European Roulette
European roulette is the single-zero wheel: 37 pockets, numbered 1 to 36 plus one green zero. It is the default online, it is what most studios ship when they simply call a game "Roulette", and at 2.70% it is the cheapest wheel you will find without hunting for la partage.
The zero is the whole of the house's advantage. Bet on red and you win on 18 pockets out of 37, not 18 out of 36 — the payout is priced as though the green pocket were not there, and the gap between those two fractions is the 2.70%.
One Pocket, Twice the Cost
An American wheel is this wheel with a second green pocket added and every payout left exactly as it was. A straight up still pays 35 to 1; it simply wins 2.63% of the time instead of 2.70%. That single mismatch takes the cost from 2.70% to 5.26% — not quite double, and close enough that it is the only comparison worth making before you sit down.
If a casino offers both, there is no argument to be had. The games are identical to play and one of them keeps nearly twice as much of your money.
Every Bet Here Costs the Same
A straight up and a flat bet on red are priced identically on this wheel: 2.70% each, per unit staked, and the same is true of every other bet on the layout.
So the choice between them is about temperament rather than value — inside bets take a bankroll on a wilder ride to the same place. Why one figure covers the whole layout is worked out bet by bet.
European Roulette Games
European Roulette: Pros and Cons
Select an option to sort the items by category or impact.
Advantages
Single zero
One green pocket instead of two, which is the difference between 2.70% and 5.26% on identical bets.
The default online
Most studios build the single-zero wheel first, so it is the version you will actually find on a demo list rather than one you have to hunt for.
Every bet priced alike
Pick a bet by how you want the session to feel, not by what it costs — on this wheel they all cost the same.
Disadvantages
The zero still takes everything
An even-money bet here loses in full on zero. A French table gives half of it back.
No half-back rule
Any French table beats it on even money — 1.35% against 2.70%, for the same chips on the same square.
Impact Analysis
European Roulette FAQs
Yes, and by a clear margin: 2.70% against 5.26%, for a game that plays identically. The European wheel has 37 pockets and the American has 38, while both pay a straight up at 35 to 1. Whenever both are on offer there is no reason to take the American one.
2.70%, on every bet on the layout without exception — it falls out of the single green pocket and the 35 to 1 payout. A French table trims it to 1.35%, but only on the even-money bets.
The wheel is identical — 37 pockets, one zero. A French table adds a rule that softens the zero on even-money bets; a European one does not. If neither la partage nor en prison is printed on the felt, what you are looking at is European.