game rigging is illegal for licensed online casinos. And secondly, it’s unwise for any legitimate gambling site to drive away players with unfair games.
Online roulette isn’t rigged like most players would tell you, but it does have one of the highest house edges for table games. The house edge, or built-in advantage, is the cut of your bet that the casino takes to stay afloat.
Without profits or “rigging”, casinos would lose money quickly. But there are ways to use the house edge to your advantage.
So, Is Roulette Rigged?
There are no guaranteed wins in life, especially not when you’re gambling online. So, expecting to win every time you play is why most players believe the myth that roulette is rigged.
The only way to win every time is to try and cheat the roulette wheel or swipe chips off the table. However, that’s not advisable or feasible for honest players.
Random Number Generators
Legitimate online casinos offer roulette games with proven random number generators (RNGs) which are always fair. These algorithms dictate results and cannot be hacked easily.
Essentially, RNGs remove the “unfairness” from table games and give players peace of mind. However, we still recommend looking for games from reputable software providers to avoid disappointment.
How Roulette Is Rigged: House Edge and Payouts
For American Roulette, the payout should be 1 in 38 for the double zero on a single-number bet. In European Roulette, it will be 1 in 37. The payouts will differ if you’re playing a variant like Roulette Royale, Multiball, or Multiwheel.
These are rough estimates, but roulette bets usually have typical payouts. We’ve compiled a few below to give you a rough idea:
Outside Bet Type | Potential Payout | European Odds | American Odds |
Red or Black | 1:1 | 48.65% | 47.37% |
Odd or Even | 1:1 | 48.65% | 47.37% |
High or Low | 1:1 | 48.65% | 47.37% |
Column | 2:1 | 32.4% | 31.6% |
Dozen | 2:1 | 32.4% | 31.6% |
Inside Bet Type | Potential Payout | European Odds | American Odds |
Single number | 35:1 | 2.70% | 2.60% |
Two numbers | 17:1 | 5.4% | 5.3% |
Three numbers | 11:1 | 8.1% | 7.9% |
Four numbers | 8:1 | 10.8% | 10.5% |
Five numbers | 6:1 | 13.5% | 13.2% |
Six numbers | 5:1 | 16.2% | 15.8% |